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UT & UBW Update December 2011
Dec 20, 2011
Vicki
Since July 1st UrbanTrekkers and Urban BoatWorks have had an amazing first half to our FYE 12 calendar. Over 100 students from UrbanPromise Ministries, Sacred Heart School and the Camden Academy Charter High School are participating in the experiential learning programs created by UrbanTrekkers and Urban BoatWorks.   We continue to see the integration of academic and extra-curricular programming as complementing and enhancing the learning experiences of our urban youth.
 
For instance both the UrbanPromise Academy (UPA) and the Camden Academy Charter High School (CACHS) have included boat building into their math and science curriculum. The freshman students from UPA and a group of seniors from CACHS find through boat building they discover application for lessons from the classroom. Ms. Perez the science teacher from the UrbanPromise Academy sees her classroom extended to the littoral zone along the Assateague Island beaches. Mr. Watkins our history teacher prepares for the annual Washington DC trip where students spend four days visiting Smithsonian’s, memorials, the Capitol, Mt Vernon and an assortment of places where history has been made.
 
And winter does not slow us down…I love winter!  Getting outside into the woods on cold crisp days…now, I do need to be dressed properly of course; many warm layers of hi-tech fabric from REI or LL Bean can make the experience quite comfortable. Sharing this experience with the UrbanTrekkers next month in the Delaware Water Gap will be a first time experience for ten young men on a male leadership retreat. The Appalachian Mountain Club will loan the youth all the clothing and gear needed for our Winter Adventure at Camp Mohican; from investigating animal tracks and scat to snow shoeing along part of the Appalachian Trail. Outdoor adventures like this give us valuable time to speak into the lives of our students about deeper issues relating to character and faith.
 
Winter in the boat shop means that all eight boats being built this year have taken on the form of the canoe or kayak they will be finished in…there is always more excitement in the shop when the boats begin to look like boats but that is also when the most repetitive and challenging work begins. Most days resin and wood dust fills the air as students’ sand and epoxy the hulls and decks of their boats. The cedar-strip kayaks require hours and hours of hand planning the angled strips leaving only curly shavings of aromatic red cedar on the shop floor.
 
I want to thank you for your support to the young men and women of Camden that are impacted by your support and the encouragement it gives to all of us…Best Wishes for 2012!
 
Keep on Trekking,
Jim
An Assateague Story 2011
Nov 1, 2011
Vicki

 First a flash of golden light, then cascading brightness spills across the vast ocean surface towards the windswept shore of the barrier island...It's sunrise; we throw up our arms in celebration; a new day has begun.

I begin to read from Genesis One, the national seashore of  Assateague Island  inspires me  to share the creation story with my students for our morning devotion.  I love the story, the order of events, the language  and imagery explodes my imagination. "And God saw that it was good"; I imagine a loving God with an all knowing look of satisfaction in knowing what has been created is indeed "Good" and yes, perfect!

I ask my students to recall something they made, maybe in school, something they were proud of  and how it  felt to look at it afterwards.  They begin to tell me stories of craft projects they made in middle school and when they gave them to their parents or loved  ones and how it made them feel happy.  Jailyne, a very engaging sophomore tells us about the canoe she made last year in Urban BoatWorks.   It  was a yearlong project that when she finished she launched onto the Cooper River.

 She told us about how it made her feel really proud of what she had accomplished  but the best part  was  being able to share her boat, first with her Mom and now her classmates when they paddled the western side of the Island on Chincoteague Bay alongside the Islands wild ponies.  Wow! I realize Jailyne just gave me the best interpretation of Genesis One I could ask for.   A verbose Old Testament scholar couldn't say it better.

Moments later several pods of porpoises, their recognizable dorsal fins surfacing as they seek precious air for the southward journey reveal themselves just beyond the surf.  I tell the students, "It is Good", we all agree!

Keep on Trekking,

Jim

 

Jim Cummings' Interview with Red Letter Christians
Oct 14, 2011
Vicki

Senior Fall Outdoor Leadership Training in the Delaware Water Gap
Oct 12, 2011
Jim
“For years, copying other people, I tried to know myself. From within, I couldn’t decide what to do. Unable to see, I heard my name being called. Then I walked outside” Rumi
 
We were near the end of our two day hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) following a ridge line on the Kittatinny Mountains in the Delaware Water Gap. It was our Fall Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) for our UP Academy seniors – the early fall weather had been exceptional with just a tad of crispness in the autumn mountain air. The hiking had been extremely challenging; the unusually heavy summer rains had eroded a significant amount of trail surface leaving exposed and loose rock. Turned ankles and twisted knees were unavoidable and all of us had experienced a fall or two.  At this time in the day the stress and tensions from the trekking were as exposed as the rocks.
 
One of the students was really struggling, more than the rest. The weight of her pack seemed to take on more pounds with each passing step. She needed to rest; her ankles were sore and hurting from multiple twists. Unfortunately some of her classmates who were also tired and hurting did not want to stop, they wanted to go faster and get to the end of the trail; they were ready to be done. I reacted with a quick rebuke for the students who showed an indifference to their classmate’s struggle. The correction was not well received and a student snapped back at me saying, “I didn’t ask to come on this trip, I’m not an outdoor person, this is your thing, not mine.” The moment passed…but the tension was not far from the surface.
 
In camp later that evening, after a beef stew dinner with the warmth of a crackling fire beside us, it was now time to unpack what had happened during the day. “You don’t get it,” I started. “This is not about the outdoors, it’s about character”. Whether on a four day portage and paddle trip across the Saranac’s, white water rafting on the Nolichucky, or on a grueling ten mile hike on the AT , it is all about finding our true selves…because I know in these moments of our greatest stress we reveal our true selves - for good, for bad. They listened silently; the tension dissipated; the student who snapped earlier during the day now offered an apology. And, I admitted that if they enjoyed the outdoors (or better yet became an outdoor naturalist or a park ranger), I would be overjoyed.
 
