The West Haven Center for Coastal Ecology, located on the shoreline of West Haven, Ct, educates young adolescents in the ecology of Long Island Sound. This is outlined in sections of the "Eco-Camp Model", which is found on the website:
The current iteration of Eco-Camp is a direct evolution of the original Eco-Camp as designed in 1990 by Nancy M. It grew from an observation that West Haven ha
d both a beautiful and accessible shorefront but no summer education programs focusing on coastal eco-system science available to elementary school age children. (It should be noted that there were and are playground and sports camps.) At Eco-Camp, participants will learn by doing. A typical day includes an early morning focus session on some aspect of coastal science, fishing (gear provided), crabbing and identification, seining, arts and crafts, birding, salt marsh exploration, local geology, and the geo-history of Long Island Sound. The professional staff includes certified educators, individuals with specific expertise from the greater community, guest presenters, and a cadre of college students that have been with us for the life of Eco-Camp and have now assumed the responsibility of education. The camp has run for these 24 years as a common project with the West Haven Board of Education, The Mayor's Office and the Department of Human Resources. The cost of the camp is $105.00/week. Again, part of the original design, that cost must not be prohibitive. The salaries of the professional and junior staffs are paid from those tuitions. It must be noted that certified educators could earn much more, taking a "summer teaching position" but choose to return to Eco-Camp yearly. Perhaps both staff and participants return because they too see the value and importance of Eco-Camp. This page will inform parents of the latest announcements and events going on throughout. If you have any questions, feel free to contact either Dean Palmer or Nancy Paone. Also, please visit the camp website for everything you need to know about the camp: http://www.whecocamp.com
