Once in a Blue Moon

A blue moon occurs when a calendar month has two full moons with in it. This will happen about once every two-and-a half years.

I had the opportunity this New Years Eve to ski under the light of the blue moon with friends. As it cast shadows onto the snow, making it glisten and glitter you couldn't help but slow down look around in awe trying to capture the scenic landscape with a mental snapshot. It was a rather cold night, like the ones many of us are experiencing this winter, and the light danced through the ice crystals that were hanging in the air. The trees were heavy with snow and it truly looked like a winter wonderland.

Prior to driving up the pass and strapping on our skis we almost talked ourselves out of it because of the cold, but no one wanted to be the person to make that call so we went ahead and headed up. It was an amazing way to remind myself to take advantage of the season and to enjoy the stark beauty of winter.

Camp is s amazingly beautiful this time of year. No matter where you are don't be afraid to bundle up and get outside.

Ways to be Involved

This past week Sanborn Western Camps hosted the American Camp Association Rocky Mountain Section Fall Conference. The Conference had many educational breakout sessions that strengthened the experience camps deliver to campers. Some sessions focused on how to teach leadership, social skills, and how to find/retain quality staff to support the lessons taught at camp. Camp is a place that children learn life skills that help them thrive in and out of the classroom. Camp provides the opportunity for children to reconnect with nature. The children and Nature movement is sweeping across the country and we must help in supporting it. Here are some quick and easy ways that the ACA has identified that will help raise the importance of getting children out of doors.

1. Join NatureRocks – a national campaign created to inspire and empower parents to take their families to play, explore, and enjoy quality time in nature for happier and smarter children. www.naturerocks.org

2. Join the National “No Child Left Inside” Coalition and follow what is happing with the piece of legislation. www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=687

3. Provide opportunities for children to engage the natural world in meaningful ways.

4. Encourage youth to be good stewards of the environment. Teach Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and environmental ethics. Foster environmentally friendly behaviors.

5. Take advantage of “teachable moments” with children. Explore and focus on natural elements. Look at the stars, the clouds. Facilitate in children the sense of wonder and awe.

The Zen of Camp

In a nod to our good friend, Marla Coleman and her blog Campfire Stories for Parents, I thought I would feature one of my favorite children’s books, Zen Shorts, by Jon Muth. It often takes zen-like patience and wisdom to work with children in the camp environment, and this collection of stories provides three key nuggets of life wisdom which can be applied to almost any situation working with kids OR adults. The quotes interspersed with the commentary are from Sanborn campers.

Our narrator in Zen Shorts is Stillwater (a giant panda), who first tells a tale of a robber attempting to steal from his rather material-poor uncle. The uncle (a polar bear, of course) startles the robber when he offers up the clothes on his back—the robber takes the clothing and runs. Moments later, while looking up at a beautiful full moon, the uncle laments, “All I had to give him was my robe…I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon.”

The beauty of a camp experience is that kids actually DO get the moon…and the stars…and the trees…and an understanding, appreciation and wonder for the natural world. At camp, and in the outdoors, our days and actions are “stripped” to the necessary and the functional. There is not a great deal of material excess or concern, so campers and staff alike find it easier to begin to look outward: to connect with the natural world and with each other.

“There is something about Sanborn and the mountains that is unattainable anywhere else on earth. The greatness of the landscape humbles you and makes you grateful for life at the same time.”

Similarly, in the second tale, we learn of a farmer who seems to have both a great deal of both bad and good luck. His horses run off (bad), and eventually they return and bring back some wild horses (good luck); his son tries to ride one of the wild horses and breaks his leg (bad luck), and then the army recruiters arrive to enlist young men to fight in a war, but they see the son’s broken leg and pass him by (good luck). In each instance, a bevy of well meaning neighbors stop by to offer their sympathy (“Such bad luck!”) or celebration (“Such good luck!”) to the farmer who always replies, “Maybe.”

