Winter Storm Brings Camp Staff Together



Snowmen in the Orchard



The year-round staff at Camp Sealth have been making the most of stormy conditions over the past two days.  Wednesday brought 5 inches of snow to main camp and 8 inches of snow to upper camp (Dupar and Wrangler).  Thursday brought freezing rain, ice, slush and more snow on top of what we already had.  Driving up the camp road was virtually impossible, so the 11 camp staff and visitors plus 8 Americorps NCCC members have been stranded at camp since Tuesday night.

To celebrate Wednesday's snow day, staff made snowmen in the Orchard, took pictures of the snowfall, went sledding and tubing on the famous Camp Sealth hills and wrapped up the day with a movie & popcorn in Rounds Hall.

As of Thursday afternoon, the freezing rain has turned into snow once again, and looks like it might be accumulating.  Ice from this morning has started to bring down trees and large branches throughout the property.  NCCC has been hard at work clearing snow and ice from porches and walkways in main camp.  Much more storm clean-up will happen after the snow melts.  And although we've been fortunate to not lose power (yet), we expect that it could happen today with the weight of ice and snow on tree branches.

Although it's cold outside, we are staying cozy and warm with the cocoa machine, meals in Rounds Hall, and a great group of people to spend time with!

More pictures of snow at camp can be found on our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/campsealth. 

Grant Provides New Renewable Energy Curriculum

Camp Sealth has exciting news for those interested in Environmental Education and renewable energy.  We recently received a grant through Puget Sound Engergy to install a turbine and solar panel, as well as expand curriculum used with Environmental Education groups during the spring and fall. We have new units for classes that will directly use our space to teach about several different types of sustainable energy. The new material will start being used within the next couple of months and throughout the spring.


The turbine and solar panel will be up and ready around April of this year and will be used to power the marine touch tanks on the Boata Dock. This will allow students to see an actual example of real-life renewable energy use and apply what they learn about harvesting energy. We also have received supplies for hands on activities that will inspire creativity and imagination along with their scientific basis. Students will be able to build their own solar powered cars or boats to race in camp, construct a turbine to move water and other great activities. From these, students will be able to understand energy ranging from solar and wind power to biomass and tidal energy! They can participate in hands on activities to further their understanding about the use, harvesting and practicality of these forms of energy.

Sealth is thrilled to implement this new aspect of our program as early as next week with a local Vashon Island school, and then in full swing this spring with the schools coming to camp. We will make sure to get some pictures up in the next couple of weeks!

Weekend Horse Workshops come to a close..

As they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and it certainly has flown here at Camp Sealth! With the end of October, our weekend horse programs have also come to an end for the year. This past Wednesday, our 6 resident horses were packed up and headed back to join the rest of the herd in Eastern Washington for the winter.

The horse workshops this year were a wonderful addition to Camp Sealth’s fall programming. Over 70 different kids, including 2 Camp Fire groups, were able to attend our 15 regular horse workshop days this season. Of those that attended, over 50% were able to join us more than once to participate in all lessons, crafts, games, and chores we offered. 

With the overwhelming success of our new program, we are excited to plan for the return of horse workshop days at Camp Sealth beginning again in mid March 2012. With the program’s continuation, we are also hoping to expand the program with a couple more horses, more game offerings, and group-centered activities! Priority registration for groups will be open beginning in January 2012. And in February 2012, all remaining weekend days will be reserved for our regular Horse Workshop program and individuals who would like to sign up for those.  For more specific information on the group offerings, or if interested in the program for this upcoming spring, make sure to visit:
 www.campsealth.org/horseworkshops
 

Year-Round Horse Workshops

Summer has officially drawn to a close - the campers are gone, most of the staff are gone, and we have settled into the fall season. As we move into the fall and winter, Camp Sealth is excited to announce our newest program involving year-round horseback riding!

On Saturdays and Sundays during September and October, Camp Sealth is offering full day Western riding workshops. The day runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and includes a group riding lesson plus an interactive ground lesson, and helping with barn chores like grooming, saddling and feeding. The cost is $50 per person and transportation from the ferries is provided.

The program is open to beginner and intermediate riders in grades 3 and up. Advanced riders in grades 8+ can register as Junior Riding Staff to get more individualized attention, plus help teach younger riders.

There are 8 slots available for each workshop day; although a couple of dates have already filled, there are still plenty of open spaces. If the program is successful through October, we plan to offer these workshops again in the spring.

More details and registration is on our website: www.campsealth.org/horseworkshops. You can also view short bios of the 6 horses who are currently residing at camp.

We kicked off the first weekend September 17 and 18 with 9 participants. Everyone who attended had a great time, and most have already signed up for more!

Session 8

Hard to believe it, but Session 8 is already here! Don't worry -- we're still having just as much fun as we were Session 1. Some favorite camp activities we've enjoyed this week include beach walks, arts and crafts, archery, and more. One thing we're really excited about this week is an Oregon Trail-themed All-Camp Event. Each cabin needs to make a wagon, and tomorrow they'll adventure all around upper camp in search of a homestead in Willammette valley! Not only are we having fun, but we're learning Northwest history too!

