By Torrey Green, E3 WA Communications Committee Member
Growing up with my roots in San Diego, CA, I was constantly surrounded by vibrant communities and playful littles. As I would assist with my mom’s art classes, workshops, and camps in an 800-square foot urban art studio starting at the impressionable age of nine, I slowly advanced my love of artful education at this young age. With the privilege of watching my mother’s role as an arts educator grow into bigger workshops and camps, I too began developing skills alongside her that would, in time, cater towards my summer job as a lead camp instructor at the age of nineteen.
In the summer of 2017, my family and I began to visit a beautiful farm in the small though quaint town of Whidbey Island, WA. During the nature-getaway that every San Diegian dreams of, we began to grow my mothers business of Green Art Labs on Full Moon Rising Farm, soon becoming our summer ritual. Now, holding camps on a forested farm on several acres was an entirely new take on the education coming from a 800-square foot space. Being entirely different from what I grew up around, as the environment was now our classroom, and free time wasn’t spent on blacktops and metal monkey bars, but instead on tree swings and imaginations running free in the forest.
It was incredible to see the ways that these new children would let go of their creative hesitation in a simple place like the outdoors. They were deeply obsessed with simple activities that urban kids hadn’t had the privilege of experiencing; counting slugs on a forest trail, spraying a water hose to make mud for Olive, the pig, and even dreaming up group forts in the forest. Moving from the forest, to the farm, to the garden Full Moon Rising Farm is a bustling oasis all parents I’ve talked to feel honored to bring their kids to.
Without the exposure to arts education at a very young age, I may have never witnessed the complexities and joys of being around young and vibrant children. I truly notice a difference when I work with kids outdoors on a regular basis in my summers, versus my full-time student workload during the rest of the year. I feel a sense of presence and excitement during my time with children, two feelings that I’m certain every environmental educator has experienced. Although I’m currently pursuing a different career path in Political Science/Gender and Environmental Studies, I’m grateful for the time I’ve spent and will continue to spend with vibrant and passionate kids.
