Dear Treetops Families,
As we approach the end of week two, our campers continue to settle into the rhythms and routines of a Treetops summer as they find their places within their tent groups and meal tables, swim classes and work-jobs, and beyond. With the ability to choose the activities that most speak to them, campers begin to find the spaces at Camp that pull them in. For some, it’s the woodshop where they revel in the smell of freshly cut pine; for others, it’s the barn, finding comfort in caring for the animals, or Round Lake, finding peace in their daily swim or catching the breeze in a sailboat.
Our second week began with Community Day, a day which we dedicate to activities that give back, both here on our mountain campus, as well as on a larger scale. In the morning, junior and senior campers worked together to complete an important community work-job on the farm. With our beloved “many hands make light work” motto sounding in our ears, we embarked on a task that may sound daunting to one, but goes swiftly and with ease when we combine our efforts. This week we focused on improving some of our farm crops, picking off the potato bugs that infest these plants and destroy their leaves. Campers learn the importance of this task, an imperative one, that ensures the potatoes can be harvested by North Country School students in the fall, and later prepared by our kitchens for us to enjoy throughout the following summer.
After tending to our potato plants, the remainder of the day was filled with opportunities to contribute to and better our community. We enjoyed meals that were meatless and largely made up of local foods and produce from our farm, as we reflected on how these practices help us be more sustainable; campers wrote thank you cards and notes of gratitude to community members who work hard to keep us safe and healthy; they mended bug nets to keep campers comfortable and bug-free at night; they sewed new cloth napkins us to use at meals and helped the kitchens by harvesting currants and freezing them in batches to be used later in the year… these are just a smattering of the ways our campers and staff worked together to better the community.
Midweek we experienced epic thunderstorms, a deluge of rain, and even a tornado watch, that luckily stayed far from the Treetops campus. Campers were incredibly helpful, flexible, and cooperative. Despite a rescheduled set of afternoon and evening activities that moved everyone indoors, spirits remained high and the day carried on. Dinnertime transitioned to card games, reading, and singing camp songs in the Main House—and although it wasn’t to plan, the day’s happenings turned out to be special and memorable.
Our youngest and oldest campers also embarked on their first overnight camp trips of the season. Tent groups in Junior Camp loaded up their overnight packs and ventured into nearby woods where they learned important skills like cooking over a camp stove, safekeeping food in a bear canister to avoid pests and other unwanted encounters with animals big and small, and experiencing the peace of falling asleep to the sounds of nature—the wind blowing through the trees, rain pitter-pattering on the roof of their lean-to, or the babbling of a nearby brook. Our oldest campers, or “Supers,” also ventured out on their first overnight trips. During this time they carried on the tradition of reading letters written to them by past Super campers that imparted sage advice on how best to cherish their final summer as a Treetops camper.
As the days pass swiftly by, and our second week draws to a close, I’m so grateful for this community and for this time: time to connect with ourselves, with one another, and with our beautiful mountain home.
With gratitude,
Hannah Edwards
Camp Treetops Director