Dear TL Parents for 2012 July Session,
We have run our brilliant staff through an extensive training during the nineteen days before camp. We now have 15 lifeguards, three Water Safety Instructors, seven Wilderness First Responders and a host of other skills and talents. Half of our staff are 21 or older. We prepared our staff extensively for several days and then tested them rigorously to really make sure their training had settled in. We called this “The Game” and we finished staff week energized and primed for campers.
Opening day has never been smoother. I was delighted with the way TL staff immediately engaged with families and got camp off to a happy and stress-free start. Within a few hours, campers here were making friends, playing games and running around. By the evening, even the youngest could lead the way to their cabin for their first campfire, s’mores and a cabin contract. The cabin contract front-loads how campers agree to live together and respect each other. I have taken a few photos of these. Before the quiet bell, the counselors tapped into a bit of boy energy and letting the first day end with some loud positivity (basically, a lot of happy yelling!).
The next day, campers woke early for chores and than a breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, grapes, toast, hard-boiled eggs, orange juice, yogurt, cereal, F&W milk and a vegan tofu scramble as protein alternative.
After breakfast we gather to sing. Thursday’s songs were: “Sixteen Tons” (with a historical note explaining the line “I owe my soul to the company store”) “Ghost Riders in the Sky” (lots of “hee-yaahh!) and our original composition “Quest For Spinach.” It was great to see that the campers who were standing up on the stage holding the lyrics for everyone were all new to TL. Those details speak volumes.
Our first three days in Activity Areas were an introduction to all the different parts of camp. Here are some highlights:
In Outdoor Living Skills (OLS)
• Several older campers had an amazing “Get Lost Hike.” They and two staff were dropped off a few miles from camp and had to find their way back using their map and compass-reading skills. Staff members accompanied but did not assist the group in any way in this exciting challenge.
• Building fires and proudly carving wooden spoons from cedar blocks.
• Learning the cardinal directions; how to find North in the woods.
In Barns and Gardens
• Barns chores have lots of helpers to do milking and weeding.
• Older campers have been moving rocks dislodged during Hurricane Irene to make an improved fire pit.
• Campers have been restoring an antique cider press.
In Work Projects
• Built bird feeders to hang around Silent Meeting and other areas of camp.
• Build a cabinet and signs.
• Prepared for the cabin project.
At the Waterfront
• Canoe trips to floating island.
• Campers are motivated to “level up” their swimming lessons and getting optional swim lessons in the afternoon.
• Campers did a “Bear Pit Marathon” – that consisted of four swims to the mouth of the cove and back in 1.5 hours.
Rocks and Ropes
• Chimney climbing.
• Bouldering
• Great team building exercises and the new lower ropes course.
Arts
• The senior sign ups are designing an awesome float for Interdependence Day.
• We are designing our primitive kiln.
This first part of camp, “The Adventure Begins,” drew to a close with our first Council Fire on Saturday evening. The first Timberlake appreciation beads were given by campers to campers and staff. Each summer there is a unique bead and this summer it is a jade sphere with unique etchings on each one. This bead symbolizes what we share and respect for what makes us different.
Now it is Sunday, and we begin a new cycle. First and Big Lodge (11-12 year olds) have left on trips after their days of preparation. This included reviewing the food they were taking, putting up tents blindfolded in small groups as a way of building teamwork, and getting all their gear together. Most of these hikes will be on the Long Trail or Farm & Wilderness property. Some will hike 3-4 miles a day while others will do as many as 10 miles a day. The J1 campers will be going on three day rather than four-day hikes, and also had a choice between two different hikes.
For Senior Lodgers (13-14 years old) and anyone whose hike was leaving in the afternoon, we began their in-camp experience with the first day of work on the new cabin. We began with a group teamwork exercise to build the tallest rock cairn to get them into both a teamwork and construction mindset. We then began to the cutting and framing. More on that in the next blog!
Peace,
Tulio Browning
“To live close to the Earth as a working part of a healthy and joyful community.” – Timberlake’s mission.
