Fowler Camp & Retreat Center PO Box 131 Speculator, NY 12164 Camp Office: 518-548-6524 Main Office: 518-374-4573 Fax: 518-374-4996 campfowler@rca.org

Hope College May Term at Fowler

Since 1991, Camp Fowler has hosted students from Hope College as they spend 10 days in the Adirondacks. Dr. Steve Bouma-Prediger is their professor for this Religon Course entitled: Ecological Theology and Ethics.

The course is co-lead with staff from Camp Fowler. Kent Busman, Jenna White, Lindsay Close have all been instructors.

The course schedule is intense and Dr B-P makes sure students understand the importance of their studies.The course has three components.

First, before the wilderness trip students meet together on Hope's campus and discuss certain readings.

Then, there is the 11 days together hiking, canoeing, and camping in some of the most scenic and rugged county in the eastern United States. The group travels by canoe (or "guideboat") through the heart of the Adirondacks moving from Long Lake and the Raquette River overland into the Saranac Lakes. We stop here long enough to spend an entire day in solo: reflecting on experiences and learnings.

The group leaves their boats behind after carrying off Middle Saranac and then hike either in the West Canada or the Siamese Ponds Wilderness areas. Here the group puts its low impact camping skills to the test and learn how to thrive in the wilderness.

Once the group returns to Fowler, the reflection part of the trip begins in earnest. What have we learned? What changes might these learnings evoke in our lives? How has our image of God and what God calls us to been altered by this time in God's world of wonders?

The group travels back to Holland to finish these reflections in their term papers. But for most, the reflections have just started as they continue to ponder how we are to live in God's world.