Winter Happenings at Camp
By Anna Bilton, Senior Camp Director
It might be cold outside, the trees are bare and summer seems like it is a long way away but the winter is not all doom and gloom here at camp. We are able to take time to reflect on the work we do and make plans to make the camp experience better than ever this spring, summer and fall. In case you were wondering what’s on the agenda for 2018 here’s a preview of what’s in store!
1. Summer Camp staff from 10 different countries!
We have been busy interviewing and selecting an all-star summer staff team to run amazing programs this summer. They are all raring to go and are going to be incredible role models this summer for our campers!
2. New and improved candle making area
We’ve offered candle making at Camp Mason for years and it is a huge hit with our weekend Outdoor Center guests but its never had a home of its own. This year we are planning to convert an old cabin into a candle making workshop to be able to offer the activity to all of our visitors including our summer campers. Prepare to get creative and make a candle of your own.
3. Preparing our new covered space for action
You may have heard on the grapevine that there is a large, new covered space in our main entrance way as of the end of last year. We are thrilled to have a large covered space for rainy day activities, meeting spaces and evening programs. Before we can fill the space with people there are a few things we need to do first – we need to decide on lights, a screen, chairs and tables as well as anything else we can think to make the space as useful as possible. It’s an exciting project and should be fully functional and ready to go for the spring season. We know this space is going to make rainy days and evening programs much better.
4. Planning training for our Outdoor Center team
Each season we welcome over 11,000 people to camp with their schools and other groups to visit our year round Outdoor Center. The training we do with our team is crucial to prepare them to lead activities, learn skills to work with people of all ages and learn all things Mason. It takes a long time to plan the sessions and seminars we teach each season and we put a lot of thought into how we do things. It’s exciting to prepare for our new team!
5. Continuing our team’s education
Did you know that our staff attend numerous training events and conferences throughout the year continually working to improve ourselves and the work we do? We want our team to be as prepared as possible to work with children, young people and their families. This year our year round team have attend 4 different conference between us and have come back with lots of ideas to make sure 2018 at camp is better than ever!
We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions on the things we are working on at camp. Call us on 908-362-8217 or email us at information@campmason.org to share your thoughts.
