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by Anthony R. Cardno
Each summer, Fairview Lake YMCA simultaneously hosts
three different camp programs: a traditional residential camp, an adventure-based
camp, and a day camp. Although Fairview has 600 beautiful acres, all
three camps operate around a central area of approximately 100 acres.
To some, this may seem like a logistical nightmare. The camp does experience
some headaches in scheduling, staffing, and program area availability,
as well as "common areas" such as the camp store and office,
but the three camps usually run seamlessly. Shared training, a willingness
to make campers aware of each other, and cross-promotion are just a few
examples of what makes the Fairview Lake community work.
Shared Staff Training Builds
Familiarity
The traditional residential program and Environmental
Trips for Challenge (ETC) program share a staff training period, as well
as returning staff members who have worked in both programs. The two
staff groups spend the early part of the week getting acquainted (or
reacquainted) through team-building activities, low-ropes courses, and
the usual staff-training workshops and role plays. Later in the week,
the ETC staff heads out for training sessions on the Appalachian Trail
and Delaware River; the residential program’s day and overnight
tripping staff members join the ETC staff, which further develops the
bonds and familiarity. The ETC staff know that when they return to camp
with stories to tell, several residential staff members will know exactly
what they are talking about.
Shared living facilities
bring staff together
During training, the majority of both staff groups stay in cabin units on the
rustic side of the property, where both ETC and Blue Mountain Day Camp will
be based throughout the summer. (Blue Mountain is actually a part of the Sussex
County YMCA, but utilizes Fairview’s facilities.) This gives the residential
staff time to bond around campfires without the distractions of electronic
appliances and phones ringing, something the ETC staff continues to do all
summer long. The director of Blue Mountain Day Camp (a former program director
and unit leader of the residential program) and her staff join the other two
camps’ staff members whenever possible during that training period.
Hike to the ridge increases
bond
One facet of staff training that helps everyone to realize that all three programs
are part of one camp community is the hike to the ridge. The Appalachian Trail
runs directly above Fairview Lake, and just off the trail is a beautiful, smooth
rock overlook from which you can see the entire Fairview property and surroundings.
The program directors make the point that from a distance of 600 feet, there
are no boundaries separating the residential camp from ETC from Blue Mountain
Day Camp and that there should be no boundaries among staff, either. As the
sun is setting and Fairview Lake is looking its most beautiful, the staff members
present usually agree with the directors.
Because the staff training sessions take place at the
same time and in reasonably close quarters, the relationships developed
last throughout the summer and into subsequent years. Staff members from
all three programs greet each other cheerily whenever they cross paths,
request matching days off, and keep in touch over the off-season. The
bond they share influences campers and counselors-in-training (CITs).
CIT Program Extends Connection
For the first time this summer, the Environmental Trips
for Challenge camp developed a CIT program of its own. The program was
designed to connect with and build bonds with the residential CIT program,
while still retaining its own autonomy and purpose. The first step in
getting the programs to interrelate was to gather all potential CITs
at the annual winter reunion. By placing ETC and residential campers
in the same cabins, the future CITs could meet and get acquainted without
the pressure and expectations that the first few days of CIT training
often provide. The CITs also had the opportunity to witness the counselors
from both programs (as well as Blue Mountain) intermingle on a purely
social level. They were able to witness the friendships that underlie
the professional relationships.
Training schedules for both programs are designed to
dovetail and accommodate the differences as well as the commonalities.
ETC CITs are able to take part in a role play involving traditional camp
program areas; the residential CITs join the ETC group for an overnight
canoeing trip. The two groups also come together on joint projects providing
service to the physical aspects of camp, for instance, rebuilding a long-out-of-use
fire ring and clearing a safe, new, natural-step path from one cabin
unit to another.
Of course, the CITs go their separate
ways when the time comes to move into their respective programs. The
residential CITs will move to a cabin and attend program areas; the
ETC CITs remain on the rustic side of camp and join a trip. But the
bond remains, and their connections influence their campers.
Interactions Benefit Campers
Campers are more likely to try to make friends across
programs when they see the behavior modeled by counselors and CITs in
common areas, such as the waterfront, dining hall, and evening activities.
Many Fairview campers have crossed programs because of someone they befriended
during lunch or on a day-hike. All three programs share the camp store
and intermingle while eating ice cream, putting on sunscreen, and watching
their counselors laugh together.
Blue Mountain Day Camp and ETC share the rustic side
of the facility. Blue Mountain uses the rustic side lodge, old dining
hall, and activity fields, and the day campers love to question ETC campers
carrying backpacks, dry bags, or climbing gear as to where they are off
to for their next adventure. Allowing the ETC campers to share their
stories and excitement builds bonds. It is not uncommon for campers to
attend one camp and then the following summer try another or a combination.
Staff also cross the borders from one camp to the next. There are campers
and staff who have attended all three camps.
Shared Marketing Encourages Relationships
Cross-promotion also helps. The winter reunion is open
to anyone who wishes to attend, further building campers connections.
The resident and ETC programs share a brochure, and all three programs
share open houses where campers meet.
But the heart of what enables all three programs to
co-exist peacefully lies in what is said on that ridge hike: there are
no physical boundaries between the camp programs; the only boundaries
are the mental ones staff members carry with them. The size of the facility
matters less than the size of the hearts of the staff and campers who
fill it.
Originally published in the 1998 November/December
issue of Camping Magazine. |
