We’re about to head off to Popham Beach for our final Tent Day of the first session. It looks to be a perfect beach day. As I write, I look out on the quad from my office and I see scaffolding set up for tonight’s Talent Show. The next few days will be busy with closing celebrations for our 3 1/2 week campers, while our 5 and 7 week campers head out  for their wilderness trips.

As a reminder, departures on Friday by car will be from 8:30 to noon. Please be here before noon! All of our major goodbyes and farewells will have been said the night before and there is no programming on Friday. I am sure your son will have many stories to share with you about these last few days. In the meantime, our Program Director Kate Fox wanted to share with you a brief look into the life of our cabin buddies. In short, we need new books for our camper library. If you have old books that could be used by our campers that you would like to donate, please bring them with you on Friday or Sunday.

CABIN BUDDIES It’s 8:20 in the evening. “Rocks,” an amplified version of capture-the-flag, has just ended. The task: to calm 9 excited campers so that they can be asleep by 8:45 Unsurprisingly, we’ve found that the best method to accomplish this feat is a book and familiar voice. Each cabin on the lower field is assigned a member of the camp support staff to serve as a “Cabin Buddy,” an outside, caring adult voice whose primary goal is to be another helping hand to the cabin throughout the summer.  On most nights, once teeth have been brushed and faces have been washed, the cabin buddy will read to the cabin from a chapter book. The effect is striking: children who minutes before were running wild on the lower field  will lie in rapt (albeit increasingly sleepy) attention to listen to a chapter from  Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, or J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. After reading, the cabins are quiet and the campers are either asleep or well on their way.

Reading to campers is an amazing way to let them connect with support staff, while allowing counselors a precious few minutes of time for themselves. The book also serves as a further point of cabin cohesion and discussion, and facilitates the elusive and essential gelling of a cabin group. Chewonki’s Library is well stocked with age appropriate classics from which to choose, but we are always on the lookout for more contemporary young adult literature to add to our repertoire. If you have any used books lying around and would like to make a donation, please bring them on opening or closing day of camp. Rest assured that they will find a good home at Chewonki! - Kate Fox, Program Director

By Nick Morrison, Head Counselor

Camp just keeps rushing by. Glancing at the calendar, trying to remind myself of everything that has happened in the past few days, the fullness of our summer here is clear. I spent Tent Day yesterday at the Reid State Park beach with the Owls, grilling burgers by the lagoon, and taking a lovely afternoon walk down the rocky outcrops and tide pools. On Monday I spent some time wandering the activity areas: it was hot enough that I was not surprised to find both campers and counselors at the tennis courts taking a water break, lounging in the shade reading or napping as a few stalwarts carried on some matches. In the cooler space of the pottery room kids were painting a variety of clay markers destined for the camper gardens–an enormous carrot, a dinosaur for the ‘dinosaur kale’, and so on. During general swim I successfully persuaded a reluctant camper who hadn’t been swimming yet to give it a try–after telling me several times the water was too cold, he sat on the steaming hot dock for only a few more minutes before slipping into the water. He stayed in for the rest of the period.

But for me it’s really the weekends at Chewonki that are most memorable. I’m the unofficial music director here so Campfire and Sunday Service have always been two of my favorite parts of the week. We’ve had very strong camper participation in our first two campfires–check out the Flickr photo collection for some wacky costumes that will give you only a hint of what was going on! And camper participation at the last Sunday Service was truly moving–more than a dozen campers spontaneously shared reflections on their first two weeks at camp, the new friends they’d made, the kindness of their counselors, and how lucky they felt to be at Chewonki. Not the kind of soul-bearing you hear every day from ten-year-olds!

I’ve also made it part of my mission here this summer to increase the sing-along component to both Campfire and Sunday Service–I’ve revamped the songbook to include some more recent favorites, and you’ll see pictures under the Sunday Service photo collection of several groups of campers coming to the ‘stage’ to sing with the musicians (that’s me with the beard and gourd-banjo!). I’m also offering a music activity and some general swim jam sessions: these will generate camper-created musical numbers for both the next campfire and the talent show next week.

Later on Sunday afternoon I played some chess games on the quad while munching on watermelon. And Sunday evening Rocks is still probably the best exercise I get all year…once a Hoc, always a Hoc, and I can’t help but get revved up along with the kids. As first session races to a close, I’m looking forward to this weekend’s Campfire and Sunday Service as one more chance for these kids to laugh, sing, and share stories and reflections together as another session winds down.

