Camp Heritage Brings Grandparents, Grandchildren, and Community Together

For five memorable mornings, grandparents and grandchildren stepped beyond the classroom and into the living history of Green Cove Springs. Camp Heritage gave families an opportunity to explore how a community remembers its past, provides services in the present, and plans for its future.

The camp was organized by the Village Improvement Society and the Green Cove Springs Preservation Society as a prototype for an expanded heritage camp next year. Because this was the first year, participation was intentionally limited. The smaller group allowed organizers to observe each activity carefully, measure camper engagement, and determine how the program can grow while maintaining its hands on, personal approach.

From the first courthouse visit to the completion of Box City, the campers were curious, attentive, and eager to participate. They asked questions, examined maps and buildings, met community leaders, completed challenges, shared ideas, and developed a deeper understanding of their hometown.

Day One: How a County Works

Camp Heritage began at the Clay County Courthouse, where campers learned how county government serves the community.

Mary Justino led the courthouse tour and introduced campers to the people and offices involved in local government. County Judge Hector Bustos spoke with the group about the responsibilities of a judge and the importance of laws, fairness, and public service.

Campers explored a large magnetic map of Clay County and learned how communities, roads, waterways, and public facilities are connected. They also discovered the stories behind familiar street names and began to understand that even an ordinary street sign can preserve part of a community’s history.

This first day established an important lesson that continued throughout the week: a community works because many people accept responsibility for serving others.

Day Two: Seeing Our Town

On the second day, campers became architectural explorers during a walking tour through the historic Walnut Street and Magnolia Avenue neighborhoods.

They learned to look carefully at the shapes, materials, porches, roofs, windows, and decorative details of buildings. Along the way, they identified architectural styles including Queen Anne, Florida Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Craftsman, Modern, and Carpenter Gothic.

Campers were welcomed into two historic homes and a local business, giving them an opportunity to experience historic buildings from the inside. These generous property owners helped the children understand that preservation is not simply about admiring an old building. It is about caring for a place, finding new uses for it, and passing its story to future generations.

The campers also discussed how Green Cove Springs developed and why neighborhoods look the way they do. Inspired by their discoveries, the group selected the name “Cove Springs” for the city they would build at the end of the week.

Day Three: Places That Serve the Community

Day Three focused on the people, departments, and public facilities that keep a city operating.

At Green Cove Springs City Hall, campers learned about the roles of the mayor, vice mayor, City Council, city clerk, city attorney, city manager, and assistant city manager. They discovered that running a city requires elected leaders, trained employees, careful planning, and cooperation between many departments.

The campers then visited the Water Treatment Plant, Public Works, and the Green Cove Springs Police Department. These visits helped them see the essential work that often happens quietly behind the scenes.

Clean water, safe streets, maintained roads, public spaces, and emergency services do not simply appear. They are provided by dedicated community employees whose daily work affects every resident.

Day Four: Remembering Our Stories

The fourth day introduced campers to the people and places that preserve Clay County’s history.

At the Clay County Historical Museum complex, they explored the museum, Old Courthouse, Old Jail, and historic caboose. Each building helped tell a different part of the county’s story, from government and justice to transportation and everyday life.

At the Green Cove Springs Library, the Friends of the Library helped make a special scavenger hunt possible. Campers searched for information, followed clues, and learned how libraries preserve stories while also helping people discover new ideas.

At the conclusion of the day, each participant received a Young Historian certificate recognizing their curiosity, effort, and growing knowledge of local history.

Day Five: Building Box City

The final day brought together everything the campers had learned.

The morning began with thank you notes to the people who had welcomed the group, led tours, shared information, opened buildings, and helped make the camp possible. This activity reminded campers that strong communities are built through gratitude as well as service.

Each camper then received four boxes to transform into buildings. They created a public building, a commercial building, an industrial building, and a dream house.

Before placing the buildings, campers learned about zoning and land use. They discussed why factories should not be located beside houses, why public buildings need to be accessible, why businesses depend on roads and customers, and why parks, schools, libraries, police stations, utilities, and transportation are all necessary.

The Box City process is designed to teach teamwork, critical thinking, decision making, creativity, citizenship, and the relationship between buildings, people, and the natural environment.

Campers selected locations for their buildings on a street grid and explained why each site was appropriate. The group then evaluated the city together. They considered whether the locations worked, whether important services were missing, and how the placement of one building affected the rest of the community.

Their completed city looked surprisingly similar to Green Cove Springs. It included homes, businesses, public services, industry, transportation, and gathering places. More importantly, it reflected the campers’ understanding that a city is not merely a collection of buildings. It is a shared community that must serve many different people.

The completed Box City is on display at Green Cove Springs City Hall, where residents can see the imagination, cooperation, and civic understanding demonstrated by the campers.

A Community Effort

Camp Heritage succeeded because many organizations and individuals shared their knowledge, facilities, time, and enthusiasm.

Special appreciation goes to the Village Improvement Society and the Green Cove Springs Preservation Society for organizing the first Camp Heritage. Additional support came from the Clay County Historical Society, the Clay County Clerk of Courts, the City of Green Cove Springs, the VIA Arts and Culture Committee, and the Friends of the Green Cove Springs Library.

The camp was also strengthened by Judge Hector Bustos, Mary Justino, city officials, city employees, police officers, museum and library volunteers, historic property owners, business owners, grandparents, and the many people who welcomed the campers throughout the week.

Each person helped demonstrate an important truth: heritage is not preserved by one organization alone. It is protected when an entire community recognizes the value of its stories and shares them with the next generation.

Looking Toward Next Year

This first Camp Heritage was created as a prototype for future programs. The strong engagement of the campers confirmed the value of combining family participation, community visits, local history, architecture, government, preservation, and creative problem solving.

The grandparents contributed memories, encouragement, and life experience. The grandchildren brought energy, imagination, and questions. Together, they learned not only how Green Cove Springs developed, but also how they can help shape its future.

The results could be seen in the campers’ confidence, their thoughtful questions, their willingness to speak before the group, and the care they used in building and planning Box City.

Camp Heritage proved that when a community opens its doors to young people, history becomes more than something found in a book. It becomes a courthouse to explore, a street to study, a story to preserve, a city to build, and a responsibility to carry forward.