We've still got more May, and we've still got more Staff to meet!

Yes, we've got to use what's left of May (the last month before Camp starts!) to meet some more of our Summer Staff, staff who are going to define Summer 2018, staff who are going to make Camp as great as a great camp can be, staff like:

Our new Kitchen Counselor...

Our new-to-Senior-Staff Programming Coordinator...

Our returning once more to the woods Environmental Education Counselor...

And our brand-new from across the ocean Kitchen Counselor...

A FULL SUMMER CAMP for 2018!

That's it! We've got our full roster, the participants are set, we are now all ready and rip-roaring to go for Summer 2018, because this weekend we filled our final bunk for the summer!

Yes, EVERY SINGLE bunk is full for EVERY SINGLE session of Summer 2018! 

That means we are welcoming our maximum capacity of 1,232 campers this summer! 

That's 1232 views of the Opening Campfire on the shores of Lake Shawanni, 1232 participants in the Talent Show,  1232 flag-stealers, flag defenders, gold finder and jail keepers in Battle for the Island, that's 1232 kids soaking up the beauty of Stokes State Forest, 1232 folks getting away from it all in our tech free environment, that's 1232 brand-new friends, that's 1232 weeks of summer camp!

(If you were hoping to join us in Summer 2018 but weren't able to get a bunk, we encourage you to sign-up for our Wait-List!)

We say over and over again that Camp is defined by the people who are here. 

No week can ever be the same, because no week will ever have the exact same cast of characters, as we're always welcoming in new campers, new counselors, and new staff. 

It's what keeps Camp brand-new every summer, it's what keeps Camp exciting, keeps Camp mystical, and it's what keeps us coming back for more summer after summer after summer. 

And we've got 1,232 reasons that Summer 2018 is going to be a great one.

Less than 50 Days Until Summer Camp! So Let's Meet Some More Staff!

The more staff you meet, the more excited you get for Summer Camp 2018!

So get more excited, because it's time for you to meet our Returning Recreation Counselor...




And our was-a-Kitchen-Counselor-last-year-but-is-returning-as-a-Cabin-Counselor-in-Environmental-Education...

Think you're as excited as you can get? 

You're wrong, cause you've still got to get MORE excited as you meet our new Creative Arts Counselor...

And our new Waterfront Counselor...

Making the Best Better: Canoe-nity Garden WORK Day!!!

If you've been following this here ol' Summer Camp blog, you know that we've been dreaming of our Canoe-nity Garden all winter long, and now that spring is here, it was time to take the garden out of dreamland, and put it into reality!

All the pieces had come together:

We had our soil, generously donated by the Scotts Company!

We had our lumber, generously donated by Lowes of Newton!

We had a bunch of other supplies...

Generously donated through a gift from our great friends of Camp, the Kuehn Family...

And from supporters like YOU who donated to our Campfire Council's Gofundme Campaign!

(And in fact, supporters like you can STILL support by donating to our Campfire Council's Gofundme Campaign as we're continuing putting the finishing touches on the garden...) 

And of course, we had our very own Lakeside Louie of Dreamscape Designs, our architect of the Canoe-nity Fence, foreman, and boss for the day!

And Saturday we added the final piece to the puzzle...

A team of volunteers!

Our tasks were many!

And varied!

Things like:

Doing whatever Louie said. Mostly that. 

But also things like:

Moving stuff!

Things need moved to make a fence. That's just a fact.

Things like digging holes!

Many, many holes.

Deep holes!

Digging holes with machines!

Digging holes with humans!

Digging holes with humans and machines working together!

Thanks, machine.

Thanks, human.

Things like supervising!

Things like taking breaks!

Ahh. Breaks.

Things like getting back to work after breaks!

And after all that work...

The fence...

Was starting to look like a fence!

(Don't you think?)

So we thought we better actually put the fencing on it.

That way the fence...

Would look even more...

Like a fence.

And IN the fence...

It was time for the Canoe-nity Garden to start living up to it's name...

As we moved in...

And set-up...

Our canoe planters.

The fence team...

Then...

Put on...

Some finishing touches...

Took a breath...

And celebrated...

A job well done...

As Sunday morning...

They turned the project over...

To...

The gardening team!

Yes,

Sussex County 4-H's own...

Summer Blossoms Gardening Club...

Came on in...

To fill up...

Our canoes...

With soil...

Perfect the layout...

And turn our fenced in Canoes...

Into...

An actual...

Real-life...

No-longer-just-dreamed-up...

-And-talked-about...

-And-planned-for...

-But-Actually-Existing...

Camp Garden.

A Camp Garden...

That is now...

All ready...

To grow!

Special thanks to Lowes, and Scotts, and Dreamscape Designs!

Thanks to Ocean County 4-H, and all the 4-H Camp staff and camper volunteers on the fence team!

Thanks to the 4-H Summer Blossoms on the GARDEN TEAM for this round of planting, design, and set up and for their continued stewardship of the Canoe-nity Garden!

And thanks to the WHOLE CAMP COMMUNITY, who has been clamoring for a
4-H Camp garden for so long, and now finally has one. This will be a great laboratory for our gardening class this summer, a source of herbs and vegtables for the Dining Hall, and just the first step in the many opportunities the project will bring our campers for years to come.  If you haven't supported the project yet and would like to, it's not too late! Our Campfire Council's Gofundme Campaign is still going on: Lakeside Louie has more great plans to complete our fence, we have more boats and rowboats to fill and plant in, and this is only the start of our Canoe-nity Garden. Donate to help us get to what's next!