Session 7 overnights!

Though there are many perks to living on an island, there's one thing we could do without: Burn Ban. It came late this summer, due to the particularly rainy weather we've had, but nevertheless Burn Ban has arrived. Even though we can no longer start fires at many of the campsites, campers have been making do marvelously. Some cabins cook their meals in main camp before hiking up the hill after dinner to sleep under the stars. Other cabins use propane stoves or have a simple meal like bagels and cream cheese. Still others prefer to go the gourmet way, cooking dishes as complex as lasagna at a fire circle in camp. Above, several Blueberry Hill campers enjoy their delicious meal, cooked by themselves with the help of their counselors, on their overnight campout. Sounds fun to me!

Challenge course and theme meals

Here are a few of this week's campers having a great time on the challenge course. Cabin groups usually have two hours per week to use our low-ropes course for team building activities, facilitated by our dedicated challenge specialists. Working together to overcome obstacles, cabins often become closer and share bonding moments from their challenge course time.

In addition to challenge course, this week campers have had a great variety of things to do, including several theme meals: "Space Vampires," hosted by Nocturnal Camp, and today's "Beach," hosted by Horizon (our high school unit). Campers love getting into the costume closet and dressing up!

Camp Session 6

Our session 6 campers have been having a great week so far. Campers have been riding horses, singing songs, playing all-camp games, and (as seen above) even fishing off the docks! The weather is perfect on Vashon Island -- not a rain drop in sight all week! Fortunately, we aren't on burn ban either, so campers are cooking over an open fire on their overnight campouts. Tasty pie-iron pizzas and gooey s'mores are camper favorites.

Colour Wars

Double session campers in Village and Horizon had the opportunity to partake in Colour Wars yesterday! A highly anticipated camp event, Colour Wars is a team competition involving challenges of epic proportions. Campers are divided randomly amongst five colours -- this year, purple, green, orange, red, and blue -- and compete for the grand prize! They are judged foremost on camp spirit and sportsmanship, then by their scores in the respective challenges. This year we had a great contest, with lots of fun for everyone. The scores were close, but the winner? Team Orange!

Session 5!

Session 5 is short but sweet! Campers are only here for four days, so they're packing as much fun as possible into every single day. Morning of day 2 dawned, as usual, with PJ breakfast. Everyone loved eating French toast in their pajamas on the first morning of camp! Yesterday evening we had a jungle-themed all camp event, where a good time was had by all. Now, on day 3, we are enjoying the beautiful sun on the shores of Camp Sealth and preparing for tonight’s celebratory Candlelight Dinner and Council Fire.

Tippy-canoe!

Just a little taste of what campers experience this and every week: the Tippy-canoe drill! As a part of certifying campers to participate in waterfront activities, they have to complete a simple swim test and the Tippy-canoe. Campers ride out about 20 feet in a canoe, capsize it themselves, then flip it right-side up and paddle back to shore. This demonstrates that they know what to do in case of an actual flip while canoeing or funyaking! Of course, our Camp Sealth lifeguards are there the whole time to make sure everyone is safe and secure. Once campers pass the swim check and Tippy-canoe, they are free to participate in waterfront activities. The photo above shows some cheerful session 4 campers tipping their canoe into the chilly Puget Sound!

Session 4 is here!

Excited campers exited DaBoata to singing and dancing counselors as Session 4 began at Camp Sealth. We're at full capacity this week -- there are over 250 kids here on the shores of Vashon Island, enjoying the gorgeous weather and camp environment. Today on the agenda: Fairy Tale theme lunch, archery, arts and crafts, and Picnic Dinner. Sounds like a blast!

Final full day of Session 3

It's Sunday now, which means that tomorrow our beloved Session 3 campers will be heading home on DaBoata and DaBussa. It's been a fun-filled week with lots of all-camp events -- notably a life-sized board game extravaganza, a talent show, and a Counselor-In-Training-produced Gold Rush game! We're exhausted here at camp ... in a good way of course. There are smiles on the faces of each and every camper.

heme Lunches, photo shoots, and all-camp events -- oh my!

From funyaking to friendship bracelets, all-camp talent shows to a Greek mythology-themed lunch, Session 3 is shaping up. Today we have a life-sized board games event in the afternoon, followed by more overnight campouts this evening. Kids are having a great time thus far!

Session 3 is flying by!

Hard to believe it, but Session 3 is already halfway over! Here at camp, we haven't had a still moment all week -- not even enough to make a quick update here on eCamp.

Sealth is busy this week despite the slightly gloomy weather. Campers have been enjoying overnight cookouts, where they cook their own campfire food with the help of counselors. Harry Potter-themed day camp has broadened the entire community's magical sense -- we've all been waving our wands and shouting out spells! Nocturnal camp is here this week as well, staying up late and going to bed as the sun rises. In addition, cabins have been joining together for enormous games of capture the flag and prisonball. And the brand-new Gaga pit is high on everyone's list of things to do.

We're having a great session so far!