ONE Community: Pam Benjamin, by april Thanhauser
When I asked ONE member, Pam Benjamin, how she finds her personal connection with Nature, she told me, “I take walks in nature, every day: sun, rain, snow, wind or storm and I try to develop that connection. I meditate every day, read spiritual literature, and try to feel close to the Universal Spirit. I truly believe in the teaching that ‘There is nothing but Love.’ Love is everything.” Walking with these beliefs, she says, “You sense that there is no separation between people, between people and animals and all of the world. When you know that the universe is divine intelligence, limitations fall away; when you align with that intelligence, you sense that nothing can harm you. “
For the last 30 years, Pam has run a program called “Sense of Wonder Creations” www.senseofwondercreations.org from her home on Martha’s Vineyard. Children from age 7-12 can attend week-long day camp sessions in the summer and art classes during the winter months in her studio. Often when children “graduate” from this program they return to become Leaders in Training, Junior, then Senior counselors. One way to characterize the camp programs might be to say that they blend creative arts with caring for the environment and appreciation of ethnic diversity.
I asked Pam about the specific ways she involves children in making their own connections with nature. She begins, she told me, with the garden. Getting children to use all their senses and to observe keenly. They dig and plant seeds and watch them grow—organic vegetables and flowers to attract pollinators. They might each paint their own flowerpot and plant seeds in it to nurture at home. They sit in the garden and draw and paint, observing the details of the plants and all the creatures which visit them.
The skills of observation are also important in the next theme of the camp’s program, which is wilderness exploration. Pam invites wilderness experts to come share their knowledge with the children. They may learn to track animals, and to light a fire without a match. They talk about bird language and they observe the local birds. These nature observations include forest walks and time by the ocean, as the camp is only a short walk to a north shore beach.
In the forest and yard, some children create fairy or gnome houses. In the yard and garden budding herbalists may create “potions.” In the studio they may make little scenes of habitats nestled in shoe boxes. Essential are the group gathering times, when children sit in a circle and speak out loud of their gratitude for elements of nature.obse Another kind of gathering might involve composing songs to Nature. Pam invites local singer-songwriters to help the children bring their ideas into lyrics and melody.
The art studio and the yard are central to the camp experience: children paint, draw, model with clay, paint murals, write plays, compose songs, create puppet shows, fabricate masks, paper mache creatures and animated stop motion films. Every Friday afternoon there is either a performance by the children and or a special guest speaker, and the public is always invited. All the art flows from the children being engaged and inspired, guided by themes of nature connection and appreciation of varying cultures.
Inspiring adults are often invited in to speak with the children and guide them in activities. Members of Martha’s Vineyard’s Wampanoag tribe, science writers, nature artists, fossil hunters, puppeteers, humanitarians, guests from different countries have made appearances, as well as representatives from a group of 5th and 6th graders called “Plastic Free Martha’s Vineyard,” who brought to their local town meetings resolutions to ban the sale of plastic bottles 34 oz and less. These resolutions, well researched by the children, were passed in three island towns—creating the first bylaws of this kind in the country.
Pam wants young people to feel confident and empowered, ”to use their skills to build a better world and to care about their world.” When the camp comes together in group circle times, she will begin by asking children to introduce themselves sharing something special about themselves and by telling what their “cause” is. This gets them to think big—and then she helps them find ways to work toward their cause. This could be anything from writing to a congress person, to making an animated film, writing a play or composing a song.
A traditional group project is the building of larger-than-life sculptures of animals, from paper mache and plaster gauze, such as an osprey with a 5 foot wingspan. When complete, these may become parts of art installations, together with murals, in public places like the town library or the hospital. Or the animal sculptures may become the prize for a raffle to benefit organizations working for endangered animals.
Sense of Wonder Creations also does fundraising for aid to Haiti, where Pam and her husband have sailed with boat-loads of sails, tools, fishing gear, musical instruments, and art supplies to help in rebuilding areas devastated by hurricanes and poverty. They have been instrumental in setting up music and art programs at a community center. And establishing a Community Garden that helps to feed the local people.
When I asked Pam how she manages to keep all these creative and life-enhancing projects going, she answered, “I have a lot of help from the Universe.”
Pam’s suggestions for books for older children and teens:
Alexandra Styron: Steal this Country A Handbook for Resistance, Persistence and Fixing Almost Everything (practical ways for young people to get involved and change things)
Peter Stone: Waltzes with Giants: The Twilight Journey of the North Atlantic Right Whale
The Untouchable Tree: An Illustrated Guide to Earthly Wisdom and Arboreal Delights
Dreams to Dance in Moonlight: Ways of Seeing Feeling and Imagining (nature writing and art, especially for young people)
Kim Ridley: The Secret Pool (about exploring vernal pools)
Extreme Survivors: Animals that Time Forgot
