a place where you are valued Archives - Page 12 of 15

Planning Gardens and Waiting for Bird Migration at Runoia

Posted on February 25, 2016October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

This is the time of year, for those of us who live in northern climates like Maine, we dream of spring gardens and bird migration among other wonders of the changing season. Did you know March is the “most snowfall” month of the year in Maine?! Although February might seem early to be dreaming of birds and gardens, dreams are what keep us positive when we have 31 days of winter in March (a true statement in

Maine!). So although maple sap is flowing early this year, you never know if we’ll get another cold snap and a lot of snow.

Back to those dreams about gardens and birds. Camp Runoia’s seed order has been not only ordered but has been received. The season for sleepaway camps doesn’t match with the Maine growing season so we are sure to put in early harvesting vegetables like spinach, kale, snap peas and sugar peas and summer squash.

Lots of Fun Growing in the Runoia Greenhouse Later in the summer the tomatoes, basil, lettuce and other herbs and veggies flourish in our greenhouse.

Lots of Fun Growing in the Runoia Greenhouse Later in the summer the tomatoes, basil, lettuce and other herbs and veggies flourish in our greenhouse.

Always a Delight to Spy an Oriole at Runoia

The day the robins show up in April is always a sign of spring and the migrating birds coming through. We hang orange slices to attract the Baltimore Orioles – they are such fun to see.

One thing we learned in recent years from our wood shop aficionado, Ted, is painting bird houses is detrimental to birds. Who knew? So here’s a project one camper did combining our wood shop and wood burning program areas. It’s an awesome birdhouse with a beautiful floral designed burned in with wood burning tools. All made at camp! So enjoy the wonders of spring, catch those birds going by and dream next of summer and summer camp!

Camp Runoia community partnerships in action

Posted on February 4, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

Our Community Partnerships

We are very lucky to have in our local area some great organizations that fit well with Camp Runoia’s mission and philosophy. These local groups are always willing to support our camp program and share their expertise and knowledge with our staff and campers. There are many benefits to be gained by enhancing our regular camp program utilizing local expertise.

Through the Maine Lakes Resource Center in Belgrade Lakes we have had the benefit of nature experts on our local area hikes. They also provide educators to talk about Maine’s natural history and provide some great Chewonki animal presentations that our younger campers attend. It is a great place to stop by if you are in town.

The Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance provides us with access to a great deal of local land in conservation easement. With a focus on water quality and watershed protection we are happy to learn from them about preserving the fantastic quality of our lake and are proud owners of the Lake Smart award.

Hardy Girls Healthy Women based in nearby Waterville is dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women. Pam has previously served on the board for HGHW helping to ensure that all girls, everywhere get the best empowerment opportunities. HGHW has designed a curriculum specifically to use with girls at camp.

The partnerships go both ways; our CIT’S volunteer at the kids table for Lake Day, we support lake protection initiatives and milfoil eradication work and do as much as we can to engage with securing the future of our local area.

Partnerships make our community stronger and help our girls to feel more connected to the place that is their summer home away from home.

The perfect Camp Runoia picture

Posted on January 21, 2016October 18, 2016 by Alex

I spend a lot of time looking through Camp Runoia photographs. Not just the thousands on the hard drive from this summer but many from previous years and even ‘real’ photos from our archives that are not digitally available.

We use camp photographs for many different reasons but mostly to share the message of Runoia.

So what makes the perfect photo? Is it a happy smiling face? a shot of two girls arm in arm walking down a path? a beautiful sunset over the lake? or a campfire close up?

Depending on the purpose there are 100’s of shots that could be deemed ‘perfect.’

On any given day for any given reason the perfect photograph speaks to the heart and captures the soul of Runoia.

Some of the time while searching I get distracted and just enjoy looking at the memories that each snap catches. reminders of the people the place and the fun that we get up to at camp.

More often it turns out that the perfect shot isn’t on film but is stored in our hearts and minds. The photograph is just a perfect reminder.

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” Ansel Adams

Normal Anxiousness about Sleepaway Camp

Posted on January 13, 2016October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

The countdown to summer sleepaway camp is well underway as we approach the 150 days till camp marker. While some campers are enjoying the count down, others are feeling a big nervous and maybe even somewhat anxious. This is perfectly normal!

What can you do to encourage your campers to be ready for camp?

Here’s some tips from the experts:

Brooke Cheley-Klebe from Cheley Camps suggests “Get your camper involved in picking out gear for camp. If you buy hiking boots, go on a hike with them!

Camp Owner and TED talk extraordinaire, Steve Baskin suggests reframe what three weeks away is about “wise parents provide their children with a different frame to look at camp. It is not “3 weeks away from mom and dad”, but is instead “a grand adventure full of fun and friends”.

