For a group of kids each seeking mentors to spend time with
them for one year, one special day can be very meaningful. Last Saturday, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.,
together with Florida Outdoor Center and Youth Guidance Mentoring and
Activities Program, created the LOVING YOUR LAGOON event in Sebastian, Florida
to bring together children and volunteers in beautiful Riverview
Park.
As in every Growing Healthy Kids event, the children participating in LOVING YOUR LAGOON received messages about the
importance of physical fitness and eating real foods. They also received a valuable lesson on environmental education by the wonderful
Kristen Beck about our responsibility as stewards and protectors of our fragile
Intracoastal Waterway, the Indian River Lagoon. Kristen spoke about the dramatic losses of sea
grass and the changes she is seeing in the water. It was great to see the kids asking lots of questions.
Kristen and husband Mike run an annual Summer
Kids Kayak Camp from Florida Outdoor Center and are on the water every day. She talked with the kids about the dramatic
declines in sea life they observed this past summer. The magnitude of these declines, their root
causes, and their economic impact have yet to be responsibly addressed by local
politicians and decision makers (note: personal opinion) but the more kids see for
themselves what is happening, the more we can engage the youth voice in
solutions to ensure we have a healthy lagoon for all to enjoy.
The high winds kept us from using individual kayaks last weekend but
did not prevent the kids from getting out on the water in what I like to call Mike’s Big
Boat. It holds about ten people and is safe even in windy conditions. For most
of these kids, last Saturday was their first time to step into a kayak or canoe. For the group of kids who saw the large dolphin jump completely out of the water about six feet off the bow of the boat, it was an experience
they will never forget! I heard the
sounds of their surprise and delight from the long dock where I stood
waiting for them to make the turn back to shore.
We capped our morning of environmental education and paddling fitness
with a bounty of fresh foods as the kids learned how to make Whole Food Pasta
Salad and Veggie Wraps. Both recipes
featured fresh greens grown here in Indian River County by Kevin O’Dare,
owner of Osceola Organics. Thank you, Kevin,
for contributing your beautiful salad mix to our LOVING YOUR LAGOON event and
for helping us in our work to educate kids and parents about the importance of eating
real foods.
It was a great morning with great kids, great learning, and
great volunteers. Wow!! Enjoy the pics!
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| First stop of LOVING YOUR LAGOON - orientation with Kristen Beck of Florida Outdoor Center |
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| Kristen Beck with kids at one of the interpretative stops |
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| Engaging the kids in active learning to erase their nature deficits. |
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| Some of the kids posing with the statute of Paul Kroegel, first protector of the birds on Pelican Island. |
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| Kristen Beck talking about the dramatic losses of sea grass |
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| Can you say, "white caps"? |
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| Kristen Beck with Haile, one of the kids at LOVING YOUR LAGOON. |
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| Greg (left) from Florida Outdoor Center helps get the kids safely back to shore. |
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| Volunteer Marcia Nesbitt enjoying the calming winds. |
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| Kids learning to make the delicious pasta salad dressing using fresh squeezed lemons. Healthy eating is so much fun when it is "all hands on deck". |
Here’s to your great health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids movement
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. is dedicated to improving the
health – and lives – of America’s children, one child and one garden at a
time. You can support our work by shopping, volunteering, and donating furniture
and goods to the Growing Healthy Kids Variety Store, 3300 43rd
Avenue, Vero Beach, FL. 32960.
