Meet Your Year-Round Staff: Carrie Kishline

What’s your name? Really?
Where are you from? I grew up in Kent, WA and have lived here on Vashon for the past 7 years.
What’s your job at Camp Sealth? Senior Program Manager (I supervise Resident and Day Camp)
Did you go to camp as a kid? Did you like it? I started going to camp (here at Sealth) when I was 10, and have only missed one summer so far! I loved camp every year growing up – I went home singing all the songs, and couldn’t wait to go back the next year. Camp made me who I am today – it sounds really corny, but it’s true. This is my 20^th summer at Sealth, and I’m just as excited to part of the camp magic as I was at age ten.
What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? When I was in junior high, I thought I wanted to go into forensic science, because I was obsessed with the X-Files. After that, I wanted to teach high school or college level math. I didn’t know that you could make a career of working at camp!
What’s your favorite camp food? Breaded & baked chicken breasts, roasted red potatoes and cheesecake
What’s the best thing that has ever happened to you at camp? I discovered the things that I am good at, and that I can make a living doing those things. Working every day to help build a new future of caring, responsible adults makes me pretty happy.
If you could be bunkmates with any person, living or dead, who would it be? Honestly, I would choose my favorite camp counselor, Alto. She was my counselor for two years, then my supervisor one year when I was on staff, and we have stayed in touch since then. She is spunky, hilarious, has an incredible singing voice, and loves camp as much as I do!
What’s one thing Camp Sealth has that other camps don’t have? A beautiful history of talented, passionate people that helped build and sustain the camp and the program over so many years.
If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why? I have always thought that cats have a pretty easy life for the most part – eat, sleep, purr, chase things around the house – so I would probably want to be a cat.
Tell us a funny camp story. My last year as a camper, we took a canoe trip to a piece of property 6 miles north of Sealth, called Shangri-La. The trip there was fine, although it took forever. The campsite itself was pretty unimpressive – it was built on a hill and full of mud, so it wasn’t that inspiring. The problem was on the way back – the current was so strong that we were barely making any headway. Our counselors had a brilliant idea – we rafted together the six canoes, side by side, and held them together. Two people used their paddles as rudders in the back of our “raft”, and two other people stood up in the front holding a gigantic plastic sheet as a sail. We sailed all the way back to camp. Years later, I was talking about this story with Dana, who was also a camper in that cabin. Her view of the whole thing was a little different – she thought it was overall a pretty miserable experience, but it was one of the highlights of all my years at camp.
What does camp mean to you? Camp is one of the only places that develops all of those life skills that you can’t learn in school or at home. People who grew up going to camp are more compassionate, better leaders, and take an active interest in bettering their community. It’s also a place where people can be themselves and where they are accepted for who they are.

Return of the Camp Store!

Great news -- after several years’ vacation, the Camp Store is returning to Sealth this summer! The store will be located in lower WoHeLo, and campers will have access with their cabin group at some point during their session. Any purchases will be charged to parent-approved accounts – parents can add money to their child’s account before camp, at check-in or even during the session.

If you’re like us, you can never get enough Camp Sealth apparel to show off how much you love camp. Now’s your chance! There will be T-shirts, water bottles, hats, and the like emblazoned with the Sealth logo. In case you had a packing mishap, we’ll also have a few basic convenience items like toothpaste, soap, batteries, and more. As in past years, all campers receive one free Camp Sealth T-shirt included with the cost of registration – you’ll pick that up on your trip to the store while you’re at camp.

If there’s a product you’re dying to see at the store this summer, let us know on facebook! Sometime in June, we’ll post photos and prices online. Until then, we’re happy to take any suggestions you have. We’re also open to designs – email your great logo idea for the next Camp Sealth T-shirt or hoodie to campstaff@campfire-usa.org.

Program Preview: Paddleboards!

This weekend Camp Sealth received a very generous present!


Our friends at Hang Zen donated two paddleboards for use at the waterfront. They may look like surfboards, but don't expect to catch huge waves in the Sound! In fact, the calm seas are to your advantage. Stand upright on the board and propel yourself forward with the paddle (this can require the balance of a yoga master).


Martin, our Environmental Education Program Coordinator, took one of the paddleboards out for a test run today. Fortunately, the wind let up for a while and prevented him from taking a bath in the Sound. As long as he keeps practicing his balance, Martin should be a paddleboard pro by the time summer rolls around.


