Backyard campout

Crenshaw High School students camp in Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area as part of Club program

More than 80 students and teachers from Crenshaw High School recently spent the night camping under the stars at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Baldwin Hills thanks to the Sierra Club's Inside the Outdoors program. The students were members of the Crenshaw High School Eco Club and they enjoyed a fun-filled camping trip at the first annual Eco Club Survivor Challenge.

Photo by Bill Vanderberg Students from Crenshaw High took part in the Club's Inside the Outdoors program.

Inside the Outdoors is a Sierra Club program designed to help promote the benefits of outdoor environmental education and to introduce students to the natural resources within their own communities. Recent studies have demonstrated that outdoor environmental educational programs boost school science scores and improve students' self-esteem.

According to Bill Vanderberg, faculty advisor of the Crenshaw High School Eco Club and Angeles Chapter leader, this was the first camping trip for many, and first time sleeping outside without a tent for everyone. 'Every child deserves the opportunity to experience a backyard campout, and Kenneth Hahn Park is our backyard,' said Vanderberg. 'All the kids had a great time and everyone is asking when they can go camping again.'

The event was free, and students received a new Coleman sleeping bag and enjoyed games, plenty of good food, and a campfire with the chance to roast marshmallows. L.A. County supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke arranged the special permits to camp overnight in the park, and bus transportation was provided by the office of L.A. City Council member Bernard Parks.

The Crenshaw High School Eco Club is a student organization dedicated to expanding students' knowledge of, respect for, and involvement with the natural environment through outings and community service to local, state, and national parks.

To find out how to get involved with Inside the Outdoors, contact Bill Vanderberg at bill.vanderberg-at-comcast.net or 310-245-2763.