Staff Member of the Month: Wonton Soup

Dear Readers:

We're excited to announce the return of our Staff Member of the Month feature!  Every month we'll interview and introduce you to a year-round or seasonal Camp Sealth staff member, what they have to say about camp, and some fun facts about them.  Check back regularly for profiles of your favorite staff members!

April: Wonton (as interviewed by Cheshire)

What’s your name?

My name is Daniel Muzi or Wonton Soup, depending on whether I’m at camp or not at camp.

Where are you from?

I’m from Seattle, Washington.

What’s your job at Camp Sealth this summer?

I’m going to be a Teen Leadership counselor.

What do you do when you're not at camp?

I’ll be in school for at least one more year.  I study animation and game design, with minors in creative writing and math.  I also play video games and…that’s about it.

Did you go to camp as a kid? Did you like it?

I did, and I did!

What’s your favorite camp food?

I really like chicken fettucini alfredo. 

Me too!  I feel like it's underappreciated.

I don’t know if I could call it my favorite, because we don’t have it frequently enough, but every time it’s there, I eat it.

If you could be cabinmates with any person, living or dead, who would it be?

You.

Do you want me to write “Cheshire” or “You”?Good question.

If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why?

I would be a velociraptor, because they’re beasts.  Not just that they’re bestial, but that they’re just so cool, and smart; they’re the definition of cool.

Tell us a funny camp story.

Last year, at First Night Fun, when we asked campers what things we shouldn’t put in toilets, one camper said “Babies!”  We could not stop laughing.

What does camp mean to you?

It’s like my second home.  I feel more comfortable there than almost any other place, ever, which is awesome.  And it means I get to hang out with Cheshire.

Staff Changes at Sealth

Last month we said a sad farewell to Assistant Camp Director Turbo (aka Eric).  He is now helping build new programs at Camp Berkshire Hills Emanuel in upstate New York, closer to his home state of Pennsylvania. 

“I had an amazing time getting to be out there on the shores of Camp Sealth.  The experience has shaped me in so many ways - having a Floata on Da Boata, getting crazy (even more than usual) for Wail Lunch, and all of the great times we shared.  Now I’m off to make sure another group of campers gets their meal time announcements. Thank you for everything!!!”

But don’t worry, it’s not all melancholy news!  We’re excited to announce Plaid! (aka Rebecca) as our new ACD.  From her years on summer staff, including running the Teen Leadership program last summer, we know Plaid! is a wonderful addition to complete our Summer Leadership team.  

“I am very excited to join the leadership team for this upcoming summer! I look forward to getting Sealth geared up for a new summer of camping and singing The Tennessee Wiggle Walk!"
Please join us in wishing Turbo the best of luck with his new venture, and welcoming Plaid! to the Sealth crew!

Seattle Works Service Projects, Horse Workshop Update, and More!

Sealth thrives on the care and hard work of so many wonderful organizations in the Pacific Northwest.  Last week, a group of volunteers (plus one toddler!) from Seattle Works visited for a service weekend at Sealth.  They worked with our facility staff and put in over 250 volunteer hours, landscaping our new fire extinguisher circle, digging power line ditches, raising the hay tent, and more.  We have another volunteer group from Global Visionaries joining us next weekend for more service projects.

Spring horse workshops (weekends from 4/1-6/10) are filling up, but there are still spots open for riders of any skill level, so register now!  Sign your child up for three dates and get the fourth one free! www.campsealth.org/horseworkshops.html

A lot of our summer staff have been hired, but we are still looking for some positions, especially male counselors, and staff who are 19 years old or older.  Please pass on our website (www.campsealth.org/summercampjobs.html) to anyone you know who you think could make a great Sealth staff member.

Coming soon: Sealth staff head to Camp Killoquah next week for small craft training.  Pictures incoming!  Our blog will also soon restart the “staff member of the month” feature.

Thank You to NCCC and Camp Fire Teens, Hello to Horses!



Silver 1 poses with their legacy at Sealth. We can't thank them enough for their hard work!



Fuji, a Sealth veteran.



