Registration for Wild School Summer Camp Opens February 2024

Dear Blue Mountain Wild School Parents,

I hope this message finds you well. There has been a growing trend amongst our community to take a break from Wild for the summer months and I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for the notion that doing this is in fact a lost opportunity for your child.  

While I always encourage a diversity of experiences, if you are choosing a local day camp this summer I'd like to make a case for why Wild Camp is a great compliment to the overall Wild School experience and one that can (and should) be experienced for multiple weeks.  

1.) Wild Camp is a great addition to Wild School: Wild Camp is a valuable addition to Wild School, addressing the issue of learning regression during longer summer breaks. In September, we witness firsthand the impact of this regression. Wild Camp not only helps bridge this gap, but also offers a wide range of activities not possible during the school year. Our camp focuses on fun while ensuring learning new skills and providing opportunities to apply them in a safe and engaging environment. Playing with these skills not only aids retention, but also fosters lasting friendships. Having extensively researched other camps in the region, I can confidently say that Wild Camp's curriculum, program, staff qualifications, infrastructure, and overall experience surpass any other camp in the region by a wide margin.

2.) Familiarity breeds confidence: Your children are already comfortable with our property, which provides a fantastic platform to try new skills and challenge themselves further. This connection to place, a key tenant of the Forest School Pedagogy (we are not a Forest School!, however the same principle applies here), fosters a sense of belonging, personal growth and confidence.

3.) New Merit Badge Program: We piloted this program last year and had great success. Campers really loved it!  We’ve enhanced it further for this summer.  This offers a way to build on hard skills in a cohesive and structured manner.  We ultimately don’t have the time to do this during the school year (though we are working on a version for our Bush Craft program).

4.) Experience the property at its zenith: The summer the property is truly at its best: the pump track is dry, forests and meadows in bloom, and rivers and creeks are warm.  This also allows us to enjoy activities that are not possible in the Spring and Fall, such as paddling in Georgian Bay.

5.) Prepare for overnight camp: Wild Camp is based around the overnight camp model and it shares many of the skills that they will need there. Wild Camp is a fantastic precursor to overnight camp.  Some of our older students are off to Hurontario, Ahmek and Camp Wapamao this summer.

6.) Future leadership opportunities at Wild Camp: For those considering Leadership-in-Training (LIT), Junior LIT (11 to 14 year olds) and Instructor roles, familiarity with the camp and its culture is important. Not to mention, the skills learned at Wild Camp are very beneficial for these future positions. What a great summer of growing up drifting, romping and bombing around the rivers, forests and hills of the Blue Mountains!

7.) Supporting Wild Camp means supporting Wild School: A significant part of our revenue comes from the summer months. This money is reinvested into infrastructure development, such as new yurt classrooms, computers, a new soccer field, and many other aspects of the long list of dreams that we have for our school.  By enrolling your child in Wild Camp, you're directly contributing to the enhancement of your school.

Wild Camp is a unique opportunity for your children to grow, learn, and have fun, all while supporting the continued development of Blue Mountain Wild School.

Thank you for considering Wild Camp for your child's summer plans. Please note registration opens tomorrow at 8am, but here is a link to pre-registration for Wild School families only.  This will open today at 4:30pm - http://earlywildschool.campbrainregistration.com/

Learn more about Wild Camp - https://wildschool.ca/courses/adventure-camp/  

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further information.

Onwards!

Jeff

JEFF BARRETT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / FOUNDER

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