More information here:
http://naturecampfoundation.org/news/?p=76

We finished re-shingling the LS the third weekend in May this year. It took us 4 Service Weekends to complete the task. Charlie had a dump truck parked by the side of the LS on Thursday May 13th. Starting at about 1:00 pm on Thursday, 7 of us (Doug, Flip, Joe, Lyt, Matthew, Tayloe, and I) removed the 2 layers of old shingles and roofing felt. It rained the following night, so it was good that we were able to install the tarpaper before we quit Friday evening.

A pair of squirrels got into the Education Building over the winter. They got in through gaps in the shutters of the Lab and also made their way into the Library and Museum. They trashed all three rooms and destroyed some books, pencils, fish nets, and other equipment. We replaced the Lab hinges that caused the gaps in the shutters and cleaned up the mess the squirrels produced.

Andrew, Lyt and Flip met Charlie at Camp the weekend before to do some tree work, then a large crew moved the brush they created and a lot more during the Service Weekend. We also established a perennial culinary herb garden behind the kitchen; replaced some fascia boards; replaced some rotten benches; collected trash along 608 and up the New Road; cleared the culverts; cleaned up the vegetable garden beds; smeared some sheetrock mud on the ceiling of the Staffhouse; and installed a permanent display recognizing the major donors to the Campaign for Nature Camp in the Staffhouse. Nell created the display using 54 painted tiles. We used a router to create a wooden sign that asks visitors to check in at the office, and got a good start on the Nature Camp history project.

The hero award goes to Nell, who learned 4 days before she was to arrive at Camp that she was to be chief cook and bottle washer, which included designing a menu, buying all the food, and transporting it to Camp. She had lots of help in the Kitchen from Amy, Art, Shirley, and Rosie. The food was wonderful as usual, especially the pizzas and blueberry pies. We played music in the LS on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Of the 55 folks who attended, 4 had never been to a previous Service Weekend, 11 folks are on Staff this summer, 2 folks are campers this summer, and 7 have been Assistant Directors at Camp. We have now had 323 folks who have attended at least 1 Service Weekend.

Thanks to Amy, Andrew, Annie, Art, Barak, Braxton, Cammie, Chris, Christopher, Chuck, David, Don, Doug, Emily, Flip, Forest, Jason, Jen, Jenny, Jesse, Joe, Katie, Kim, Larry, Louise, Lucy, Lyt, Maggie, Maggie, Matthew, Mike, Molly, Nell, Oliver, Paul, Paul, Peggy, Peter, Rob, Robert, Rosie, Sara, Sara-Henning, Sarah, Sarah, Shirley, Sofia, Steve, Tim, Tony, Vadim, Walter, Wilfredo, and especially Charlie. I had a really great time.

Amy K Gonzales has invited you to look at her photos from this past weekend. They are wonderful photos and she has spent a lot of time learning and recording the names of folks in the photos. Amy has the photos posted at the following website:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=x44a7h7.9ll5ja7z&x=0&y=-asix16&localeid=en_US

Please share any other digital photos you may have taken with me, AmyKG,
or Michaux the Webmaster at http://naturecampfoundation.org/.

Jim Brooks
NCF Service Committee Chair

If you notice that you have one of the issues that we need, please email me at: hoffmankatie@rocketmail.com and let me know. If you don’t use email, please call me at 423?329?4742. Once you contact me, I will tell you where to send the documents.

At this point, we aren’t accepting any other types of documents — the guidelines for submitting those will come later — so please hold on to other items. We’ll let you know when we’re set up and ready to accept other types of recordings, photos, films, and other paper items.

If you’re attending the reunion, you’ll get a firsthand view of what we’re putting together. The photocopier will be available during the reunion and the fall service weekend, for those who may want copies.

Hope to see you there!
Katie Hoffman, Director, Nature Camp History Project

We need the following issues of the Woodland Echoes:
1943-1952: all sessions and years
1953: first and second 1959: first, third, and fourth 1966: first and fourth
1954: all sessions 1960: third and fourth 1969: first and third
1955: all sessions 1962: third session 1970: second, third, fourth
1956: first, second, and third 1963: all sessions 1971: all sessions
1957: first 1964: third and fourth 1972: first and second sessions
1958: third session 1965: all sessions
From this point on we have an almost complete collection of issues, however, we are still missing
these following years from the 1990’s
1992: second session 1998: all sessions

With summer 2009 seeing near?record enrollment and the upcoming summer sessions filling fast, it is apparent that thanks are due to many people who are helping Nature Camp to thrive. At our annual November meeting, Nature Camp, Inc. (NCI) board members commented on the many people and groups contributing in different ways to Nature Camp’s success.

