CarbonFeet

Our country and the world for that matter needs leaders more than ever before. It’s time for kids and young adults to get trained in leadership. Overnight Summer Camps tend to create children to be flexible problem solvers as well as learn to live with folks that are different. Summer Camps have long been known for their ability to promote skills that are life long. Included in these are: responsibility, independence, cooperation and teamwork, along with a willingness to try new things.

Since 1996 we as the camp directors of Swift Nature Camp have intentionally been using our camps resources to promote positive personal growth and development . Our goal is to measure how campers and staff grow and developing as individuals during their stay at summer camp.

It is our work with campers and staff that ensures that they not only keep the children safe but they need to encourage and assist campers in their own personal development and growth. Every day we meet with staff to check in and see how each camper is doing with meeting their parents directives as well as meeting the camps goals. We envision ourselves as a part of the family in raising the children of our campers.

For our older teens we give them an opportunity to guide campers as well. This counselor in training program is designed to help older teen engage in leadership and decision-making within their camp groups and for the camp as a whole. Daily they have classes that teach leadership skills as well as child development. Then they get to get out and give it a whack and see it really works for them. For some of these teen they just want a continuation of their own camp days but for others they see how this will benefit them in the real world and help them become better leaders in the future.

Being a leader at camp means putting the needs of others before one’s needs is often a significant skill for teenagers. Staff young and old realize the importance of being physically and emotionally present for campers and enthusiastically participating in all activities. It is so important to motivating and encouraging the children to try new things and achieve their own goals.

Camps provide an opportunity to be role models and mentors to younger children. This is not only true for those staff members but also for campers. For many, this is the first time that they realize the natural power they have over others. They learn skills for group management and gaining respect and for teaching children new skills and encouraging them to try new things.

Overnight Summer Camp provides a great time to be outside and playing but it is also a wonderful chance for campers, and staff to increase their own personal growth and development.

To learn more about selecting a Summer Camp visit summer camp advice a free website with loads of camp information.

About the authors: Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz are the directors of Swift Nature Camp is a non-competitive, Minnesota Summer Camp that offers a traditional camp programs for Boy and Girls. Campers enjoy Teen Adventure Camp trips along with in camp activities like Scuba, Sailing, Skiing and more.

Sustainability is a serious issue, not a fad that can be taken lightly, and it cannot be achieved by lip service alone. Affordability and implement ability are key factors, not the least because without these it would all be only preaching and not practice, which is why real sustainability has a social responsibility component to it. In our industry of swimming pool design and construction, the established practices are so deeply embedded that sustainability will require change at grass root level: the way we think about designing and running pools. Little tweaks or fine tuning won’t cut it, although trying to run existing facilities in a better way certainly would. Truly sustainable practices will require more than the perceived notion of selecting green materials, it will require more labour inputs than do the “efficient” industrial practices we’re now used to and there will naturally be issues of scale.

Our company design and install deluxe indoor and outdoor swimming pools in Central and Greater London areas. This is a mix of architecture and construction and for us sustainability means meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. We try to achieve sustainability by designing swimming pools that use less virgin or recyclable material, less energy, cause less pollution and less waste while offering benefits that match or exceed the traditional construction methods.The foundation for the whole process lies in balancing design, installation, environmental and operational considerations. Swimming pool projects are monitored and evaluated through the life cycle as they progress through the various stages from initial concept to commissioning and use by the swimmers. There are three main stakeholders in our industry and we would like to put forward our opinion on how each one individually influences and would continue to influence sustainability.

Leading manufacturers of pool equipment like Certikin and Calorex, who in our opinion also happen to be more environmentally conscious than others, are enviously placed in this sustainability chain. They can, and increasingly do, improve sustainability in two ways: They develop products that use recycled or recyclable plastics and other materials like stainless steel, so the initial input is more sustainability oriented. They also design the products like air to air and ground source heat pumps that use less energy during their life cycle and last longer than conventional pool heaters produce less wastage at the end of it.These practices are set to be become the norm across the pool industry, especially the tiles and finishes manufacturers who are now offering natural materials like slate and granite to finish an increasing number of modern swimming pools.We as the designers and installers have the opportunity to educate the end user about the advantages and considerations of sustainability for their pool. We can advise them on energy saving heaters and pool covers that not only reduce running costs but also reduce carbon footprint of their premises.We are also moving towards using sustainable materials like concrete and stainless steel to build the pools. Use of concrete can offer significant sustainability benefits in the life cycle of pools and associated structures. Its thermal mass is highly efficient in reducing the energy needed to heat buildings, and it also allows a high level of air tightness. Concrete is highly durable and so needs minimal maintenance and can thus reduce whole life costs. Long life of the material also means that concrete structures are appropriate for change of use, although that is usually not the case with swimming pools.