It’s early on Wednesday morning as I sit and write this. Camp is still and calm as the only signs of life right now are our Polar Bear swimmers- brave souls who rise early start their day with a refreshing swim at our waterfront. Later this morning I travel to the East Branch of the Penobscot River (about a 4 hour car ride) to camp with our Guides (counselors in training) on the final night of their 10-day wilderness trip. My visit will be a surprise to them (at least I hope it will be). My visit serves two purposes: it provides me with some quality time with the Guides to discuss leadership  as they prepare to make the transition into cabins as the third counselor during the second session, and it allows me to reconnect with my wilderness tripping roots, however briefly. I started at Chewonki as a wilderness trip participant in 1988 on a the five-week Mistissini canoe expedition in central Quebec. Wilderness trips are at the heart of what we do here; we know that our campers learn so much about themselves and their cabin group through time in the natural world, and their hearts are opened to the many wonders of the wilderness from wildlife to the untouched natural beauty and simplicity of the regions through which we travel.

As you know, all of our campers experience some form of a wilderness trip with their cabin group. Our youngest Puffin campers canoe out to Oak Island just off the southern tip of our peninsula, while our oldest three-week Ospreys spend close to a week of their time on a trip. At this time, all of our Ospreys have been out on their trips, and now most of the Herons and Owls are either on their trip or preparing to head out on their trip any day now. Xanadu has returned from whitewater kayaking on the West Branch of the Penobscot, South Hall is back from canoeing the West Branch, Shang-Tu is back from a coastal sea kayaking trip, Pete Gillies and Osprey Lodge are back from canoeing the St. Croix, Ranch House and Orchard house are back from backpacking the Saddlebacks and Bigelows respectively, and  Jungle is back from a coastal canoe trip. Outhaul returns today from their short canoe trip, and Gordy Hall returns from the Bigelows.

Upon returning to Chewonki after a trip, I invite the cabin group to sit at my table for a meal. I love hearing the stories of the trip fresh off the experience, and vicariously basking in the post-trip glow through the camper’s stories. The strong bonds within the group and personal sense of accomplishment is clearly evident, and it takes me back to my days as a participant and cabin trip leader. I hope you are able to hear many stories from your son about his trip upon his return home.

We’re enjoying a glorious stretch of weather these last two days, with clear skies, warm days and just a few limited thundershowers. I hope you have seen the July 4th photos on our Flickr website.We had a wonderful day, and the details are included below. Before we share more details on July 4th, I just wanted to share a few reminders.

Mail & Packages: As you know, our campers do not have access to write to you by email. Hopefully you’ve received a first letter or two, and you have had a chance to send a letter. We still believe in the value of a hand written letter at camp and encourage parents and family to send letters through the mail as much as possible. There is something very special about holding a letter in hand written by family member when you are far from home. However, if a unique situation warrants an email, we are able to print your emails. Please send camper emails to dpalen@chewonki.org, and we’ll deliver it to their mailbox.

Please do not send any food or candy in camper care packages. Our campers enjoy a healthy and balanced diet that supports their busy schedules. Food and candy attract animals to our cabins, and can create unwanted jealousies between cabins. We also do not want to generate any unnecessary packaging trash or waste in keeping with our Zero Waste efforts. We will confiscate any food or candy that is sent as campers open their packages in the presence of their counselors.

Visits: Visitors for campers are welcome, but we do ask that you avoid visiting during the first and last five days of your child’s stay. Please call ahead to plan your visit so that we can be sure your child isn’t out of camp on a trip. We have a “Tent Day” (an all-camp field trip) almost every week, as well as cabin wilderness trips and other special events that may take your child away from camp. Once you visit camp, please be sure to check-in at the camp office, sign our visitor log, and stop by to say a quick hello if you have a chance. The remaining Tent days are scheduled for July 12, 18, 29 and August 3 and 9th.

July 4th: From Nick Morrison, Head Counselor We don’t have fireworks at Chewonki, but for the first time in many years, we celebrated the national birthday with a special evening on our Salt Marsh Farm. As the morning mist gradually burned off and dried out the farm fields where we would later gather, preparations were underway for an all-camp cookout. As a few afternoon thundershowers rumbled past in the distance, we grilled up burgers, hot dogs, and lounged lazily on the grass, gathering around picnic tables in cabin groups to the sounds of guitars and the conversations born of a full day of activities. After lemonade, corn, pasta salad, and a whole lot of popsicles, the kids swarmed down to the lower field for a few rounds of Captain’s Coming and Sharks and Minnows. But the best was still to come.

