LEAF is EarthTeam's annual Leadership Environmental Action Forum training weekend set at Camp Arroyo in the Livermore hills.

"We were surrounded by teens and youth who cared and wanted to help the environment, when we stopped to look around all we could see was the beauty of nature." These are the types of things that were said by students and Green Screen members when asked to describe their first impressions of Camp Arroyo. One weekend in October students from all over they Bay came to Camp Arroyo to participate in an environmental workshop forum. It all started on a beautiful Saturday morning. The Green Screen teen crew was on the scene ready to take some pictures and video.

After checking in we headed out to check out or cabins. To my amazement the cabins like all of the other buildings were made out of reused materials. Everything about the camp was environmentally friendly from the buildings to the vegetarian compostable food. After getting settled in we headed off to sign up for the various workshops occurring throughout the day. We also attended exciting environmental workshops such as Hip Hop and the environment and composting where we learned how to build compost bins. Once it got dark the group got together to decide which of the many night activities they wanted to participate in. Some went to the campfire while others went on a nature filled night hike. The rest stayed and watched an environmental film along with clips from our very own Green Screen program! The next morning 6:45 came around and it was time for everyone to wake up. Some were still tired from the adventurous night but still managed to wake up with lots of energy. After a delicious, healthy, and "green" breakfast we all broke off into our separate workshops.

The most popular workshop of the day was definitely the ropes course. This is where students were able to participate in group bonding activities and also challenge their fears by participating in the many high jumps that the ropes course had to offer. Some of the most fun, and scary were the zip line and the 30 foot jump off a small plank. While many students were running around at the ropes course, others were busy learning all about how Hip Hop was related to the environment, and practicing their dance moves. As you can tell this camp had a multitude of workshops; it was impossible to be bored! At the end of the day nobody wanted to leave. We had all made so many new friends and learned so many new things about the environment that it was very hard to say goodbye. Even though our experiences there were short, the lessons we learned, friends we made, and memories we have will last forever. That's sustainability!