Students Taylor Coites, Salisher Charles, Kareem Casimer, Jolena Dukes and Sheniece Fontenelle (pictured from left) at VISFI.

Six of St. Croix's youth-mentoring programs came together Wednesday for a field day of workshops grounded in nature and culture at Creque Dam Farm at the V.I. Sustainable Farming Institute (VISFI).
All this month, the institute is hosting its Youth Empowerment Summer Camp (YESCamp), a summer day-camp program designed to engage campers with organic farming, nature connecting, cultural mentoring, and creative-skills building. Crucian History and Nature Tourism (C.H.A.N.T.) co-sponsored the camp and has raised the funding to date for students attending.
Throughout the month, groups of kids from other summer camps come and spend a day or part of a day at VISFI and participate in crafts, farming activities, making music and art and other activities as part of its Natural Mentors youth programs.

Wednesday was an unusually busy day, with students from the Department of Labor job-mentoring program, the Department of Education mentoring program, the Department of Tourism's shadow mentoring program, and V.I. Waste Management's Youth Environmental Summer Camp.
Over 50 youth shared skills and experiences from their summer programs, in a cross-program exchange meant to broaden the exposure of youth to empowering activities.
Organic farming was the centerpiece of the event, with workshops on composting, planting and what it means to be organic. But there was also percussion music, arts and crafts, and activities—from making stone tools to kneading locally sourced clay for pottery. Alongside the activities, instructors mixed in talk of what it means to be a mentor, how to choose mentors and how to be a mentor. Often the instructors were students themselves who had just mastered the new crafts.

VISFI's Nate Olive says the camp is trying to make youngsters think about the mentors in their life.

"We are trying to teach them to ask: who are the mentors in your life, where to look for them; and also we are exposing them to some important culture bearers in the community," said Nate Olive of VISFI. "A few days ago herbalist Veronica Gordon came and taught."
Clearly having fun, the kids laughed and joked during the activities, even as they learned new things.
"The most interesting thing today was seeing them make fire," said Rokeya Connor, a student at The Manor School.
VISFI promotes sustainability through growing food locally and organically, recycling and alternative energy. VISFI's Natural Mentors program was honored in February 2010 by the National Geographic Society as one of the top 10 innovative programs in the world.
For more information about YEScamp and the mentoring program, call 719-5455.