July 4 Bonfire at the Farm

As kids filed up to the farm around eight o’clock, the bonfire was just being lit: a towering structure nearly ten feet tall that our Guides had spent the better part of the afternoon assembling from discarded timbre, fences and shingles, it loomed as large as the last one I was present for (as a camper 1994!) looms in my memory. From a safe distance, to the crackling din of the flames and the backdrop of the sunset over the open fields, the kids sat in mesmerized silence. We heard a few songs, the Tale of Sam McGee, a dramatization of Edward Gorey’s the Epipleptic Bicycle, and my rendition of a story about a boy getting lost in the woods that I learned from a legendary trip leader years ago, as a junior counselor–it ends with the boy forgetting his troubles and reaching out from a precarious perch for an enormous strawberry, a perfect metaphor for seizing the precious moment of our summer here at Chewonki. We closed with the Voyager’s song, the enormous pile of embers glowing in the dark.
As bedtime minutes were being called on the lower field, I pondered whether it had been too long a day already–but hearing snatches of “America America” and the national anthem drifting up from cabins, I couldn’t resist setting up my Fender electric guitar on top of the hill by the pottery room, and as ‘lights out’ was called, I gave Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock version of our National Anthem my best shot…as I wrapped up, the circle of kids that had formed around me erupted into cheers of “USA! USA! USA!”. A very memorable night to close out the first week of camp.

We’re enjoying a perfect start to camp- very good weather, exciting activities, great food and happy kids. I had fun getting out and observing some excellent activities this morning and I was reminded of how much I love mornings at Chewonki. Enjoy the blog post, and your July 4th holiday weekend.

I’m a morning person, and mornings are a glorious time of day here at Chewonki, so it’s a pretty good fit. I almost always start my day with by going running before the camp is awake. The quiet and calm of the early hours stand in sharp contrast to the usual lively bustle of the rest of the day. As I work my way back from my run, I see more signs of life. This week, I’ve seen staff naturalist Lynne Flaccus out with a group of curious young naturalists on bird walks with field guides and binoculars in hand. Our first bird walk of the summer saw 31 campers participate! Lynne is a master at this- who else could get 31 campers to willingly get up from bed starting at 6:15? Another frequent early morning sighting is our Polar Bear swimmers who start their day with a quick swim at our waterfront. I must admit that aside from my morning runs, Polar Bears are my favorite way to start the day.

On my way back to my cabin, the kitchen is coming to life with cooks, dishwashers, and camper waiters and table setters all springing into coordinated action shortly after the 7:00 am wake up bell. The rest of the camp arrives for lineups at 7:20 before proceeding in for the legendary Chewonki breakfasts. Today we had a first course of cereal, bananas and strawberries followed by a second course of scrambled eggs and home fries; just the fuel a young boy needs to get them through the morning.

After breakfast, the campers head back to their cabins for morning cleanup and inspection. Cleanup involves getting the cabin organized and neat, as well as taking time for brushing teeth and washing up. I’ve been inspecting the Ospreys this week, and I have been very impressed. This group really has it down! The cabins are in great shape and I’m pretty sure they are keeping their cabins cleaner than they keep their rooms at home. I almost always pass a few groups returning from an overnight camping trip.  Last night, Jungle, Quarter Deck, and Boulder ventured out for their overnights.

Activities start at 9:20, and today I had the pleasure of visiting and observing the Woodcraft, Art and Challenge activities this morning. Our Woodcraft leaders Aaron Liebman, Devin Littlefield and Will Trumper had their groups engaged in building a campfire with materials that had been soaked in water, including birch bark. With the help of their counselors, the campers were able to figure out how to get a campfire going, a skill that I am sure will come in handy on their wilderness trips. From Woodcraft I ventured out the southern tip of our peninsula known as The Point where the Art activity under the leadership of Emma Weeks was engaged in watercolor painting of the natural landscape. What an inspiring place to paint, especially on a glorious day like today. From the Point I ventured to the Gulch, where I encountered the Challenge activity under the leadership of Michelle McWade and Matt Weeks. Crossing the Gulch involves sliding along a rope suspended between two rock outcroppings over a tidal cove roughly 15 feet in the air. The group was very excited to make the crossing.

This perfect morning is now fading into the afternoon, which I know will hold many special opportunities for our campers. And tonight we’ll get to enjoy our first Campfire of the summer. I can’t wait!

Greetings from camp!  Yesterday was an exciting day as 148 campers arrived by car, bus, and plane to spend the summer together.  It was a beautiful sunny day and campers spent the afternoon settling in and trying out a few activities.  The waterfront was open for swimming, kayaking and sailing.  Many campers joined a game of soccer on the lower field or brushed up on their tetherball skills.  After dinner we all gathered at the campfire circle for our first campfire of the summer.  We sang songs, told stories, and learned the Chewonki cheer.  Several campers received the coveted 5-year shirt for spending five summers at Chewonki.

