By Charlie Deitz
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-909054.mp3
Peru, MA – Peru, Massachusetts is a Berkshire County hill town of about 800 residents that boasts the highest altitude in the Commonwealth. Peru is also home to the base camp for the Eagle Eye institute, a non-profit organization that actively connects inner city youths with natural environments. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Charlie Deitz reports on the group that recently celebrated their 20th anniversary
About a mile out of Peru's town center sits the Eagle Eye Institute's 200 acre reserve, the organization's flagship property that they use to train ecologists, conservationists and forest stewards on how to work with urban youths and get them to make a connection with the natural landscape. Once you enter the property, it's another mile down a dirt and gravel road to the hub, or what's called the eagle's nest. Eagle eye founders, and husband and wife couple, Maja Kietzke and Anthony Sanchez also call this home for the summer. Sanchez gives a little tour as we make our way down the trail "We have our gardens,our solar array,fruit trees down below".
Sanchez explains that he grew up in New York City, and was sent to live in upstate New York as a teen. He the went on to Hampshire College, where he says he had a vision while meditating one day, the vision was of an eagle that told him to found this organization, and after meeting Maja Kietzke, they both set to it "To really give urban young people the opportunity to access and engage with the environment".
The group functions by connecting youth organizations with conservation agencies, for example the program called youth build that works in cities like New Bedford, Fall River and Brockton which connects high school drop outs with job opportunities. Eagle Eye matched them up with The Trustees of Reservation to help cultivate the next generation of inner city conservationists. Linton Harrington is the South Coast Outreach and Education Coordinator with The Trustees, he says the one day training orchestrated by Eagle Eye has cultivated gainful employment for dozens of youths, "Part of the program is the opportunity to apply for summer jobs, we hire seasonal staff to take care of our properties".
The trustees wanted to diversify their clientele and eagle eye made it happen. But once that program was viable, eagle eye stepped aside, here's Maja Kietzke speaking near their camping area "Cause we're about really empowering and training others".
The husband and wife founders are careful to allow the experts to do what they know best and to serve as coordinators or bridges to the opportunities for young people. They both agree that the most important aspect of the nature retreats to any of the groups programs through out the state, is that young people get that once in a life time experience that connects them to the natural world "A lot of times it's the stewardship project,seeing something crawling,a young person gets a chance to have lunch with a naturalist."