The first week, which will wrap up Thursday, is called ‘‘Building a Better World” and focuses on jobs in environmental sustainability and construction, said Valerie Graham, a recreation specialist for the county who runs the program.
The program, based at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Wheaton, features a variety of field trips. The 26 participants, ages 12 to 16 from schools throughout the county, had an in-house workshop on environmental careers Tuesday at Loiederman and also will spend today at the Wheaton-Glenmont pool.
At Hutchins’ green home, the students oohed and aahed at the creative features Hutchins integrated into his house. Many students were surprised to learn most of Hutchins’ walls were made of straw bales and mud or that Hutchins heats nearly his entire house in the winter using corn.
‘‘It’s critical that we expose youth to things so they know what to expect,” said Hutchins, whose home is a project of Helicon Works, his Washington, D.C.-based green architecture firm that builds homes around the country. ‘‘Unfortunately, a lot of kids are raised with a TV-generated, mall-generated, banal existence.”
Most of the wood used on the home is either recycled or scraps from forestation projects. There are solar panels on the roof and he has an outdoor loft that he and his wife use as a bedroom for half the year.
‘‘It’s really unique. It’s something nobody has ever seen before,” said Menaza Fernandu, who will be an eighth-grader at Argyle Middle School in the fall. ‘‘To come here to this pretty home, it’s fascinating.”
Emily McDonell, a recreation specialist for the county, said the house is a great example of teamwork and career skills, even for students who might not have an interest in environmental sustainability.
‘‘It’s clear that you could not do this by yourself,” she said. ‘‘You have to collaborate with others, communicate with people.”
Later on Monday, the same group visited Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase to learn about landscaping and construction jobs. On Tuesday, the children were scheduled for a workout on a ropes course at the University of Maryland, and on Thursday, campers will complete a service-learning project with the Anacostia Watershed Society where they will remove non-native plant life from Cherry Hill Park in College Park.
From July 14 to 18, another Career Quest camp will focus on careers in the food industry. A ‘‘Leadership Challenge” camp will run Monday to July 11 and is themed around conflict resolution. Students will visit the Alfred Noyes Children’s Center detention facility in Rockville. Five-day programs are $65 per student.
Another Leadership Challenge session will run July 21 to 25, and students will work at Holiday Park Senior Center to learn about helping the elderly.
Marie Anne Audige, a 16-year-old student from the French International School in Bethesda, is one of the camp’s older participants. She said she expects the camp to have a bigger impact on her as she nears graduation.
‘‘I’m looking to go into fashion or interior decorating, so it actually does help to see this,” she said. ‘‘Since I’ll be going to college, it helps to orientate with what you want to go into.”
