One of our core values here at Camp Nebagamon is stewardship. Campers learn to take care of the world around them through so many of our programs. Stewardship is practiced in simple acts every day of the summer. Campers undertake group responsibilities in the cabin, police their campsites for trash before leaving them for the day, and practice care with communal equipment for the next camper to use.
Yesterday was a day to highlight that value: our second annual Branch Day. We call it Branch Day because of both the philosophy behind the day, and the activities we participate in. We branch out into our local community, and we take care of our camp physically; the branches and limbs on the trees, along with the rest of our grounds.
Campers broke out into groups and worked together on projects all day long that will hopefully have long lasting impacts on our community and our camp. In the morning, campers started with what else but… branches! We’ve got a thriving population of invasive buckthorn here at Camp Nebagamon, just like the rest of North America. A group of campers cleared sections our woods of the weed, opening space for native plants to soak up sunlight and provide food for native fauna. We have been clearing buckthorn from camp for a couple years now, and the sections of woods we’ve cleared are thriving. Another group of campers cleaned both camp’s beach, and the local village beach adjacent to the Dairy and Bean, where we go for ice cream on Cruiser Days. After the holiday weekend, the town beach could use a cleanup, and we were happy to contribute. And some campers spent the morning planting, mulching, and fencing new trees out on Lorber Point. While these trees are quite young and won’t provide much shade this summer for the campers who planted them, the boys ensured a future generation of campers will benefit from the trees.
Our afternoon was focused on fundraising: our younger campers put together a bake sale in town, selling brownies and cookies, and our older campers hosted a charity car wash out in front of the Big House for our staff. All involved had a rollicking good time, either splashing around with sponges or hawking baked goods to anyone within earshot. We raised money for Kids of Nebagamon, a local nonprofit that helps underserved families in the Village of Lake Nebagamon purchase holiday gifts for their children.
We had three field trips out of camp as well. First, we partnered with the Nebagamon Lake Association to pull curly pond weed from the creek that feeds our lake. This invasive weed is growing closer to our lake and its removal from the creek during the summer ensures that it cannot overcrowd the shoreline of the lake. We also had a group at the Northwest Wisconsin Community Services Food Pantry, where campers spent the day receiving, moving, and packing thousands of pounds of donated food to help provide for underserved families. Our last group headed out to the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, a research and conservation organization that manages over 300 acres of forest in Duluth to provide habitat for endangered and migrating birds and hawks. Campers helped maintain trails and cleared brush, and got to see some incredible birds in their natural habitat.
Walking around camp yesterday, it was hard not to notice the simply buoyant attitude amongst the campers. The boys whistled while they worked, some of them literally – as they were clearing branch piles in camp, a few campers were trying to teach their cabinmate how to whistle! At our barbeque lunch, the reviews were incredible. Campers told me about their efforts cleaning camp, clearing weeds, and planting trees. Without question, the campers enjoyed a day of community service work in part because they shared in their efforts with their friends and cabinmates. And our community partners at Hawk Ridge, the Lake Association, and the food pantry raved about the boys’ maturity, helpfulness, and enthusiasm for the jobs at hand.
After two years of Branch Day, we feel confident that a day of community service is not only aligned with our values, but is a program our campers enjoy and take pride in. But this shouldn’t be a surprise – stewardship is baked into the DNA of Camp Nebagamon. In camp and on trail, campers and staff learn to take care of each other and their space. Branch Day might be the most illustrative example of this value, one that traces its origins through generations of campers and staff – just read this lovely tribute to former Camp Director Nardie Stein by his daughter and former staffer Jessie Stein Diamond. Nardie taught campers to “raise the canopy,” to literally trim branches on trees to help them thrive. Today, all throughout our cleaner, healthier camp, campers are enjoying the shade of trees planted and cared for by Nardie and his contemporaries. We should all be so lucky to steward this place for the next generation in the same way the giants who came before us did for today’s campers.