Jen Bush writes for American Camp Association: “Learn details of the facilities. Will your child have to walk to the bathroom at night? Some kids, especially those from urban areas, are unaccustomed to total darkness, so it’s a good idea to practice using a flashlight. Will she be exposed to a lot of bugs and wildlife? Consider taking a family camping trip in advance to familiarize your child with the outdoor environment, nighttime sounds, and roughing it a bit.”

A great idea we heard from a parent is have your teenager take a mini-vacation from their phone or screen. Make it a positive experience where you go do something together or something she enjoys and explain that it’s about being present together. Not tying it “going away to camp” will be in their favor.

Other ideas:

Look over the packing list together on https://runoia.com/camp-store/, start browsing your closets and stores and gathering items together for camp.
Practice sorting their dirty laundry from clean clothes, carrying their toiletries to the shower, brushing and braiding their hair, making their bed. Make a list of things they will be expected to do at camp on their own or with the support of a counselor or a friend and start practicing!
Discuss what they will enjoy doing at camp, look over the camp activities, help explain how they can sign up for activities at the camp and who to turn to if they would like to change their schedule.
Let them know how Runoia directors and adults are around all the time to help them at camp. Have them write an email to us about any concerns so we can address them. Reducing uncertainty and knowing adults will be there to help them really helps.

Let your camper know it is absolutely normal to be nervous about camp and let her know that everyone is nervous – even the campers returning to Runoia. Remind her we are great at helping campers adjust and get oriented at Camp Runoia and we want her to have the best time of her life!

Posted on December 30, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

This time of year is a typical time for reflections on the year behind and dreams and goals for the year ahead. At Camp Runoia we build lifelong skills through daily, weekly and session long goal setting. Although we fondly hash tag “magic happens” – ironically most of the magic that comes out of the camp experience is planned and intentional youth development. These building blocks for goal setting set the stage for growth and a lifelong skills of reaching for and working toward things beyond our grasp.

Many Runoia campers learn about goal setting and marking achievements along the way to meet that goal through camp life. Daily reflections by way of “circle up” at the end of the day with cabin-mates and counselors at Runoia might be a “pit and a peach”, a “rose and a thorn” or a “pickle and a candy”. Runoia campers take a moment each day to think about and share what was hard for them and what they feel proud about from the day. Sometimes sharing “a peach bud or a rose bud or a seed” helps campers to think about what they’d like to start working on through camp activities or their major activity for the week.

What we have found to be true is talking about what you experience makes it memorable, etches what you’ve learned and builds on the experience making it more profound or magical. Announcing to others what you found challenging and what you feel proud about and what you want to work on, allows you to feel as sense of gain, a positive experience even if it was hard along the way.

As all of us take time to reflect and set goals for the year, thinking about how we set daily, weekly and session goals in the summer helps get better about setting goals for the year. Leave it to camp to help build skills that last a lifetime. And it never hurts to dream a little about how #magichappens, too!

The World Outside of Camp (WOoC)

Posted on December 3, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Guest blogger, Carrie Murphey, writes a poignant passage about camp here:

In this moment snugged squarely into the season of gratitude and giving, I want to try to share my gratitude for what camp has given me over the years.

While camp is never far from my heart, the truth is, I haven’t worked at camp in five years now. I love my job as a college dean but I must report, the World Outside of Camp (W.O.o.C. for the fellow acronym-makers out there) is ever-so-slightly less amazing than every single moment is of camp. As such, I find myself thinking of camp often. Occasionally, it’s wistful longing for a campfire by the lake, but more often than not, it’s small everyday moments that help keep camp a daily touchstone.

Sitting in a chaotic staff meeting where many voices are trying to be heard and good ideas raised, I recall boisterous meals in the Dining Hall, working to listen with my whole ears – to tales of tag-up, swims in the lake, rest hour shack shenanigans – and add my voice when it is truly an addition, and not just because I am itching to make sure it still works.

Supporting students through their course selection process for next semester, I want them to pick topics in which they have a genuine and personal interest, rather than make a choice simply based on what their roommates or friends are doing. I think often of mornings at the tag-up board where Alex counsels Runoia campers into the same sort of thought process. “Are you really interested in being out on the water today or would you be happier playing tennis?” Making choices for yourself is a learned skill and one you get the chance to exercise every day at camp. I wish for days where all my available choices were as much fun as the ones at camp!

I think of camp at odd times and regular times (from my desk, watching as the sun goes down outside the window, I regularly find myself singing “Taps” in my head), and most often as I reflect on a new friendship I’m developing or an old one that I’m trying to keep active. For all the skills that camp builds, none is more important than those you pick up living in a cabin with fellow campers and counselors. You won’t think of how important your shack bonding time was, or how invaluable opening day name games were, until you come face-to-face with a new person and find yourself able to make comforting and comfortable conversation. Perhaps it is through those conversations that you’re able to develop a friendship out of a chance encounter. If you’re lucky, there’s always the possibility that your camp friendship skills will allow you to develop even a non-camp person (they exist!) into the type of friend you thought was only possible at camp.
This season and every day, I’m grateful for all of the memories I have of wonderful times at camp (and yes, particularly those involving campfire), but the real gift that camp gave me are the countless moments when camp is with me in the World Outside of Camp.