This morning was a little grey outside, but camper’s spirits are high!  The campers have spent the morning and afternoon visiting each activity area.  They are ready to sign up for their first 3-day activity block.  The sun is breaking through the clouds as I write this—just in time for general swim.  As I look up from the computer screen and out the window I can see campers perusing the list of activity choices for this afternoon while munching on the afternoon snack of watermelon.  Too much time in the office—it’s time for me to get outside too!  I’m looking forward to a terrific session.

Don’t forget to visit our Flickr photo site for the latest look at camp photos.

Sincerely,

Garth Altenburg, Camp Director

A Zero Waste Initiative
In spring 2011, Chewonki launched a Zero Waste initiative and asked the residents of the state of Maine to imagine a world without garbage. While it is clear that society may not be able to eliminate garbage entirely, Chewonki believes that the state and the nation can do a better job of protecting our natural resources by reducing the amount of garbage we generate.

We are excited to be bringing this message to all of our staff, students, campers and parents!

The Zero Waste initiative includes a Zero Waste poster, a contest this coming fall for Maine Middle Schools, online curriculum and also a campus-wide assessment of Chewonki’s waste stream. Our Zero Waste campaign aims to eliminate enough waste to allow the removal of Chewonki’s trash dumpster by September 2012.  We have some work to do and we need your help!

A little background
This year, Chewonki’s Semester students helped launched our campus-wide initiative. They brainstormed ideas to reduce Chewonki’s waste and every idea was considered and critiqued. Eventually the students decided that in order to maximize the efficiency of the Zero Waste campaign they would need more information regarding the specifics of Chewonki’s waste. Through a vigorous inquiry, which included evaluating all of Chewonki’s trash, students were able to understand the composition of Chewonki’s waste. After collecting data over a period of three weeks, students were able to analyze what they found in Chewonki waste stream and to look for trends. This allowed them to brainstorm ideas for action.

How you can help
Many great ideas were generated from the students’ work, including reducing the size of our garbage bins, labeling them with the word “landfill” instead of “trash” (to drive home the message,) providing more recycling bins throughout campus. They also identified that a substantial amount of campus waste comes from care packages from home. Students sent a letter to their parents to make them aware of our zero waste project and encouraged parents to send home-baked goods in bulk rather than sending store bought candy that tends to come heavily packaged.  We are asking you to do that same and to think carefully about how you pack for your child’s summer experience.

We hope you can help contribute to our Zero Waste initiative and consider bring the message to your home, work place or town. Thanks for whatever you can do to make a difference.

Chewonki’s poster, which is full of fascinating information about waste, will be available in Chewonki’s main lobby on the opening day of camp  Please posters back to your communities, schools and businesses and help us spread the word about Zero Waste.  Poster are also available online by clicking here.

And don’t forget to imagine a world without garbage – or at least with a little less garbage.

Thanks to our families for all of your hard work in taking care of the vast amounts of details- clothing and equipment orders, payments, and the seemingly endless amount of health related forms. I wish things were a little easier, but please know that the required paperwork reflects the magnitude of care we provide for your son. We are about to assume a big responsibility, and taking young boys into the wilderness requires an added level of information and preparation. Many thanks to you for all you have done to prepare for camp.

Health forms: We’re aware that many of you have had a hard time with the fax system.  We’re working to straighten this out with our vendors who support this system and all appears to be well at this time. The fax and bar code system serves as a scanner and places the forms directly in your son’s electronic record- a huge time saver for us as we process over 1,500 health related forms for our campers and trippers each summer. Please confirm that all forms are being faxed to 518-478-8836. Try dialing a 1 first if the form does not go through. If you still have trouble with the 518 number, you send the forms as an attachment (healthcenter@chewonki.org) or fax them directly to our health center at 207-882-9564. Our nurses Dawn and Tamothy are working to process the forms in a timely fashion but are also serving our Outdoor Classroom and Semester School residential programs with their daily needs. Don’t panic if your forms are not in by the May 1 date. Please work to sumbit the forms as soon as possible. We realize many forms are in the process of being completed by a physician’s office. We’ll contact you if we haven’t received your forms, but otherwise assume we have them.

Other details: For questions related to travel to and from Chewonki, please contact Jeannette Eaton by email or at 207-882-7323 x 104. For billing questions, please contact Trish McLeod in our business office by email or at x 134.