We're grateful to receive this gift from Hang Zen. We're also looking forward to seeing campers' expressions when trying out a paddleboard for the first time! This new kind of boat may take some getting used to, even for seasoned campers, but we expect campers to be eager to try out the paddleboards. Drop by this summer, and you might spot some Kiwanis campers paddling out to sea!

Open House coming soon!

If you're looking for something to do now that the weather gets nicer, you're in luck! On Saturday, April 9, Camp Sealth is having its first Open House and Family Play Day of the year from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please come join us for this free event, perfect for the whole family.

Take a tour, meet the staff, try out summer camp activities. If you've always wanted to try boating, fishing, or archery, this is your chance! Other available activities include arts & crafts and touch tanks, for kids who want to get in touch with their creative side or meet some of our local sea life. Enjoy a picnic lunch for the whole family after your hike through the woods or beachfront stroll.


No reservations are necessary, and everyone is welcome (pets not included). We're excited to show you around our beautiful home!

Quick details:
Open House and Play Day
at Camp Sealth, on Vashon Island
Saturday, April 9, 2011
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Free, no reservations, please leave pets at home!

Dad/Kid Weekend

As a year-round staff member at Camp Sealth, we often get the well-meaning question, "But what do you do when there's no kids at camp?" There are a lot of ways to answer this, but the most obvious one is that there are kids at camp year-round!


A few weekends ago, we had Camp Fire groups from all around the Puget Sound area come to camp with their dads in tow. Over 200 dads and kids joined us at Camp Sealth for outdoor activities, arts and crafts, archery, and other fun.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and each and every dad and kid had a great time. They were able to spend time on our 300+ acres of forest and shoreline, exploring the outdoors and learning about our environment. They were also able to spend some time getting wild and crazy indoors!:


All photos used here can be found in the SBC Campfire Flickr Stream. Thanks to the photographers for generously allowing us to use the photos!

Sand Lance Training

Today at Camp Sealth, our friends at the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife came down teach our staff about Sand Lances, a type of fish native to the Puget Sound. We learned about how to protect and preserve this fascinating species. They love to spawn on our beaches due to the coarse sand environment. Interestingly enough, they...... are one of the only fish that spawn in the winter! We are careful to keep off the beach during the off-season to protect these fish from danger.

Pictured from left to right: Camp Director Rick Taylor, Environmental Education Program Manager Martin Bremer, Environmental Education Program Assistant Andy Oh, Facility Manager Steve Lomax, Facility Assistant Eric Miller, and our coach Dayv from Washington Fish & Wildlife. Not pictured is Camp Fire Puget Sound CEO Bridgett Chandler, who took the photo. Thanks to everyone for a great training!

Dayv Lowry, Ph.D., is a jack of many trades. His official title is Marine Ecologist - Forage Fish Scientist of the Habitat Program, Science Division, of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. We were happy to have him join us at camp.

Welcome to Gold One!

We are pleased to welcome another NCCC team to Camp Sealth for the next several months! Below is a portrait of Gold One, made up of eight outstanding individuals from all corners of the country. Hailing from Georgia, California, and everywhere in between, this is a diverse group of people who are sure to bring something new to Camp Sealth.


There are several tasks Gold One will be working on throughout their time here. As always, the trails at Camp Sealth need work -- it is a never-ending job to clear and maintain the miles of trail we use throughout the summer. With the recent wind- and rain-storms in the Pacific Northwest, there are a lot of downed trees and scattered brush that needs to be cleared before kids start coming to camp.


And kids will be here soon -- which has to do with the other half of Gold One's work here at Camp. During the spring, we run an Environmental Education program. Groups of schoolchildren from all over Western Washington come to camp to learn about the environment. Gold One, after extensive training, will be part of this program, teaching local kids about how to preserve the forests, wetlands, and marine areas all found at Camp Sealth. Gold One will be teaching everything from astronomy to sustainability, all while spending time on the gorgeous property of Camp Sealth. We're very excited to spend time with Gold One and get to know them better over these next few months! Check back for more updates on their goings-on.

