The Last Day of Walkabout Camp

This summer has been intense. Both for me and the camps, as well as our staff and all of the many volunteers and students here this summer. It started off with a great staff training, waaaaay back in June, and then we had the most severe flooding we have ever had here in the county. The water ran over our bridge, and washed out a lot of our road, and we had to do some filling of ditches to make things safe for travel. Our newsletters alerted our friends and supporters about the situation, and we raised over $4,000 in the weeks that followed, to help repair the bridge and road.

We applied to FEMA and the NYSEMO, to see if we can get aid in the form of grants or loans, and are still waiting to hear back about how much we are eligible for. If there is a funding gap, we are hoping to see if there is a way we can seek additional aid. We are currently waiting for estimates from our area contractors, just to have them give us a ball park idea of what kinds of repairs and their costs might be, and with so much damage to other areas in the region, they are taking a long time to get back to us. So we are hopeful it will work out. I will try to keep you posted.

So, anyway, after the flooding, we kept rolling with our camps. We went to a one-week camp format this year, rather than two weeks, which is how we used to do our programs for the last 15 years. I am happy to report that initial responses to this new format were very positive. We were able to actually focus our teaching on specific areas that let to real skills being taught, learned and practiced. Hawk's Hearth, our camp that focused on wilderness cooking, and Yellowknife, which focused on camp skills, were really big hits. The students raved about what they learned, and more importantly, you could see the changes in the students, in how they stood, carried themselves, etc. You can't hide confidence, and it was great to see.

We had so much rain this summer that the wildflowers were especially spectacular. Our gardens flourished, and the kitchen staff made meals the kids seemed to enjoy each day. All in all, it seems, the ingredients for a good summer came together perfectly! We also completed many projects, with Earth Skills Program graduate Ryan Smith creating a new stone causeway for our trail up to camp, to alleviate the perpetual muddy path and bridge. We had many staff and caretaker helpers complete the Chesapeake Deck project, which was promptly enjoyed by all by the time it was operational. Volunteers Schuyler Senft-Grupp, Justin Katsuki, and Ryan Smith helped get the frame done, and Walt Gigandet did much of the construction for the frame and deck. Rebecca Schinazi, Josh Roberts, Eli Martz, Abigail Houghton, Tim Brown and Barry Keegan helped with the decking and then the white ash railing, which is beautiful and sturdy, and keeping with our wilderness theme! Many caretakers helped with other aspects of the deck and construction, including the stone ramp and courtyard in front of the deck, and Tim Manney helped with lots of stone work around our barns and camp. We really appreciate the work you all did, and for all of the supporters who donated to the Deck Fund in so many ways, to help it to happen. Thank you.

I have photos that I want to post, but I don't have my camera ready to download them, so I will put them up next time, but soon I will be posting many things all through the website, and I will let you know when I send out our e-Newsletter. If you want to get it, just e-mail me and I will sign you up, or you can click on the menu to the left and sign yourself up. It is easy to do, costs nothing, and you can get off the list at any time. Best of all, it is full of camp and program news, articles, stories and community learning, as well as updates and even a little poetry if we get the space and time. So don't miss it!

Have a great last week of summer, and we will hope to see you soon.....

Ricardo