Urban Land Scout Camp at Beardsley Farm

We propose to host a free day camp at CAC Beardsley Community Farm that will educate and engage young people in Knox County with concrete examples of urban stewardship and physical health through acts of gardening and design-literacy. We hope to teach our campers the indelible skills and information that will help them be good stewards of the land where they live and to become leaders in modeling and promoting the health of their own communities. All campers will participate in the daily chores of Beardsley Farm in addition to working through levels one through five of the Urban Land Scouts. We plan to serve every camper breakfast, snack, and lunch daily. We expect our campers to observe, reflect, participate, and celebrate the natural world as we find it in our urban environment and to engage critically in a design practice of investigation, iteration, and refinement.

Who Benefits?

This project serves our community in two ways. Primarily, the program promotes education equity, good health, and extra curricular experiences for under-served youth in Knox County. Secondly, the campers themselves help support the work of CAC Beardsley Community Farm, a non-profit urban demonstration farm that donates 100% of its produce to area food kitchens, women’s shelters, and volunteers. In helping Beardsley Farm during the height of the harvest, campers contribute to the improved food access of Knoxville’s marginalized communities and through service learn concrete ways to improve the health of their communities.

Who are our campers?

Our target population will be rising fifth, sixth, and seventh graders in nearby Knox County schools in which at least 70% of the student body qualifies for free and reduced lunch. The elementary and middle schools closest to Beardsley Farm which meet this qualification are:

West View, Maynard, Sarah Moore Greene, Christenberry, Inskip, Beaumont Magnet, and Lonsdale Elementary Schools,  and the following Middle Schools: Vine, Gresham, Holston, Carter, and South Doyle. We will recruit our campers through recommendations from Knox County upper elementary and middle school teachers and administrators and by contacting grandparents, parents, and community leaders. We will maintain a small camper to staff ratio (ideally 5:1, but no more than 7:1)  in order to insure that each camper gets individualized attention. Our instructors will lead campers in hands-on activities, service, and reflection. We will follow the Urban Land Scouts model of activities to engage campers in acts of urban stewardship.

Community Partners

This project is made possible by the partnership of the Schools of Influence Education Foundation and Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee. Additional support comes from the Tomato Head (providing lunches), Cruze Farm Dairy CAC and Knox County Schools (providing breakfast and snack through the Summer Feeding Program), and Community Television of Knoxville (providing flip cameras for campers to use).