To read more about Camp Sealth's Environmental Ed program, go here.
Photos borrowed from Gold One's introductory brochure. Want a copy or want to know more about Gold One? Send us an email: campstaff@campfire-usa.org.

Why should you "Like" us on Facebook?

You're living in the information age: you've probably heard of Facebook. Whether you're just now jumping on the bandwagon, or you've been online since Facebook required a .edu email address, this ubiquitous blue logo is a big part of our lives now.



Why does it matter to you? Businesses and public figures of all sorts are starting their own Facebook pages -- everyone from Target to Taylor Swift, summer camps to songwriters, Fortune 500 companies and non-profits, everyone has a their own Facebook page. Here are the top three reasons you should head to Facebook and click "Like" on us right now!

One-Stop Shop
Everything featured on our blog is also linked on our Facebook page. You won't miss a single post if you click over to our Facebook, and you only need to visit one web site to hear all the news from Camp Sealth.

More Info
Facebook's user-friendly format and easy uploading capabilities means one thing for you: more content. A blog post might take an hour or two to put together, but it's much quicker to update Facebook -- just a snapshot and a caption. This means you get to hear more from Camp Sealth. You see more pictures, read more news, get more insight into what goes on at Camp. How could that be bad?

Contests!
We have a number of exciting news about the upcoming summer, and we'll be breaking most of it on the blog and on the Facebook page. However, there are contests and prize-winning opportunities that will be held only on Facebook. Do you want input on what this year's T-shirts will look like? Do you want to win one of last year's? Do you have a great camp-related limerick running around in your brain? The action will all be on Facebook, and you don't want to miss it.

Find us on Facebook! And if you prefer tweets to status updates, go ahead and follow us on Twitter!

Meet Your Year-Round Staff: Martin Bremer

What’s your name? Martin Bremer aka Papa Steve

Where are you from? Chicago and to a lesser extent, Boston

What’s your job at Camp Sealth? I run the Environmental Education Program – Basically, I’m a teacher with an awesome classroom!

Did you go to camp as a kid? Did you like it? I mainly went camping. I went to a few boy scout camps, but was primarily interested in being outside and less about merit badges.

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up? A Dinosaur!

What’s your favorite camp food? I love to cook over a fire, and I really enjoy most foods… banana boats are always a great dessert.

What’s the best thing that has ever happened to you at camp? I get to teach in the woods!

If you could be bunkmates with any person, living or dead, who would it be? John Dewey, Albert Einstein, Tim O’Brien, Norman McLean, Steve Lomax

Why do you enjoy working at camp? I get to teach in the woods!

What’s one thing Camp Sealth has that other camps don’t have? Me

If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why? A Narwhal because they are so awesome! Maybe an octopus, a moose or a wolf.

Tell us a funny camp story. I don’t understand this request; camp has never told me a story… Camp is more of the strong silent type. I’ve never, in fact, heard a word from camp. Yet camp always is there when I leave the office and always is there when I get to work yet never so much as a “Hey, how’s your day going?” or “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” This also means that I have never heard one negative word out of camp. My guess is that it has a lot to do with the fact that camp doesn’t have a “mouth” or “vocal chords” which most doctors agree are required for “speaking.” Nor does camp have “hands” for sign language. Perhaps camp tries to use the trees for FSL (forest sign language). I am, unfortunately, not versed in this archaic language; I should consult with Rick aka Treebeard on this matter.

What does camp mean to you? It means I get to work with Steve Lomax.

Editor's note: judging by his "funny" camp story and the above photo, Martin should have been a comedian for a living. Right? Wrong.

More Winter Weather

It appears that the winter weather that has plagued the rest of the country for the past few weeks has arrived at Camp Sealth! Above is a view of main camp covered in last night's snow. More is falling as we speak!

The road down into camp is slick but drivable. Our Americorps team left this morning, and other camp vehicles have been driving in and out without problems. This is good news, since we have Adult Weekend coming up tomorrow.

The Puget Sound looks gray and cold in this weather ... the campers who complain about the cold water temperature in mid-summer might want to retract those statements now!

Uncle Wig's mailbox is frozen ... he won't be getting messages any time soon.

And there won't be any Council Fires in Green Circle for the time being! The weather outside may be frightful, but we're staying cozy here at camp. If you live in the Seattle area, enjoy the snow today!