During the summer, it appears easy to see something like a missed summit or a conflict in the living community or getting lost on a hike as a failure—or just bad luck. In actuality, the missed summit builds anticipation, desire and strength for the next climb; the conflict allows us to look at our communication and group living skills; and being lost teaches us how to deal with adversity, anxiety, and a lack of control. The opportunity to work in environments so rich with diverse growth opportunities isn’t rare—it is just a matter of perspective. Unlike some potentially less forgiving environments, at camp when we think we have “the answer” there is both the vision and the challenge of “…maybe.”

“The mountains are a place where you can forget about the congestion and commotion of city life and focus on what life really has to offer.”

My favorite story is the last. Two monks are passing through a flooded town when they see a rather cross-looking woman who is waiting for her attendants to carry her across the water-filled street. The older monk quickly picks her up, carries her across, and sets her down—only to have her shove him away without a bit of thanks. The younger monk stews over this woman’s rude behavior for the rest of the afternoon and then finally berates the older monk for even picking her up because she was obviously such a terrible person…a statement to which the older monk replies, “I set that woman down hours ago, why are you still carrying her?”

So who are WE carrying today and why? A month may seem like a long time, but for our campers it passes like a heartbeat—and, no wonder, this place and the people here create their own energy and life rhythm. There isn’t time or space for holding on to slights or hurt feelings or drama—there IS time and space to work through those challenges in a healthy way and move on. Our campers and staff who understand that letting go of whatever hinders them (negative perceptions of themselves or others, bad choices in the past, family issues, etc.) are able to grow limitlessly during their time at camp.

“I am coming back to camp because I have more and better friends here than any other place on earth; each summer is an adventure, and each summer I push myself farther.”

Indeed.

Opening Day is Nigh!

We spent last night singing songs and telling stories around the campfire.

The day before that, we were out on all sorts of different camp activities like horseback riding, photography, fishing, rock climbing, shooting air rifles, arts & crafts and more.

The night before that was spent playing frisbee, basketball, croquet, softball and eating some delicious burgers, brats, hot dogs and veggie burgers.

The best part is: The campers aren't even here yet!

With our staff training week about to wrap up here at Big Spring Ranch for Boys, we're really starting to come together as a group. We talk with our staff about becoming a part of the Brotherhood of Outdoorsmen and as the week has progressed, so has our Brotherhood.

As fun as it has been getting to know each of the staff members and going through all of the games and activites we're preparing to offer all of our campers, the excitement is really just beginning.

The staff will have the evening off tonight and then just two final days of preparation before the moment we've all been dreaming about since last August. There's really nothing quite like opening day at camp, with the old familiar friends and fresh new faces roaming around the hills and ridges. New friendships beginning to form and stories of the long winter and school years are shared. Sometimes it's hard to recognize the long-time returning campers that have seemingly grown a foot since we've last seen them.

The best part of it all though, is that opening day is the beginning of another summer at camp. We spend all fall, winter and spring preparing and now the day is finally before us that we can show off all that we've learned.

I know I'm excited, and I know our staff is excited, so I hope everyone else is as excited as we are!

Off The Beaten Path

As the last of the 24” of snow melted this week, I took a walk with my young sons in Olin Gulch in celebration of Earth Day. My four year old gleefully kicked slush at the dog in the two-track for a while before declaring his desire for “my own trail” and then setting off at a 45 degree angle from the main valley. Mom, infant brother, and wet dog followed.

As we walked, we identified tracks from ravens, rabbits, Sula (dog), ground squirrels, and even the tracks of a cross-country skier. And then my son stopped. “Mom. Look at THESE tracks.” I wandered up to where he was standing, staring down. “They are big,” he said. And they were. So I asked my standard question, trying to be cool and nonchalant, “So what do you think made these tracks?” No pause. “A bear.”

I agreed.

With all of our efforts to manage trash daily with off-site contained recycling and a bear-proof compactor, I haven’t seen much bear activity or bear “sign” around the ranch since my return to camp in 2001. But here was a set of perfect tracks in the snow; a post-winter, slightly pigeon-toed, long-clawed lumber headed straight toward the pond in the valley.

Awesome.

