CHICAGO — Jennifer Roscoe's idea of camping takes place deep in the African bush with Maasai warriors patrolling the perimeter for wild animals.
Roscoe, a computer science teacher at Lane Tech, takes Chicago high school students into the wilderness as part of the Urban-Eco nonprofit she helped found in 2012. She's about to start recruiting students from all over the city for a trip to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda next summer. After students apply, Roscoe and others conduct fundraisers throughout the school year to help pay for the trip.
"You can change kids' lives through these kind of experiences," said Roscoe, of Lakeview.
Roscoe created Urban-Eco with her sister, Megan, a teacher in Ohio, and Cicero-based teacher Lindsey Hagen in 2012 as way to introduce students to conservation in local and international communities.
Urban-Eco has clubs at Lane Tech, Perspectives Charter Schools in Auburn Gresham and two other noncity schools. In Chicago, the students participate in monthly activities like park cleanup, making toys for shelters or serving food at a pantry.
"I like being part of Urban-Eco as it is a unique program that allows for urban students to take on ecology in their own neighborhoods yet expand their horizon of opportunity to take on a bigger picture," said Marcos Cervantes, a Lane Tech senior, Back of the Yards resident and president of the Lane Urban-Eco club. "Being part of Urban-Eco has made me become more aware of my surroundings and become more interested in conserving ecology."
Roscoe organized a trip to Kenya in 2014, where seven students visited African national parks and schools, camping at several sites. At some of them, Maasai warriors — known for their ability to hunt lions — kept guard while the kids slept inside perimeter fences.
"You can hear the wild animals," Roscoe said. "The first night is a little bit unnerving for some of the students."
Roscoe said up to 21 students will be able to attend next year's African trip. Some of the travelers will come from Lane, where students in the Urban-Eco club are already working on ideas like irrigation systems and hand-crank flashlights they can discuss with the students in Africa.
"When students become involved in this, you see them really starting to give back," Roscoe said.
For more information on applying for the African trip, click here.
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