Ahhhh! Keep the "inner" Campfire Burning All Year! — Ahhhh! Keep the “inner” Campfire Burning All Year!

THANKS CARRIE!

Do you want to guest blog for Runoia? Submit your blog writing to blog@runoia.com

Camp cooking.

Posted on November 18, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Campers at Runoia have been developing their outdoor cooking skills for many years. Wilderness trips have been an integral part of the program since camp opened 110 years ago. Can you believe that back in the day campers used their bloomers to stash their lunches in when they went off canoeing!

Regardless of how far you are hiking or canoeing you have to eat and the food can make or break the success of a trip. Trying everything from re-hydrating dried mixes to baking a cake in a Dutch oven many girls get their first taste of cooking at camp. Campers are involved in all aspects of trip menu planning and then meal preparation.

From an 8 year old flipping their first pancakes to a 15 year old menu planning and cooking meals for a whole week and with everything in between; Runoai girls get a taste of independence and begin to build their own life skills around the campfire.

Food on the hiking trail has to be light weight, well balanced, nutritious and high in energy. Trail mix, no bake cookies and other high protein snacks can be a great boost when you still have miles to go to your campsite. Cooking over a camp stove requires good organizational skills, often a menu that needs minimal pots and some creativity for making the meal tasty. A canoeing trip may allow for a little more equipment and often includes a reflector oven or Dutch oven so baking around the fire becomes a great option.

There is often nothing more satisfying than sitting around the campfire with a tin plate and a spork eating a meal that you have waited all day for and that you helped to cook.

Always a bonus if it is followed by reflector oven brownies or s’mores.

Camp Runoia video blog

Posted on October 27, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Staff member Erica Carthy ‘Dream Team 2015’ captured the spirit of camp in this excellent video blog.

Take 3 1/2 minutes to relax and become absorbed in Runoia life #magichappens at Camp Runoia.

We are certain that it will leave you longing for camp days.

Thanks Erica!

We’re gonna make this place your home!

American Sign Language at Sleepaway Camp

Posted on October 20, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Word of the Day – American Sign Language Style!

Our Word of the Day is an event at camp that has become a tradition. This summer the WOD was brought to us by Izzy Snyder. She included ALS signs to every word and taught them to the whole camp. Izzy is studying to be an interpreter for the deaf and we learned signs in both sessions at Runoia.

At the end of this session, Keira, a 10 year old camper, wrote a story including some of the signs (the underlined words) we learned in second session at Camp Runoia:

Welcome to the Obscure Challenge.

Here your perseverance, laughter and experience will be staunch and most wanted. During this challenge you will trudge through vegetation. If you win you should feel bittersweet because much worse awaits you after winning. IF you lose you do not have to face what will come, so you should feel grateful. In the next part of the challenge, you will face a question that most people are not imaginative enough to figure out. IF you find the answer it means you have a lot of positivity and you will be flabbergasted by the winner. This is a competition (friendly) of the mind. The winner has a strong mind with tons of inner strength.

Keira, thanks for sharing your great story!

End of season refelctions

Posted on October 6, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

The summer of 2015 is awesomely reflected In the words of our Dream Team 2015 Counselors and staff.

I love working at Runoia. It really is a truly amazing thing that happens. I get the opportunity to make lasting friendships with amazing people, to pass on skills that I value very highly to a group of fantastic girls, and build my leadership skills more than I could at just about any other job. To the director team, thank you for giving me the opportunity to have two of the best summers of my life and for supporting me!

Personally, there were many highlights of the summer. I enjoyed watching the bond between everyone grow and it definitely showed during campfire and EP. Not only did I create bonds with campers, but I created friendships with the staff that I will hopefully stay in touch with! Seeing the kids improve in their skills and to be excited about trying something new was rewarding. It felt good to see the results of your hard work.

I loved every trip I went on. The Katahdin and Saddleback trips stood out as my favorite.

There are too many highlights to mention them all. I love Runoia because of the amazing experience it provides girls from all over the world. The biggest challenge for me was saying goodbye to campers and staff alike.

The highlights were all of the experiences I had with teaching the girls. It was so rewarding to have a girl come back to my activity and remind me of something I had told her or be able to do something without needing to be reminded. Seeing their smiling faces everyday was always amazing too.

I just want to say that this summer at Runoia was the best summer of my life and I am so thankful to be a part of the Runoia Dream Team!

We couldn’t have said it any better.

Thanks to our amazing ‘Dream Team’ staff! We hope to see you all in 2016.