In the hour walk that followed, we kept talking about the bear—wondering where it lived, what it had been eating, and—of course—its size. We also talked about why we don’t usually see, or see signs of, many big animals or predators around anymore. We talked about habitat loss, weather changes, and our impact. With a four year old, when the conversation gets too heavy, suddenly he starts pretending he is a whale diving or a motorcycle jumping a ditch—but today was different.

He asked a lot of questions—hunting was a subject that both distressed and fascinated—but, at dinner that night, his favorite part of the day was, “The walk—and the big bear tracks in the snow.”

The slogan of my youth was, “Earth Day…Everyday.” And every day that we can get our kids, the Sanborn summer camp crew, our local school children, our country as a whole OUTSIDE, the more likely each individual will be to have a deep, authentic experience or interaction with the natural world. It is the best way we can create passionate stewards of our wild places; trying to do it through technology is a weak—and distancing—substitute.

Could we see bear tracks online? Yes. Could we watch a show about bears on Animal Planet? Yes. Would my son have run into his preschool classroom the next day and immediately told his teacher about “the really big bear that walked down to get some water after it slept for a long time and probably went to look for some bear berries or maybe some dead animal but not people because bears want their own space away from people because people hunt bears and I don’t like hunters but I like bears but they’re big….”? Probably not. And even though his teacher could only understand about 1/8 of his rambling story, she nodded and said, “I like bears, too. I want them to be around here for a long, long, LONG time.” And my son? He just smiled and said, “Me too.”

Nature Activities

I have got to say the beautiful weather of the past few weeks has started to make it harder to sit indoors and work, especially when the days are full of sunshine and warmth.  I can think of a thousand things to do outside on a spring afternoon, even raking pine needles to get some fresh air sounds therapeutic.  For those of us who live in the outdoors it seems natural to step outside, but I know when the city streets seem to fill your backyard instead of the mountain's forests, it can be hard to talk kids into getting out there.

Sanborn staff recently presented a session at the National American Camp Association Conference titled "101 Nature Activities."  Our goal was to help demonstrate how accessible the outdoors can be and that you don't need a lot of "stuff" to have fun outside.  Like Jane mentioned in her post,  April is Children and Nature Month, why not get out there and take advantage of what Mother Nature has to offer?  Here are a couple of quick activities to enjoy that will help to create a sense of wonder no matter how old you are.  They have been written to be used in a camp setting, but part of the beauty is taking them and adapting them to work anywhere: your backyard, a city park, or an open space nearby. 

Special Spots:  When out on a hike look for an area where children can spread out and find a Special Spot.  Explain to them that they will be "a giant" (think Horton Hears a Who) in their Special Spot, so they will need to inspect it closely to discover what is going on there.  When they enter their Special Spot, they will be entering a little community that already existed before they arrived, so it is important not to do anything which would disturb or damage their spot.  Look carefully at rocks and sticks.  What shapes are they?  Where do you think they came from?  what living things do you find? How do they depend on the non-living things in your spot?  What sounds or smells do you experience?  Take time to just be, to sit and take in the view.

FBI Hike: This fun activity can take place anywhere.  The FBI (Forest Bureau of Investigation) can also become the CIA (City Investigation Agency).  Kids are challenged to explore their environment to find evidence of criminal activity within the natural world.  Examples might include trees which are "littering" by carelessly scattering needles or leaves, birds "murdering" insects or worms, or squirrels kidnapping the "children" (seeds) of trees.  The possibilities are endless and can lead to discussions about food chains, interrelationships within the natural world and many other natural principles.  Investigators can use digital cameras to document the crime scene and make notes about the evidence they find.  At the end of the hike, the detectives make "Wanted" posters describing each criminal they uncovered.

Paint Chip Hike: Give each child a paint chip sample from a hardware store.  They can be all colors pinks, reds, greens, blues; they don't even have to seem like natural colors.  As you are hiking have the kids try to match their color with natural things they see like a purple flower or neon yellow lichen.

We would love to learn about any other great activities that help children gain an appreciation of the natural world around them, so let us hear what you have done and ideas you have.