Living Room In The Woods

I recently read a great article written by Richard Dolesh which really highlighted the need for places for kids to play - "A Living Room In The Woods".

An outdoor living room, created by kids in Dayton, OH.

Dolesh tells us “A park manager from Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton, OH, Todd Catchpole, recently told me about finding a secret nature place built by kids in one of their parks.” “The tableau was constructed from grape vines, stones, and other natural materials gathered from the nearby stream and populated by small dolls and toy furniture and decorated with fresh daffodils.”

Five Rivers MetroParks has designated a number of Nature Play areas in their parks, and this discovery was more than the creators could have wished for. “It was a delightful place, full of the imagination of children at play.”

This “Living Room in the Woods” highlights an important truth – the immense value of parks and places of recreation for kids. “Parks are one of the primary places that kids – and parents – can connect to nature and the outdoors. This got me thinking...this is also true of summer camps! Like parks, they’re a source of true nature and the perfect place where kids can play safe and learn. Summer camps offer a haven for children to explore the great outdoors, away from stranger dangers, and they offer an environment that is tailored towards their positive development. In today's fast-paced world, it's all too easy to overlook this essential necessity that is so important to the growth of tomorrows leaders. 

- Ricky Searson, Assistant Director.

Hey who's that guy?

Ryan (right), playing Hockey.

This month I had the chance to meet new to Foley camper, Ryan A. Ryan is from Maryland and has attended summer camps in his area previously, but this year will mark the first for coming to Camp Foley. I asked Ryan how he heard about Foley and his response was, “I found it on the internet.” Ryan has family that lives in Minnesota so he has seen the beautiful landscape before, and that is partly what drew him to begin looking for a camp in Minnesota. Ryan has had to the chance to visit Minnesota with family before, but he is excited for the chance to make this voyage on his own.

Maryland holds activities that he participates in which he is also excited about trying at Foley like sailing. I asked him what things he will try as a Foley First and he is excited for paintball. The competitiveness of paintball seems to be a popular topic with most of the campers that I talk with. We also talked about our new boat and the chance to try water skiing and wakeboarding. We got a little off subject and started talking about wake surfing behind a boat, that was a fun topic for me to venture off on.  Ryan also enjoys playing Hockey, as you can see from the picture above, he looks perfectly at home on the ice. My hope is for Ryan to try his hand at floor hockey during his first stay with us!

I can tell within the brief time I had to meet Ryan that he will be comfortable in the Camp Foley setting and I can’t wait to see how many new friends he will make. It’s exciting for me to know that kids from across the world will be coming to my new home at Camp Foley and I can’t wait for the opportunity to learn something new from each of them!

- Adam Ashley, Assistant Director

In The Woods...

“In the woods, a man casts off his years, as a snake its skin, and is always a child. In the woods is perpetual youth. In the woods we return to reason and faith. There I feel like nothing can befall me in life, no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes) which nature cannot repair. I am part or particle of God. In the wilderness I find something more dear than in streets or villages.” -Henry David Thoreau

Spring has showed her face at Foley this week and if you are like me, that means digging out some boxes with lighter clothes in it, finding your rain jacket, and casting away your snow boots until next winter. After a few days of warm weather, it is easy to forget that it is only March, but the sun keeps coming and the temps keep rising. Obviously everyone here at Foley has started to shift their work from a desk to some days spent getting activity areas prepped and windows clean.

Geocaching during Spring 2010.

Since I am a new Assistant Director, I have a lot of learning to do, and one of my tasks was to head up to Upper Mosquito and locate all the Geocaches (there are 26) and walk all the routes and trails that are tucked away back up there in the hills behind Foley (approximately 8 miles worth). If ya’ll don’t know what Geocaching is, think of it as a real-life treasure hunt! You use a GPS device to locate different items, called caches, in the outdoors. You never know where the cache might be or what it might look like, but the GPS gives you the area to search in!. So, if you can imagine that, you can see that this day of learning for me would require a lot of hiking, a lot of leg muscle and plenty of tick checks!

One of many Foley Geocaching trails.

As I got started on my trail hiking and started up the steep hill towards upper mosquito the sweat beads broke out on my forehead. My mind was filling with thoughts of how my body had gotten out of shape this winter, that my feet were already hurting and that I wasn’t a spring chicken anymore....I am turning 29 next month (eek)! But as I relaxed a little bit and let the bird noises and the sound of the wind suck me in, I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and contentment. I was able to work on my Geocaching with energy and optimism (some are very hard to find) and had some undisturbed “me time” to be alone with my thoughts and process everything that had been rolling around in my head the last few months. And that’s when I realized, I have the woods to thank for this. There is no other place on Earth- no coffee shop, no cubicle, no library, that I can feel this clear-minded and youthful and just learn and grow more naturally.

So, my advice to you is, next time you’re feeling not quite like yourself, and your thoughts are running a bit on the self-loathing side, just get outside! Take that walk, sit in the sun for 10 minutes or pack up your tent for the weekend and get out there. Your mind and body will thank you, as mine did.

If you are looking to have some fun with Geocaching then why not join over 5 million active geocachers worldwide! www.geocaching.com offers the choice of over 1.6 million geocaching locations, including all the coordinates you need to find their treasure. This website allows you to connect with other geocachers and share stories. Who knows... you may even make new friends along the way. Give it a shot!