Lastly, I will be using this space in the weeks ahead to highlight sections from our parents pre-camp bulletin. This week, we’ll focus on equipment.

EQUIPMENT

We have posted the in-camp equipment list on our website. The only items that really need to be purchased are the required Chewonki shirts (7 of any variety), from Maine Camp Outfitters (catalog is posted on our website) if you don’t already have them.  Please note the ordering deadline of May 15 to avoid possible delays.  Shirts may not be purchased at Chewonki. Many of the other required items are available through Maine Camp Outfitters if you wish to purchase them, but hopefully you will have most of the clothing on hand, or can borrow various equipment items from family and friends.  And, you can certainly purchase the items wherever you wish.  We expect campers to wear only Chewonki shirts- the white, gray or green t-shirts, the white or green polo shirts, or the wilderness trip tech-shirt. For 2011, we are pleased to once again offer an organic t-shirt. Please consider purchasing even just one organic t-shirt as one more way of promoting a sustainable planet. Our campers come from many different backgrounds, and having everyone wear the same shirt is one way to minimize these differences and foster a feeling of unity and sense of community. Our active campers create many dirty shirts, and we have found that most parents would rather dirty up Chewonki shirts than shirts from home.

You will also find additional information on our website that enable you to purchase nametags or a name stamp from the Name Dropper Clothing Stamp Company.  PLEASE MAKE SURE ALL CLOTHES AND GEAR ARE CAREFULLY MARKED WITH THE CAMPER’S NAME. This is a must for a community our size!  Items left unmarked are lost.  Please take advantage of various name-marking materials available. With this in mind, please do not send along valuable clothes and other expensive items that you do not want your child to lose or get ruined. Despite our best efforts, we end up with a mountain of lost and found items at the end of the summer. Please help us return lost items to your child while they are still at camp by labeling everything! To help us send your child home with all that they arrived with, please be sure to complete the inventory list that is included with the packing list. Make three copies of this list- one for home and two for us at Chewonki. The inventory list will be tremendously beneficial to our counselors as they help your child pack at the end of the summer.

There will not be an opportunity to purchase items after a camper arrives at camp.  Please follow these lists carefully. Special Note: For campers traveling long distances and those receiving financial aid:  Please see the enclosed forms regarding clothing rental or loans. Please contact us if you have any questions on your clothing or equipment lists!

Campers are asked to bring enough extra supplies – stationery, postage stamps, toilet articles, batteries, etc. – to last the summer.  Due to the humid summer weather, please pack only self-adhesive envelopes and stamps. Also, it is helpful to provide your child with pre-addressed envelopes of family members and friends who your child may want to write. There is no need for campers to have money at camp.  A bill will be sent at the end of the summer for any minor charges incurred.

If your camper is anxious to take pictures, please note that we will process film only for those campers who are using film as part of our in-camp photography program. While we recognize the widespread use of digital cameras, campers will not have access to power outlets to recharge digital cameras. Additionally, we are concerned about expensive digital cameras becoming lost or damaged while at camp. Therefore, we recommend bringing a few inexpensive disposable cameras.

Sincerely,

Garth Altenburg, Camp Director

Have you seen our new movie on YouTube? We polled a few campers and counselors about their favorite aspects of a summer at Chewonki, and this is what they came up with. While we all know are there are hundreds if not thousands of reasons to love a summer at Chewonki, these 10 capture the essence of what we are all about. So please, pass this link along to your friends and family. If you were with us in the past, hopefully this movie will bring a smile to your face, reminding you of your summers here. If you are joining us for the first time in 2011, or returning for another summer, I hope this gets you as excited for camp as all of us are here at Chewonki.

Watch the movie

We also created this movie to give our alumni some tangible tools in helping us attract a few more campers. While our enrollment is about as strong as it has ever been for early February, we want to fill all of our spaces for summer 2011. We are close to selling out most spaces for our second session but still have room in our first session. So, please, if you believe in the power of a Chewonki summer (that’s why you are reading the blog, right?) pass this video clip along to your friends and contacts and ask them to consider a Chewonki summer for their child. In addition to our boys camp, we have our Camp for Girls and numerous wilderness trips for teens. Summer 2011 will be here soon, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Chewonki Neck!

Snow Out? When do you think the snow will disappear from the Quad outside the camp office? At last traverse, the snow was just below my waist- around 3 feet of snow! Send me an email with your predictions as to when there will be no more snow on the Quad. This is a sure sign that summer is just around the corner! The winner will receive a free Chewonki water bottle.

Sincerely,

Garth Altenburg