Our NCCC Silver 1 team has hammered in the last fence post at Wrangler, and just in time, because the horses are finally here!  Silver 1 left early this morning for their next assignment, but not before they got a chance to take the horses on one of their first rides of the spring.  Among our six new arrivals are Oreo and Howdy, two geldings who appeared in last year's blockbuster Cowboys and Aliens!  Movie stars or not, all of our horses are enjoying their brand new arena.  Along with our great riding program staff and volunteers, they will spend the next three months helping Camp Fire groups and our other horse workshop participants hone their riding skills, then be joined by about twenty more horses for our summer camp season.

A special "Thank you!" shoutout to the teen volunteers from Camp Fire's Horizon program who planned and executed our recent Dad/Kid weekend.  This annual event gives a unique opportunity for dads and honorary dads to bond outdoors with their kids.  This year's weekend was spy themed, so dads and kids wore hand-made disguises, created spy gadgets, and went on a scavenger hunt for clues.  Some quotes from dads:
"The outdoor activities were excellent."
"My daughter had a fun time and can't wait till next year!"
"I will definitely come back. Thank you! You rock!"

Campfire USA Adult Weekend

Last weekend Camp Sealth welcomed nearly one hundred adults for Adult Weekend.  This annual weekend is a chance for adults who have fond memories of camp to experience it again, and for adults who never went to camp to try it out.  As always, we were amazed by the skills participants brought to teach a variety of workshops, from yoga to cake decorating to crafts with glass, old magazines, coffee cans, and more.  Between workshops, catching up with old and new friends, and visits to the camp store, it was a busy weekend!

In other news, NCCC is nearly finished with the new Wrangler arenas.  Our first horses will arrive for spring horse workshops next week, so stay tuned to see how they like it!

Spring Horse Workshop Registration Has Arrived

It’s already that time of year! Registrations are up and available for any individuals interested in attending one (or more) of our horse workshop days this spring. The program will be open to up to 10 attendees a day, with 6 new horses to get to know and love, as well as a whole crew of bright and shining volunteers and staff to get to know. Also be on the lookout for some exciting new developments in the program, new arena fences, and much more!

Information and Registration are available at http://campsealth.org/horseworkshops.html.
For questions: please contact Meaghan Luchau at 206 463 3174 ext. 44 or meaghanl@campfire-usa.org.

All About NCCC Silver 1

We’re excited to be hosting our first Americorps NCCC team of 2012!

A few fun facts about Silver 1: 
- All but one of the crew hails from east of the Mississippi.
- Their team mascot is a cookie cutter named Roy.
- With three team members at the upper age limit, they are one of the oldest teams in NCCC history.
- They are accomplished cooks – last week they hosted a potluck and wowed us with their taco soup.



Team lead Michelle scraping mussels off of the swim dock



Silver 1 is well into their 8-week stay at Camp Sealth, and they’ve been working hard, cleaning up after our winter storm, building trails, and much more – including installing Wrangler’s brand new fence just in time for spring horse workshops!  Stay tuned for more on their service projects and culinary adventures.

Spring Renewal Weekend

Camp Sealth is hosting the next in our series of Renewal Weekends for adults March 30^th to April 1^st!

Horseback trail rides will be offered during the weekend, with programs for everyone, from those who have never ridden a horse before, up to advanced riders looking for adventure!  Arts and crafts activities will include DIY all-natural soap and facial products.  We will also be facilitating recreation and fitness activities including archery, boating, morning runs, and yoga. If you are interested in learning more about the Vashon Island ecology, we will be leading hikes focusing on tree and plant identification, as well as silent, meditative hikes.

The price is $125 per adult, which includes lodging, dining, and all activities.  Please visit www.campsealth.org to register, or contact Elyse Dull at elysed@campfire-usa.org for more information.  Whether you are looking for a new adventure or a relaxing escape, we hope you join us for a weekend of renewal!

NW Trek Community Service Day

When our staff and NCCC Silver 1 crew heard our friends at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park had had some of their exhibits damaged by the winter storm, we pulled on our work boots and headed out for a community service clean-up day.  The weather was great and spirits were high, and in four hours, four very full dump trucks of downed trees and brush were hauled away from the Black Bear Enclosure. 

We were happy for the opportunity to get to know Silver 1 better while providing a helping hand to a local organization in need.  NW Trek has another volunteer day scheduled this Saturday, February 11^th, and plans to reopen all exhibits by February 17^th.  To learn more or help out, check out www.nwtrek.org.

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!