- Carrie Stageman, Assistant Director.

BEST. CAMP. EVER.

A few months ago, we heard from Claire Benton; a Foley camper from 1987-1992. Claire is currently the Assistant Director at Cornell University’s Engineering Co-op & Career Services Office, working as a Career Counselor. She lives in Ithaca, New York with her husband, Sam Simkin, who is busy finishing up his PhD, and future Foley camper, daughter Lydia, 2 ½. In the process of updating her information with us, she mentioned she couldn’t wait until her daughter is able to attend Camp Foley “as attending Camp Foley is the best thing I’ve ever done!” I thought, who better to feature on our next alumni blog! Here are Claire’s thoughts about the “BEST. CAMP. EVER”:

Claire Benton.

Camp Foley, ra ra ra! Often I am asked what experience has had a big impact and influence in my life. Without hesitation, my answer is always Camp Foley! Honestly, I can’t think of any other experience I have had that has impacted me as much as my years at Foley. I have always felt that there are “camp people” and “non-camp people.” Then one day, when listening to NPR’s “This American Life,” I hear an entire episode decided to this very topic! I understood then that it isn’t just me; lots people out there GET IT! They fully understand what I am talking about. But THEN, there is the whole idea of what makes “MY” camp the “BEST” camp. Where to start!!! What about Foley comes to mind off the top of my head?? Just watch this…

• Amazing friendships that I still have today 
• Friendship campfire and the giving and receiving of the Anchor Award. The year I got it and the year I gave it away especially…and the tears that came along with it 
• The annual talent show 
• Capture the Flag 
• Awards/merit badges 
• Soda bread 
• Cabin time and the bonds made with the people in my cabin 
• Singing songs at meal time, camp fires (filled with joy and tears and various times) and throughout the day…ones I STILL know all the words to 
• Being carried and thrown into the water for my birthday... "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. We hate to do it but we must, we must!"
• Canteen time (and having a hard time deciding if I should get candy or soda) 
• Mail time and water on my head when my folks would purposely send a large number of letters on the same day 
• Care packages 
• Lake Superior sail trip 
• ALL the amazing activities including my favorites: 
• Sail racing, riflery, windsurfing, archery, tennis and swimming 
• Families! 
• My cool brothers and all my friends’ brothers and sisters who attended. 
• LOVED the generations Chapel time 
• The counselors getting dressed up and dancing around like fools and LOVING it!
• Cute boys and all the juicy conversations that were had late at night in the cabins about them 
• The buddy system 
• Washing up in the lake 
• Canoe trips to who knows where but were they fun 
• The wonderful counselors that were SOO old and wise; who are now friends and aren’t really that much older at all 
• Meeting people from all over the US and the world and being able to visit them when outside of camp
• Learning all about cool new clothing trends…Birkenstocks, GAP, Polo, etc. and shopping with my buddies who lived in Minneapolis since northern WI didn’t have that much to offer 
• Conversations about “soda” vs “pop” 
• Learning “lifelong” skills from an early age: respect, encouragement, perseverance, how to have fun!
• Learning how to live away from home at an early age and learned how to live with others 
• ALL the laughs, energy and cheering that occurred daily 

And the list could go on and on!

One thing that continues to keep me connected to Camp Foley is that the same dedicated people, year after year, continue to make Foley what it is…the BEST CAMP EVER! I love that the next generation is involved as well. I very much enjoy hearing from all my camp friends, seeing what they have become as “adults” and seeing their children grow up. I hope that one day my daughter Lydia will be able to experience Foley and have a similar, most amazing, experience. I can only hope that she will be so lucky. Thanks to everyone at Foley, Foley attenders and mostly to my mother and father who allowed me to have this experience!

- Claire Benton, Alumni

Foley Encourages Wellness and Healthy Living

There’s no denying that childhood obesity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. An alarming study by Olshansky et al., 2005 reports that the current generation of children may have shorter life expectancies than their parents for the first time in over two centuries. The rapid rise in childhood obesity in America may shorten children’s lifespan by two to five years. Almost one-third of children between the ages of two and nineteen years are overweight and 17% of those are classified as obese!

Being overweight or obese can be a serious health concern for both adults and children. Overweight and obesity is generally defined as having excess body weight for a particular height measured by Body Mass Index (BMI). Children who are 10-20% over the appropriate weight for their height are considered to be overweight, and children who are more than 20% over their ideal weight are classified as obese.

With this problem in mind I was urged to find out what exactly are the best steps in order to reverse this problem. I was pleasantly surprised by how closely Foley's daily schedule mirrors those recommended steps. www.livestrong.com states providing nutritious meals with fruits and vegetables as the number one recommendation. Ensuring children get at least 60 minutes of exercise, limit TV viewing and setting a good example from adult role models are the following three recommendations for curbing obesity.

There are plenty of opportunities for exercise.

Let's put that into the perspective of camp. Fresh fruit and vegetables are served in our kitchen every day and our campers are encouraged to eat at least one portion at every meal. With over 30 activities to choose from, kids get their 60 minutes per day of exercise in abundance! Adult role models in the form of Counselors, Directors and Assistant Directors who offer support, and also eat the same healthy menu that is served to our campers! This positive role modelling goes a long way to influence children to make healthy eating and exercise choices.

- Ricky Searson, Assistant Director