End Users (Swimmers and Spectators) End users have tremendous influencing power on the overall sustainability of swimming pools, let me explain how. Traditionally the pools have been heated to around 28c, but better heating systems have allowed the temperatures that people keep their pool to creep up to 36c. If you heat your pool to a significantly higher temperature, not only you have to use more energy and bear subsequent heat loss, but algae and bacteria can cause problems unless you increase the chlorine levels significantly. This leads to use of more chemicals as well. If the end users can be educated to keep the pool at or below 28c, not only energy and chemical consumption is reduced, but the water loss due to evaporation can also be cut down. Since water supplies are running low throughout the world, it would also help if more people used pool covers to reduce evaporation and conserve water. Use of pool covers is an important consideration; pool covers reduce the amount of make-up water needed by 30 to 50 percent and reduce chemical consumption by 35 to 60 percent. Reflective pool covers can also be used to reduce the amount of light reflected by the average pool, and in cold countries, dark pool covers are useful in reducing heating costs (as they absorb heat from sunlight) End users can improve sustainability in the following ways: Install a pool cover, as much as 70 percent of a pool’s heat loss is caused by evaporation. Reduce pool’s water temperature and the number of months to heat the pool. Keep the pool’s cleaning and heating equipment clean and lubricated. Well maintained equipment is more efficient and will last longer before it needs to be replaced. Use a time switch to operate the pool filter and sweeper operations to off-peak hours. Install a water-saving cartridge pool filter. One backwash with a traditional filter uses 3000 to 5000 liters of water. Shorten the operating time for swimming pool filter and use and automatic cleaner. g) Create a windbreak around the pool with fence, plants and shrubs. This wind break will prevent breezes from reaching the pool and keep air from sucking away moisture. Really sustainable practices have a lot to go further, there are lot more changes that can be done to save water, reduce chemicals, and minimise energy consumption. Salt water pools are one option – they have slightly lower evaporation rates and use fewer chemicals than other pools.

To finish and summarise, we think that interest and investment in the development sustainable practices will continue to rise, and given a little push by government incentives and right attitude to fulfill CSR, the pool industry will emerge much cleaner and greener.

What you need to know about Sustainable Pool Design What you need to know about Sustainable Pool Design

So, here you are then, in your new house! Its a bit of a mess though because the previous owner was in a rush to sell and had been in the middle of redecorating. But, you don’t really mind that though, since it gives you the perfect chance to do your house up exactly the way you want it.

But now you need to decide where everything goes and what colours will suit your rooms, but you still don’t have any wall painting ideas.

So, you eagerly look through your new keys and wander through your new home. The minute you step in through a door ideas hit you. That huge vase you bought last year ago would look fantastic in the corner, and you’re pretty sure that your existing couch set will fit in that other room. And you know that an antique mirror table would look stunning in the hallway. The only thing you really get hung up on though are wall painting ideas.

You don’t want to just dab on a coat of neutral coloured paint and be done with it. What you want is a masterpiece, something that you can look at with pride every time you see it. Naturally, you should be able to keep looking at it with pleasure for some time to come as well, so it shouldn’t be too domineering.

But where can you get decent wall painting ideas from, and how do you go about getting the wall painting actually done? There are a few ways to go about this, the easiest of which being if you have an artistic streak, so that you could get your wall painting ideas off the cuff, so to speak and paint the walls as you see fit. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t too artistic and we are loathe to pick up a brush or roller and apply the first coat of paint without supervision. In this scenario then, you will need some assistance.

You could start off by hiring a professional decorator to help you to decide what would look suit your home or you could sit down and watch some DIY TV programs, in which they show some pretty good ideas on what to do when re-decorating a house and will even give you some stylish wall painting ideas.

If neither of these options is suitable for you, you might just try going down to your local DIY shop with fabric swatches and colour sheets of your most prominent pieces of furniture and seek their assistance on stylish wall decorating ideas.

You may come up with a hodge-podge of wall painting ideas with this last idea, but I found that it was the one that worked best for me and now I’m very proud of my slightly quirky house. It reflects who I am just perfectly.

If you are looking for stylish ideas on Stylish Home Decor, then you really must visit our website for more free ideas on Interior Design Ideas and more.