Last week in camp and everybody in celebrating in their own unique way.
It’s our final week here at Primitive Pursuits for summer camp 2022. We will continue with our after school programs, forest school and growing wild. This week was all about celebrations and every camp had their own interpretation of this. At any rate, it was a week of bittersweet endings and new beginnings. It was a great way to celebrate our twentieth year in the woods.
Forest Village started the week with a New Years celebration. The camp had a countdown to the new year with a leaf ball that dropped out of a tree. This leaf ball later became a piñata for campers to take blind swings at. Thanksgiving, Halloween and Mayday were also celebrated by the camp and the villagers took this celebration to other camps in the woods. On Thursday the camp made maple syrup flavored popcorn.
Growing Wild started the week with a ride on the horsey log then they went on an adventure to the secret pool but sadly this pool had dried up in the hot weather. There is always another pool however and the camp gathered around near the big drainage pipe. They saw frogs and fish and splashed in the water. On Tuesday, the camp made crowns out of golden rod. On Wednesday I found the camp near Trillium playing in the creek. On Thursday the camp got a special treat when Lila helped the group make brownies from scratch. Each camper added ingredients and stirred the brownies. On Friday before the big fair I found the group playing with pots and pans and climbing up the climbing hill and sliding down.
The Forest Explorers were camped in the Hemlocks and this camp really lends itself to forest play. They were building fires and making little villages in some of the muddy parts of the forest. Many campers chose to make crafts and stone drilling was the most popular. Some chose to try and find fossils and jewels within the rock and started a rock processing plant near camp. Tea was also popular in camp and Sarah helped campers gather flowers, leaves and needles which would make a good herbal tea. The campers also took it upon themselves with some help from Alyssa to gather needles for hemlock tea.
A camper goes airborn for the tag in a game of capture the flag. photo: Ben Bookout
Growing wild gets to make brownies from scratch over the fire. photo: Ben Bookout
Enchanted Forest had a good combination of crafts and theater. Shawn led the group in creating wands from pieces of wood. Each day the camp would be dressed in a different costume. The champion of this was RJ who’s well thought out outfits and characters brought inspiration to the group everyday. And everyday was a new performance. I got to be the audience for a game called freeze and park bench. All members of the camp were able to display their acting talent. At the end of camp they made a buttery berry cobbler and enjoyed it as their teeth got a good purple color to them.
Finally, The Ravens had a large group and this facilitated them playing great games of goat and capture the flag. They began the week by learning skills and safety at the range, in fire building and carving. The other major component of camp were costumed performances and many campers created and acted out their very own plays. It was a carnival atmosphere at Ravens Camp as many of the campers were in costume most of the day. And speaking of carnivals, The Ravens had a small one for the whole camp on Friday. It included a slip and slide, stick throwing to dunk an MIT, dodgeball, tea and popcorn and face painting. The whole camp came to enjoy this fair and the price of admission was acorns. Campers had a great time at the fair The Ravens put on.
Well that’s a wrap on summer camp for 2022. It has been my great pleasure to take photos of all the camps this summer. It also has been a pleasure to write about what was going on in camp these past few weeks. I’m sad to see it go. It has been one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Being able to walk in the woods and take pictures of all the fun being had has made my 2022. I had to pinch myself sometimes because I was getting paid to have so much fun. The kids were always a delight and the staff are awesome at well being awesome and keeping it fresh every week. I’ll greatly miss the woods and the people in them.
Group shot of remaining staff in the last moments of camp 2022. photo: Ben Bookout
An MIT gets dunked as part of the Ravens fair on the last day of camp. photo: Ben Bookout
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