Dear Treetops Families,
As we wrap up the sixth week of Camp, I’m deeply moved by the community that has taken shape here in our mountain home. We’ve welcomed campers and staff from across the country and the world, some returning for their seventh summer or even their twenty-seventh. Others are experiencing the magic of Treetops for the very first time. No matter where we come from, we join together through shared adventures, simple daily rituals, and the moments we come to cherish. Each year, these shared experiences weave us into a community that feels both timeless and entirely our own.
Through the summer days and weeks, we’ve shared many meaningful moments together: at the dining table over home-grown veggies and farm-raised meat; at our daily workjobs on the farm, or tending to various campus spaces; at council as we lift our voices in song; in tent groups as we tidy our spaces or reflect together after a long day; in the shops over carefully crafted treasures; sitting together on the lake hill or boardwalk watching the setting sun; or out on trips whether a trail ride on our campus trails, a hiking day-trip or the much more arduous 5-day trips. These powerful shared experiences strip away any differences that may divide us and bring us together through our common goals. This is one of the many gifts of a Treetops summer: building a special and unique community through these authentic experiences.
This week campus was a flurry of activity, beginning with the Water Carnival in Senior Camp and the Counselor Hunt in Junior Camp. Community Morning followed with projects large and small in various corners of campus: Supers stacking wood at the sugar shack; campers clearing branches at the riding rings, and clearing out fire pits, preparing them for next season. Each project was accomplished quickly and smoothly with the help of many hands working together towards a common end.
This week, the feeling of the approaching end of Camp was palpable. And as the summer session nears its close, everyone is motivated to finish their projects: glazing their pottery or putting the final coat on a project in the woodshop. Off campus, our hikers and paddlers embarked on their greatest challenge yet: the double overnight trips for Junior Campers, and the 5-day trips for our Supers. Our camp community is smaller and more intimate with these groups away, though we miss them dearly, and campers and staff alike run to greet them with hugs and congratulations upon their return, as if they’ve been gone for months, rather than days.
In the next week, we’ll cherish more moments like these, together. We’ll carve out time to celebrate our friendships, our accomplishments, the ways we’ve grown, and all of the important work we’ve done on the farm and in the garden. As we approach our last week of Camp, I’m forever grateful for this time to be unplugged, in nature, and in community. What a privilege it is!
With gratitude,
Hannah Edwards
Camp Treetops Director