Arizona's desert and Mexico's Sea of Cortez served as giant environmental science classrooms for four Wisconsin high school students as they took part in the Laurel Clark high school Earth Camp. From harvesting the fruit of giant saguaro cacti to snorkeling amidst starfish and sting rays, these students - two of which live in Racine - took part in a wide range of learning experiences during their 10 summer days at the residential camp, all of which were designed to help them appreciate how science can be used to help us make better choices in our rapidly changing world.

"I met such nice people and we did so much," said Nicole Jamieson, now a sophomore at Horlick High School. "It was a once or twice in a lifetime opportunity and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to have it."

Jamieson, 15, is one of two Horlick students who attended last summer's camp, the other being Reyna Guzman.

Conceived by former Racine resident Marge Brown to honor the legacy of her daughter - Columbia space shuttle astronaut Laurel Salton Clark - the annual summer Earth Camp is run by a partnership between the University of Arizona's College of Science and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It's goals of creating a sense of wonder about ecosystems, expanding awareness of the interdependency of all living things and opening young people's eyes to an awe-inspiring universal perspective, are all things that Clark, who died when the Columbia exploded in 2003, appreciated, according to Brown.

They are also things that Max Zuhlke, now a freshman at Kenosha's Tremper High School, has come to appreciate through his experiences at Earth Camp. In addition to their explorations of the Sea of Cortez, Zuhlke and his fellow campers (14 total) visited a large landfill and recycling center; the Biosphere 2 ecosystem research center; shrimp and oyster farms; a food bank and a farmers market, just to name a few of their learning locations in Arizona.

"We learned a lot about where our food comes from and what goes into the food we eat," Zuhlke said. "Now I am a little more concerned about where my food comes from and I try to avoid things that aren't healthy."

"Going to the recycling plant and the landfill has made me be more conscious of how much energy I use each day," Jamieson said.

The campers also climbed Mt. Lemmon, which Zuhlke described as an "island in the middle of the desert" where the agriculture at the summit is more like Wisconsin's, while the base of the mountain has a desert climate.

"We got to see the changes between the different climate zones as we climbed and we also learned about invasive species while we were there," said Hannah Miner, a freshman at Brookfield East High School, who attended the summer camp.

Some of the campers' favorite memories, however, revolve around the time they spent in Mexico.

"Definitely the snorkeling," said Jamieson. "And sleeping outside on the Bay of Cortez. The sky was so much clearer than it is here. I spent a lot of time that night just looking out over the water."

"And then we'd get up and go snorkeling each morning at 7 a.m.," Miner said. "The best part, though, was when we took a boat to a deserted island in Mexico and camped out there on the beach."

Campers also talked of the fringe benefits of Earth Camp, which include the friendships they made and the chance to branch out on their own for a while.

"We learned so much about each other and became such good friends," Jamieson said. "It felt like we had known each other for more than just 10 days."

"It was also a good life skills experience where we learned to work with other people our own age to solve problems," Zuhlke said.

The students' parents were also pleased with what their children learned at Earth Camp.

Miner's mother, Susan Gusho of Elm Grove, said that she especially appreciates the fact that the campers gained practical knowledge for making a difference in the world they live in, by learning what needs to be done in order for the world to survive.

"It made it more real for her and I can't think of a better way to teach that," said Gusho, who grew up in the same Racine neighborhood as Clark. "I think it is a fantastic legacy that Marge has created for her daughter."

Before leaving Earth Camp, participants took part in a closing ceremony where they were named Guardians of the Earth. Each one pledged to take their new knowledge and appreciation of the environment home with them and implement something they learned at camp into their lives with family and classmates.

Zuhlke and Miner, for example, vowed to build compost piles in their yards in an effort to reduce landfill waste and improve soil conditions. And Jamieson said she would try to start a well-supervised recycling program for her school. Each has given thought to their projects since returning home and some have already taken action.

Other things the Zuhlke family - who built their vacation around driving Max out to camp - have done in response to Max's experiences at camp include no longer buying bottled water and being more conscious of the electricity used simply by having an appliance plugged into an outlet (even when turned off).

"A lot of the things we were doing already, like recycling, are great," said Max. "But if we don't need to buy it in the first place, we won't need to recycle it."

This summer, the high school Earth Camp will include a rafting trip on a 96-mile section of the Green River in Utah (see box for details). Miner says she is hoping to go back for another round.

"It was an amazing experience I wouldn't trade for anything," she said.

Want to go to this year's camp?

This summer's Laurel Clark Earth Camp for high school students (entering grades nine through 11), will run from July 8-18 and will feature a five-day rafting trip down the Green River's Desolation Canyon in Central Utah. Participants will also spend time at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the University of Arizona, where they will work together in small groups exploring global changes in climate, water and landscapes, as well as how such changes impact sustainability issues. Cost for the residential camp is $1,500 (academic merit and financial aid scholarships are available).

The deadline for applications is April 10. Earth Camp also offers a two week middle school experience, but it is a day camp. For more about Earth Camp, call (520) 883-3083, or go to:

http://www.desertmuseum.org/earthcamp