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Eco Arts counselors and campers gather in a circle to sing and sway to camp songs.
Camper Anderson Smith-Coat peers through binoculars for new discoveries.
Cassie Cate, age 6, shares one of her find- Founder of Eco Arts Ella Johannaber, sings repeat-after-me songs with the youngsters. Photos by Chenoa Tyehimba
ings from the camp’s daily group activity.
Nature, arts and friendships at Eco Arts Camp
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalb champ, com
Pine Lake Eco Arts
counselor Sara Gregory
said, “It’s wonderful for me
to see kids be all wide-eyed,
running and ready to ex
plore.”
Eco Arts camp is a six-
week summer camp that
aims to connect children
with nature and fuel creativ
ity.
The first camp session,
June 8-19, is themed forts,
castles and nature art.
In this session campers
explore the environment
around the lake and collect
anything that inspires them.
Once the children have col
lected their favorite items,
they are led to assemble site-
specific art such as sand-
castles, pine cone mandalas,
fairy gardens, woven struc
tures and playhouses.
Gregory said, “The pur
pose is to get us to dig more
into nature and see things
we walk through every day
and don’t necessarily take
the time to investigate.”
She added, “A lot of
children may not have the
opportunity to be in a safe
space in nature where they
can explore and know that
someone is looking out for
them. We make sure that
they can really be free to ex
plore.”
In the camp’s second
session, June 22 through 26
and its third session July 6
through 10, titled wetlands,
lake and wildlife parts one
and two, campers take
walks, participate in bird
watching, plant identifica
tion and catch and release
minnows, frogs, salaman
ders, turtles and tadpoles.
The final camp, July 13
through 24, features per
forming arts from campers,
including puppetry, writing
and dancing.
Eco Arts camp was
founded by Pine Lake resi
dent and school teacher Ella
Johannaber in 2008.
Johannaber said when
she first moved to Pine Lake,
Mayor Kathie deNobriga
asked her what her passion
was. To which she replied
summer camps.
“I felt that a camp would
capitalize on two of our core
strengths which are our at
tention to the environment
and to the many artists that
live in Pine Lake,” deNobriga
said.
She added, “It’s a great
way to present the city and
its assets to a broader pub
lic.”
When Johannaber
started the summer camp it
was focused on performance
arts. In 2011 the camp ex
panded to include the eco
logical art components and
changed its name from Pine
Lake Theater Arts to Eco
Arts Camp.
Johannaber said the
change in focus came when
she “became aware of how
much children needed a bal
ance in their increasingly
technological full lives.”
“Initially I noticed that
children would really miss
their technology and hand
held games when they got to
camp but when they tuned
in to the nature around
them they didn’t miss those
things anymore. I witnessed
a particular kind of aliveness
in the campers that I knew
was because they’d spent
time being connected with
nature,” she said.
Johannaber said when
the camp began there were
12 children. This year, the
camp almost maxed out the
space with 26 participants in
the first session.
Camp for each child is
$380 for two weeks. Johan
naber said a scholarship pro
gram has also been initiated
for campers.
The summer camp
scholarship is dependent on
donations. To learn more
about Eco Arts summer
camp or donate to their
scholarship fund visit eco-
artscamp.com.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR
CLARKSTON MILLAGE RATE
Notice is hereby given that prior to
setting the tax millage rate for 2015,
the Clarkston Mayor and Council will
hold a Public Hearing at City Hall, 3921
Church Street, Clarkston Georgia, on
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 7:00pm on the
proposed millage rate. The City Council
is proposing to adopt a millage rate for
2015 that exceed the rollback rate by
53.80 percent. All concerned citizens
are invited to attend.