Camp Birchmont
“When I see birches bend to the left and right…
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.”
– Robert Frost
“We have not merely escaped from something, but also into something…We have joined the greatest of all communities, which is not that of man alone, but of everything which shares with us the great adventure of being alive.”
– Joseph Wood Krutch
“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountain.”
– John Muir
“Children learning about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives.”
– Thomas Berry
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
– John Muir
These quotes are just a few of the many powerful and poignant statements made about our natural world, and really fall under the “I couldn’t have said it better myself” category.
When you see the impact, both subtle and profound that is made upon a child who is discovering the woods, and mountains around them, it is impossible not to take notice.
That our campers enjoy a lot of time outdoors is no surprise, but the amount of time we spend plunging into lakes, running in the rain, watching wind in trees, seeing the light of day fade away, tramping up trails, sailing in sunlight, feeling firelight, as part of our daily experience might surprise you; we sometimes surprises ourselves, and that’s a good thing.
Because we are aware, that we have something very precious here; it’s the luxury of time in the beauty of nature. Unlike computers and television … Nature does not steal time, it amplifies it. The camp community is about taking time to make friends, time to experience all the nature that surrounds us everyday and every night. Sure we are busy till the setting sun, but what sunsets they are, and what peace comes with knowing we will wake up with our friends the next day and be able to play with them in this beautiful place where the air always smells of fresh pine, and we notice things like moss on trees and flowers falling over fences, and dragonflies and frogs and robins having babies up in the rafters of Notches… For this we are grateful!
We thought we’d share the impression of a Group Leader, Sara of the Pioneer Girls. She found herself caught by surprise the other day by the simple profundity of an unguarded conversation between her girls. We probably could write a whole series of the times counselors are awe-struck by their campers, and vice versa, but you’d really have to be in the moment here to appreciate the way personalities unfold at camp.