SAN ANTONIO — Every year, Green Spaces Alliance offers “Picture Your World” – a youth photography program for children from ages eight to 18 across the San Antonio area. The point is to connect children with nature by using a camera.
Kids can participate in one of the three following ways:
- by attending weekend workshops on Sundays held at local parks
- through a Title 1 elementary school (children from low-income families make up at least 40% of enrollment )
- through partnerships with other non-profit organizations
Green Spaces Alliance provides digital cameras for students to use. They also have a Texas Master Naturalist give them some pointers on what to look for.
“It's a wonderful program because every child is given a camera,” Carra Garza, program manager, said. “We teach them a little bit about composition in nature and just encourage them to go out and have that experience.”
At the Witte Museum, there are 30 winning photos on display as part of the organization’s yearly competition.
“Basically we teach nature photography. We encourage kids ages eight to 18 to get outdoors and engage with nature through the camera lens,” Garza said.
Over the years Garza has experienced several special moments in working with the young photographers as they encounter unexpected situations. Recently, one student came across a fawn and it sparked a conversation.
"It was amazing because it allowed it gave me the opportunity to discuss with him that the mother's nearby – so we're not going to touch the fawn. We're going to take a real quick photograph... and we're going to walk away," Garza said. "Every child's going to have a different experience with that and they're going to have their own interpretation of that. And we encourage that because it's all about getting them outdoors and engaging with the natural world."
Registration for the weekend workshops will open in August. To learn more, visit Green Spaces Alliance's website.