While the campers and families who support their young people are at the heart of the rewarding summer experience, literally dozens of garden clubs, environmental groups, and individuals make it possible for attendance to grow through their contributions to camper scholarships. Whether supporting campers directly or making a gift earmarked for scholarships, these generous gifts help to offset the need for assistance during this economic downturn. The board voted to keep tuition at the same level ($700) for at least another year, making the Nature Camp experience a relative bargain. We welcome and appreciate any interest in providing camper scholarships and urge you to contact Director Flip
Coulling with questions or contributions.

Thanks, too, to those who volunteer at Earth Day fairs and who pass out brochures and applications at local schools or to friends and neighbors. Word?of?mouth advertising by those who know of Camp firsthand has proven far more effective than print advertising at generating interest in Nature Camp. We would like to extend a special thanks to Amy Beaird and Charlie Truxell as well. Amy has worked at Nature Camp for 25 summers and was recognized last summer for her tireless efforts in keeping all the campers safe and healthy. And while caretaker Charlie is a familiar face to Nature Camp’s summer population, he works throughout the year on maintenance and prevention and is truly one of Camp’s finest assets.

As we look to the future of Nature Camp, we will continue to rely on the extended Nature Camp family for assistance. If, for example, you have medical experience at the EMT level or higher and would be willing to be placed on a list of “back?up” care providers who might be called upon to give Amy Beaird an occasional reprieve for a day, please let Flip Coulling know. Future plans for Camp’s facilities include examining Camp’s museum and potentially reshaping it into a more current and usable space; if you have expertise or interest in this area and would be interested in serving on a task force to make recommendations, please also contact Flip.

We know that it is the growing community of Nature Camp’s friends and alumni that has strengthened Camp for many years and that will ensure its longevity for future generations.

Many thanks to you all. ?? Anne Rottenborn Balto, NCI President

This year the positions of President and At?large Board Member are up for election and the position of Facilities Chair is up for reappointment. A nominating committee will be created in June, and nominations will be accepted by mail, phone, or email anytime through August. In September and October the committee will develop the proposed slate of nominees to be approved by the board of directors and the ballots will be mailed by November to all qualified voters.

Those who contributed money or in?kind contributions during 2009 or 2010 are eligible to vote and will receive ballots with short candidate biographies. As Vice?President, Cammie Hutton chairs the nominating committee and is coordinating the election this year. If you are interested in serving on the nominating committee, or are willing to consider serving in one of the open positions, please contact Cammie (see contact information below). Given the planned schedule of Afterglow mailings, this is the ONLY call for nominations that will be published. Watch the Foundation web site for announcements about elections throughout the summer.

Campbell Hutton, campbellhutton@gmail.com

Paul Cabe, Leigh Ann Beavers, and Chris Chamberlin have once again generously and graciously agreed to provide a turkey dinner with all the trimmings (a vegetarian option will be available) to follow a day of hiking the ridges and valleys around Nature Camp. For the past three autumns, this event has drawn a delightfully broad cross?section of the Nature Camp family — current and former campers, counselors, parents, and friends — together for a memorable time of recreation, fellowship, and enjoyment of the season’s changing palette — and to raise funds for the Nature Camp Foundation.

We will gather at camp at 10:00 AM and depart by 10:30; there will be several hikes of varying difficulty and length from which to choose. Bring your own lunch, snacks, water, etc. (squishies not provided). The cost is $20 per person, or $50 maximum per family; children 10 and under with a parent may eat for free. Please bring checks made payable to the Nature Camp Foundation.

To reserve a space (and to request vegetarian fare) please e?mail director Flip Coulling at director@naturecamp.net or call (540) 460?7897 by October 10. Note that no baby?sitting service will be available during the hikes.

In the event of inclement or uncertain weather, call Flip or camp (540) 377?2491 the morning of October 16 to see if hikes are still on (dinner will be in any event).

We hope to see many of you there!

Jim Brooks, Service Committee Chair

The Nature Camp Foundation is holding its semi-decadenal reunion during Labor Day weekend, the 3rd-5th of September, 2010.

The reunion is a chance for the young and the young at heart to gather together and share stories, relive old memories, and re-ignite old friendships. Anyone who was a former camper, counselor, or Nature Camp affiliate is invited to attend.

At the reunion, generations of nature campers will play games, go on hikes, share old photos and memories and have a great time getting reacquainted with a place that we have all called home at one time or another. Already the excitement for the reunion has grown since we announced it on the NCF website and facebook in January, however, we cannot accommodate an unlimited number of people, so the reunion committee has decided to level the playing field for those of us who are not connected to social networking websites. Included in this issue of the afterglow is a registration form for the reunion.  You can also download the registration form here.

If you are interested, we ask that you postmark the registration form (and payment if you are very certain that you will attend) no earlier than June 1st, 2010. After receiving your registration, we will contact you by phone or email to confirm and send you an itinerary for the weekend.

We will need a cadre of volunteers for the weekend, so please indicate on the registration form if you would like to help out in any way, especially if you want to lead hikes or nature outings of any sort. We look forward to seeing you there!!