Another NCCC Crew Hits the Road

These last several weeks at Camp Sealth, we have been lucky enough to host an Americorps team. With all the damage done by winter storms this year, we were sorely in need of some help getting the trails cleaned up around camp. With the help of staff members Steve, Chad, Eric, and Martin, our latest team worked hard for three weeks getting us back in shape for the spring.

Early in their tenure at camp, the Blue One team (or "Bluno," a designation you might recall from a team we had around this time last year) pulled our docks out of the water to give them a good scrubbing down. A full year of seaweed, algae, barnacles, and other such delicacies clung to the bottoms, but Bluno made short work of it. The docks are now clean and fresh, awaiting another summer of campers to inhabit them.



Pictured above are several NCCC, or National Civilian Community Corps members, along with Camp Sealth staff Eric. NCCC is a branch of Americorps that puts together teams of 8-12 enthusiastic workers who volunteer their time for a 10-month stretch. Usually terms last 6-8 weeks, but Bluno's schedule had them here for only three! In that time, however, they got quite a bit of work done. Above, they are helping to clear up Blueberry Hill, which has been struggling with invasive plant species as of late. Thanks to their help, BBH and the plateau above Birdcage are freed of troublesome plant life. In addition to the work pictured above, the team widened and cleared miles of trail around camp. The Heaven trail, parts of South Rim, and much of Milky Way trail are now without the downed trees and undergrowth obstructing their paths. Hikers, runners, and riders will look forward to clear trails this summer!



Of course, all work and no play makes NCCC a dull team! Here we have several team members joking around while emptying a wheelbarrow full of sticks, branches and weeds. The leftover undergrowth and invasive plants were piled up near Milky Way as the team continued their efforts, with the idea that the natural waste would be burned. In a celebration on Friday, everyone in camp got together for the burn pile. The NCCC members enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows after their hard work, and were joined by the appreciative camp staff.



Finally, enjoy this picture of team leader Lauren getting ready to get to work! The smiling face and great attitude shown here were characteristics shared by all of Bluno. We all had fun working and playing with this most recent NCCC team, and we wish them well along their way. Thanks to Chris, Tiffany, Eric, Sam, Lauren, Katherine, Noor, Alex, Erin, Kristen, and Danielle. Good luck and happy trails!

Winter Storm Destruction

It's a fact - when you live in the Pacific Northwest, winter storms are a part of life. This year, the November and December weather has been particularly brutal, especially on Vashon Island.

The Thanksgiving Week snowstorm brought only a couple of inches of snow, but that was shortly followed by sub-freezing temperatures and a windstorm with wind speeds around 70 mph. Trees were toppled all around Vashon Island, and power to the entire island was cut for almost a day and a half. In the next couple of weeks, more storms would follow with high wind, lightning and torrential rain.

Not only did Camp Sealth see extensive damage, our sister camp in Port Orchard, Camp Niwana, was hit equally hard.

At Camp Sealth, the damage included:

• 10+ trees and large limbs came down across the camp road and Knoll House road
• Several more trees down over trails
• Damage to two sections of bulkhead in front of Village
• 17-foot rescue boat "Jack" found battered and washed up on the beach
• Two sections of floating dock broke apart
• Newly donated 25-foot Catalina sailboat sunk in 20 feet of water
• Hopsing cabin in Wrangler suffered extensive water damage from a broken sprinkler pipe - the cabin is likely a total loss and will have to be rebuilt

At Niwana, losses included:

• Many electrical lines around camp came down
• The cooks cabin next to the dining hall demolished by a tree
• Staff cabin has a hole in the roof from a tree
• One other cabin and the bridge in Happy Hollow are damaged

Most of the immediate clean-up has been taken care of (trees cleared from the roads and power restored), and insurance will cover much of the cost of repair/replacement of the camps' facilities. But much more work will need to be done before camp is ready for the 2011 spring and summer seasons. A Service Weekend has been scheduled for January 29-30 at Camp Sealth. Volunteers are needed to help clear trails, pick up debris from the road and around cabins, etc. Housing & meals are provided at no cost for service weekend volunteers.

To register for the Service Weekend, contact Nick Cirignano at 206 463 3174 or nickc@campfire-usa.org. Although most camp staff are gone for the holidays, we'll be back shortly after Christmas.