Hanging out at Newton South High iSchool during the month of July is a summer program which manages to escape the ranks of boring day camps around the New England area. The Environmental Science Program, or "E.S.P." as it's called by its fans, caters to kids who have finished the 6th to the 9th grades and are looking for something exciting and interesting to do during the summer. E.S.P. is a student-run program which tries to educate kids about the environment through fun and hands-on experiences. When I first went two years ago, I found myself hiking around parts of Newton I never knew existed, mucking around in the salt marshes and tide pools of Kittery, Maine, canoeing the Charles, hiking up mountains, and biking to places like Walden Pond. Meanwhile, I was finding out a lot of really interesting things like how we affect our environment, how to make a great snack out of some of the plants in my backyard, and how to actually use a map to find my way around the 6,288 foot high rock pile commonly called Mt. Washington.

I met a lot of great people that summer, and had a terrific time. I would definitely recommend the Environmental Science Program to anyone the right age who's looking for something to do this July. Anyone interested about the program should call the Student Director, Leea, at 527-2763. n