We drove back to Camden Sunday morning leaving the Kittatinny Mountains and the Appalachian Trail behind us; back to the city… and maybe, just maybe, we know ourselves a little bit better. As we rounded the corner to the UrbanPromise Campus, we saw the blazing orange foliage on a Maple tree in front of the elementary school. One of the students exclaimed, “Wow, look at that tree, I’ve become more aware of nature after being in it.”
 
Keep on Trekking… even when the trail gets tough.
Jim
From the Hood to the Woods 2011
Sep 6, 2011
Jim

Sep 05, 2011

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The Maine and Urban Trekkers students and mentors pose atop Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Thomaston — Trekkers, a local youth mentoring organization, hosted its sixth annual “From the ‘Hood to the Woods” expedition at Blueberry Cove Camp in Tenants Harbor this August.

Students from Trekkers and its sister organization, Urban Trekkers from Camden, N.J., used the four-day expedition as an opportunity to build meaningful relationships across cultural boundaries while exploring Maine’s beautiful outdoors.

This year more than 20 high school students participated alongside six adult mentors from Maine and Camden, N.J. The activities included kayaking in Port Clyde, lobstering with local fishermen in Tenants Harbor, swimming in quarries and holding a lobster bake. The group also explored Acadia National Park, where they hiked the Beehive Trail and visited Sand Beach. Throughout the four-day expedition, they participated in games, teambuilding activities and group discussions.

“From the ‘Hood to the Woods” was created in 2006 by Don Carpenter, executive director of Trekkers, and Jim Cummings, executive director of Urban Trekkers. Both were seeking to create a safe setting for students from all walks of life to engage in meaningful conversations regarding the prejudice and racism that occur in Maine and New Jersey. One student commented, “[The experience taught me] that even though we may look different, we’re all the same on the inside. We have a lot in common.”

This expedition is not the only opportunity for the Maine and Urban Trekkers to connect and build relationships. Each February and April, the two groups meet in Camden, N.J., to participate in similar teambuilding activities in an urban setting. Carpenter comments, “Because we travel to Camden twice a year to visit the Urban Trekkers in their community, the opportunity to have a cultural exchange here in the Midcoast becomes that much sweeter. For the past six years this give-and-take has proved to be magical, opening the doors of communication and deconstructing stereotypes. I'm so glad that we're able to provide these opportunities to our students.”

Tanglewood 4-H Camp and Learning Center partnered with Trekkers for this program, providing the use of Blueberry Cove Camp. Tanglewood is part of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

A Great End to the UBW Summer Paddling Trips!
Aug 16, 2011
Vicki

 In the heat of summer’s dog days Urban BoatWorks assembled an amazing flotilla of canoes and kayaks on the Rancocas Creek, 29 paddlers (including some amazing folks from UrbanPromise Miami!) and 19 boats (six of which are the hand crafted wooden boats made by students and volunteers) for the finale of the summer paddling program.  Jesus Castro, Program Director and the volunteer staff  organized six Saturday paddling trips on local rivers and creeks of South Jersey.  We paddled the tidal westerly flowing tributaries; Cooper, Pennsauken, and Rancocas that empty into the Delaware River and the easterly flowing Wading River that winds through the New Jersey Pine Barrens and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean.  The variety and diversity of habitat all within a thirty mile radius of Camden is astonishing.

 One of the most revealing and inspiring comments I heard this summer came from one of our student boat builders, Chris Williams, while paddling down stream on the Cooper River as it flows through the city of Camden, “I feel like a tourist in my own neighborhood” he exclaimed as we passed under the State Street bridge and for the first time got to see the confluence of the Cooper and Delaware Rivers.

 The summer on-the-water program of Urban BoatWorks gave the student boat builders the opportunity to enjoy the fruit of their labors and a chance to escape the hot streets of the city. But, what was just as important was the students were learning the value of nature and history from the waterways that flow through our neighborhoods and  the region.  My highlight came from the multiple occasions on the water and on the road when people stop and ask, “Wow! Who made those boats?” and the kids, while grinning from ear to ear say, “We did”.  Now that’s Joy!

Keep on Trekking,

Jim

 

Rancocas Creek Paddle
Jul 15, 2011
Vicki

Urban BoatWorks had a sweet trip on the Rancocas Creek last Saturday. After Jim gave a quick paddle briefing, the kids got on the water in their canoes and kayak. "I can't believe we made our own boats." Was heard more than once. When we returned to the Marlowe's we reveled in our successful paddle and enjoyed a delicious cook-out. Tomorrow, we look forward to paddling the Pennsauken Creek!

-Jim & Vicki

And We Did It!
Jul 15, 2011
Vicki

 apologies for the long delayed ending to this particular chapter of the blog- the launch went off amazingly well, we were up against some serious surf, and so we had to be pretty careful about how we went about it, but there was a good crowd and we all had a real good time.

we traveled home safely yesterday. we are all exhausted, but glad to be home. sad, too. we made some really good friends in Malibu, and we had a lot of fun, whilst also working our tails off…

there’s a lot of debriefing and planning to do… 

so, for now, peace and love. we’ll see you all soon.

thanks for being on this journey with us.

-Suzi

 

It is Finished!
Jul 10, 2011
Vicki

BoatBuild: It's a Brand New Day
Jul 10, 2011
Vicki

 and mercury is no longer in retrograde! at least, we hope it’s not and we’re praying that what (or who) ever is testing us and our commitment to this board launch will please lay off now….! Jesus has the latest update…