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Camp Stevens of Julian, California
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Camp Stevens is a lush Episcopal retreat center nestled in the mountains north of San Diego. Despite the thousands of annual visitors received by the center, the staff has been able to incorporate innovative and sustainable practices into the daily life as a model for their guests and as a way to protect the environment. Director Peter Bergstrom says that their commendable work is inspired by the mission “to help people live more lovingly with others, God and Godís creation.”
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The camp initiated its work with a “permaculture master plan for environmental stewardship.” Supporters of Camp Stevens have been involved since the beginning, with task forces initially researching different sustainability options. A prioritized list was created afterwards and it was expected that the money saved from the early retrofits could be used for future options. Furthermore, people wanted to be able to educate visitors and encourage them to make similar changes in their homes and communities. The campís environmental stewardship covers several areas, including energy efficiency, organic gardening, green building design and recycling. These sustainable practices have significantly reduced their energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and saved them money.
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Camp Stevens started off with simple but effective energy saving measures such as replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones and converting from T-12 fluorescent tubes to more efficient T-8 ones. Several of the buildings have solar water heaters and the camp intends to put more up in the future. A photovoltaic system was put on the roof of shade structure next to their swimming pool. The camp created an innovative way to incorporate solar panels as part of a new structure situated in the center of the camp for the educational benefit of all visitors. The solar panels also cut Camp Stevensí utility bill by over $1,000 annually! And, some of this money was used towards their extensive recycling program.
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| Camp Stevens also wanted to cut their waste and recycle. Unfortunately, recycling is not a free service in Julian. So, they started recycling some materials and were able to add additional items through the money saved by recycling. The recycling cut their waste stream from 2 dumpsters a week to only half a dumpster and ended up saving them a lot of money that was used towards expanding their recycling and other programs.
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The camp also focused on growing environmentally friendly, sustainable produce. Agricultural pesticides often are made with fossil fuels. In addition, the transportation of food throughout the country accounts for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The typical American meal is transported more than 12,000 miles. Thus, the camp serves locally grown, organic food whenever possible. They also have a composting operation for their kitchen scraps which reduces their waste and creates healthy soil for their use. He said many of these young visitors have set up compost piles at their homes after visiting Camp Stevens. Furthermore, they have created a large garden to grow much of their produce and also educate children about farming practices. According to Peter Bergstrom, this garden education teaches kids about their “responsibilities to nature and the role of humans in the stewardship of nature, and what they can do differently in their own homes.”
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| Another prime area that Camp Stevens has become environmentally conscious is building design. Some retrofits include skylights, passive solar heating and insulation. They can also proudly show off their “cob” tool shed, made out of clay, sand and straw, topped off with a living roof. The camp intends to build a straw-bale building in the future. Although these are not traditional building materials, they are inexpensive, environmentally friendly, energy efficient, sturdy and long-lasting.
Camp Stevensí dedication to environmental stewardship demonstrates that simple changes do make a difference and can lead to more ambitious projects.
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| Their commitment to educating young people about their connection to the earth and how to protect it is an invaluable resource that leads to changes in homes and communities. Thank you, Camp Stevens, for your leadership!
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