CampHackerTV Blog
Every summer I take professional pictures for summer camps so that they have a set of pictures that they can use for their brochures, newsletters and websites. Some camps bring me back for different sessions every summer so that their "stock" images cover all age groups and all of the activities.
When I was at Camp Kintail last summer I recorded this message with my thoughts on the amazing way that Kintail welcomes guests.
I think it's something that we can all work to improve at our camps.
An Audioboo by Zoic
The Canadian Space Agency has released their northern lights project: Aurora Max.
Aurora Max is a live web feed of the northern lights over Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - home of some of the most vibrant northern lights ever seen. If you turn in at the right time (after dark in Yellowknife) you can see a live view of the sky. And if you have been a very good camper… you can see the northern lights.
The article that referred me to this site (sorry, kind referer…CBC maybe?) said that the plan is to release a phone app so you can view through the camera on your smart phone and even text alerts when the aurora are out to play.
It would be worth signing for the text alerts at your summer camp - when the lights are out in Yellowknife the chances are greatest that they are out in the sky over your camp too!
I loved August nights at Glen Mhor (now Cairn) when we would sit out on the end of the dock and feel like we were swimming in the northern lights - surrounded on all sides.
Have you ever seen the northern lights at camp?
Re-uploaded from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxwJ2GgtDHs because the punch line was in the title, hope they dont mind :)
Please, somebody, make this video for your camp! It is a perfect vehicle to illustrate to parents the hard work and dedication involved in being their child's camp counsellor.
Who knows, maybe they'll get some extra respect from camp parents (and their friends!)?
What are you planning now to recruit next summer's staff?
At Camp Oureau (the girls camp that Gabrielle Raill's family runs north of Montreal) they have made some great decisions about health and food in their dining hall. One of my favourites: instead of sugary juices they put out ice water and bowls of lemons and limes at lunch and dinner.
There was a big take-away from what Gab said: kids and parents didn't care. The Ouareau kitchen and directing staff were a little worried that kids wouldn't drink the water and would complain. Turns out... no.
(I am spending the first couple of hours this morning editing the CampHacker podcast and I wanted to highlight a brilliant idea from CampHacker podcast host Gab.)
What changes will you make in your kitchen this coming summer?
In Celtic Spirituality, people said to have ‘the eye of the eagle’ were, like the great bird soaring across thesky, able to see the big picture and yet still focus in on the tiniest details.
Years ago, Travis and I created The Eye of the Eagle award. At the end of each week, our senior staff met and determined which one of our counselling staff had gone that extra mile that week and had given their campers the most amazing camp experience. While the senior staff was meeting, the counsellors also met to decide who among the senior staff would be recognized for making a real difference.
This was a superb way to recognize those people at camp who may not always be the loudest or funniest people but who worked tirelessly to notice all the small stuff, build community and take care of your camp family.
As we all know, camp community is unique and special; it exists virtually nowhere else on earth. As we head into our summers, we would like to share with you each week easy activities or practices to implement at your camp that will help make this your best summer ever.
Make a sign that says “Servants’ Entrance” and hang it over the door to your meeting space or staff lounge as a reminder to everyone that we are at camp to serve one another. If you have a woodworker on your staff who would like to take on a project, have him or her make one that can be treasured for years.
Hang a clothesline in your staff lounge onto which paper bags are attached with clothespins. Give each staff member has his or her own bag with his or her name on it. Your entire staff can then place letters of encouragement or appreciation in them from time to time. They can sign their names or not. Make time every few weeks to fill in a few yourself.
Be sure to frontload with your staff that these are to be positive notes and not a place to air grievances or concerns.
Even if you have staff mailboxes for incoming mail and staff memos, the Love Line concept is strictly for staff members to show how much they care and support one another and is an excellent addition to your current mail system.
Collect screw-top contact lens bottles from your eye doctor - one for every member. At some point during a downpour (without thunder and lightening!), take your staff outside to collect rain. If you're lucky, you can achieve this during your training time before the campers arrive.
Ask them for the containers back and then at the end of the summer when they've all forgotten about it, give them back their bottles of rain to take home with them to remind them of the many wonders and gifts that poured down upon you this summer. The year we gave these to our staff, we purchased little velvet bags in which to put them. These can be found at a gift shop or dollar store and are quite inexpensive.
The year we did this activity, it was hot and humid and they had been inside most of the afternoon in sessions during Leadership Training. When the rain came, we grabbed our bag of little bottles and headed outside with the staff. We had an outstanding time playing in puddles and enjoying the downpour before we handed out the containers.
This was over a decade ago and any staff members I talk to still have their bottles of rain. It makes a great keepsake.
CampHacker exists to be the BEST possible resource to the camp community so that they can help make summer camp a priority for EVERY family.
Travis & Beth Allison are Summer Camp Community Consultants. Click the links to Request a Quote for Leadership Training Consulting or the CampHacks Marketing system.
CampHacker is a place for: podcasts, professional education and conversations.
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