The Rachel Carson Intergenerational Sense of Wonder/Wild Contest

by Barbara Yoffee, M.S.ED, advisor at the Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance, Sense of Wonder/Wild Contest

The real wealth of the nation lies in the resources of the earth: soil, water, forests, minerals and wildlife. To utilize them for future generations requires a delicately balanced and continuing program based on the most extensive research.

Those words ring as true today as they did when Rachel Carson wrote them in a 1953 Washington Post Letter to the Editor.

The marine biologist and conservationist took any opportunity to teach all ages about the wonder and beauty of the living world.

In her book, The Sense of Wonder, she wrote that the greatest gift to a child is “a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” However, to keep that inborn sense of wonder alive, a child “needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it."

Keeping Carson’s legacy alive, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started The Rachel Carson Intergenerational Sense of Wonder Contest in 2006, which celebrates the intergenerational appreciation of nature in photos, essays, song, poetry, mixed media and dance.

Entries are from an intergenerational team (youth and elder) of two or more people.

The EPA ran the contest for seven years until the Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance took it over. This is our third year sponsoring the contest.

The annual event is important to us because the RCLA’s mission is to continue Carson’s work of teaching all ages to appreciate nature.

That appreciation hits home with Carson’s grand-nephew.

He was 20 months old, according to The Sense of Wonder, when his grand-aunt (considered to be the “mother of the environmental movement”) took him down to the beach to hear the thundering waves as they threw handfuls of forth at them.

They laughed for joy together as the ocean and the dark night roared around them. When I met him several years ago, as a man in his 50s, he said he’s still excited by the ocean.


During our time of running the contest, we received a surprise entry in the artwork category. A large group of youth and their mentors in Mozambique worked together on a village project about life and sea animals.

They created a large mural and posted it in the village center for all to admire. Learn about our other winners on our website.

If you haven’t read The Sense of Wonder, check it out and let it inspire you to express your sense of wonder with someone from another generation.

REFRAME: Education Through the Lens of DC Youth

by Tomesha Thompson

How do you define yourself?

Let’s start by filling in the blanks: “I am ___” or “I fight for ___.”

Throughout this school year, Critical Exposure partnered with students from the Rhode Island School of Design and DC Public Schools to answer those statements through photos.

The result was a public art project with portraits hung on the walls and windows of local businesses throughout the city.

I had the chance to check out this project during a recent showing at the Pepco Edison Place Art Gallery, hosted by Critical Exposure.

It was amazing seeing how an image can mean much more than what you see. For example, a photo of a construction site shows a young DC native a city that is changing.

A self-portrait shows a young artist, like Tavean Osborne, how far he’s come. Looking at his piece, “I AM WHO I AM,” he said: “What I’ve done in the past, I’ve put it all in a picture to remind me that I’m not that person I used to be back in the day.”

Visiting the gallery was definitely a great experience, especially learning that REFRAME came out of youth’s concerns that adults advocating for education reform are too detached from the communities and people they wish to help.

What if Critical Exposure took an intergenerational approach like the Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Contest or the Intergenerational Digital Photography Curriculum?

Both the contest and curriculum are opportunities to connect the generations and correct misconceptions on both sides.

Maybe an intergenerational approach would raise more support for their initiative.

Seeing the work they accomplished since March gets me excited. I can’t wait to see what else Critical Exposure has in store.