Our camp begins for Second Session with high energy. We love to greet each and every camper with all the enthusiasm a great summer deserves. On the first day, we played games in the cabin area and then ate big plates of salad and pasta while the Etiquette Fairy instructed us on dining hall do’s and don’ts. That evening the campers all learned the meaning of our cheer “Anything is Possible / Everybody Counts / Let’s Get It Done!”. They were inspired by how we are committed to making the seemingly impossible a reality. They also responded well to the “Everybody Counts” message – that empathy and grounding are necessary to make TL a place where we can all enjoy dreaming big. Next, they created cabin contracts that reflected their ground rules for how they wanted to be treated and to treat others.
The next day, the great weather continued as well as the high energy evident when singing songs. Campers traveled to all activity areas, each with a different focus:
Work Projects: It’s all about bridges! Campers joined forces to finish the demolition of the 20-foot span bridge to Paradise Island so we can lay a new one. Senior lodgers are learning to create a smaller bridge to our beloved “Haikubo” kybo.
Rocks and Ropes: Our work on the new indoor climbing wall with two overhangs and a 12-foot wall is almost complete. During the first few days, all campers went to the lower ropes course and not one cabin failed their challenges. The slack line is up, too. Older campers worked with staff to lead the belay commands.
Barns and Gardens: The campers made tea for everyone at camp from a mixture of raspberries, blueberry leaf and sorrel. They harvested wild ingredients to learn food comes from all over, not just our cultivated spaces. Hector, the TL rabbit, got a lovely primitive debris shelter he enjoys, as well as a person who is designated as a “Hector protector” each day. Senior lodgers harvested burdock root to dry and cook later and also put up a new pasture fence
Outdoor Living Skills: Campers all got knife safety checks and fire lessons. They made tea from spruce boughs, some started their skills for the Survivor rating like how to build debris shelters. Select older campers put on helmets and learned how to fell trees with OLS staff.
Waterfront: Every camper attempted their swim check. Some got out early which is OK, as we have swim clinics starting in a few days. Some good swimmers have expressed interest in getting better and so our higher level classes started early. The first Bearpit distance swims happened on the first two days. Campers who have earned the highest canoe levels helped manage the tippy tests. Amid all the goings on in all other areas, every single camper was in the water or on the water.
Trips: All campers enjoyed trips skits, and have made their requests for their trip selection. Senior lodge is ready to pack out on Wednesday. Gear and food are ready to pack into bags for the big adventures ahead.
It’s so satisfying to know the campers have gone through all these different experiences in the first two full days of camp as well as creating cabin contracts and trainings on setting good boundaries between each other. Tomorrow will be slower, with more time to sing songs and a longer Silent Meeting and an evening talent show and bonfire called “Council Fire”. It’ll also be a camper-led afternoon, where campers get to ask staff if they could do the things that excite them the most at camp. Following that special day, Senior Lodgers and A1 campers will depart on trips, while Big and First Lodge dig deeper into the camp programs.
— Tulio Browning, Timberlake Director