Let the Kids Surf (or Canoe, Hike, Swim, Paint, and Sing)

In his book, Let My People Go Surfing, Yvonne Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, refers to himself as an “80 percenter.”  Here he is in his own words: “I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession that doesn’t appeal to me. Once I reach 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different.” I mention this for two reasons, the first is that I am an 80 percenter, and the second is that I think of Camp Regis Applejack as an amazing 80 percent camp.

What are the advantages of an “80 percent” camp?

There has been a proliferation of “specialty camps” in the past 20 years or so.  These are camps where there is one primary focus to the camp, such as computer programming, and that is it. Now why you would you put your child in front of a computer screen for the summer is beyond us, but having that 100 percent activity is not always the best for children. One of the things that really stood out in 2019 was the incredibly rich and varied experiences our campers had. Over one 48 hour period campers could be out on an overnight canoe trip, take a music class, take an art class, go on a night hike looking for bats and moths, and go to Lake Placid for an outdoor concert.
We love the outdoor activities we do like hiking, canoeing, and sailing. However, we also know that our campers loved the indoor activities and the trips into town.  My goal as Camp Director is to balance the following. I want campers to:

1) love camp
2) make lifelong friends
3) try a few new activities
4) build confidence and resilience
5) learn to love the outdoors and the planet and think about what they can do to build a sustainable future.

Ambitious but Possible

That might sound like a tall order, but I do think we have a few natural advantages. First, our campus is beautiful and in terms of exploring the natural world, it is unparalleled.  This summer, we saw foxes, loons, salamanders, deer, and bald eagles to name but a few. And that’s not even getting into the flora, which is abundant considering our vast property which includes a sand beach, a mile of lake front, the woods, a bog, sprawling fields, and more forest.
Second, kids have a natural tendency to make friends, to play, to be creative. Campers this past summer spent weeks creating an “ant village” at the beach. They built mountains, moats, tunnels, houses, and even elected a mayor. Sometimes we just need to get out of the way and let kids do what they are naturally inclined to do. My main point is that most of our campers wanted to do try all of the activities, not just confine themselves to one. They wanted to swim, hike, play sports, do art and music, canoe, sail, fish, and go on expeditions. There are different and valuable lessons to be learned in each activity at Camp Regis Applejack. Of course, after campers have tried everything and want to place their focus on one or two things, we can accommodate that wish.  But first, let’s have at least a “no thank you” portion of everything.

So, I embrace my own 80 percent tendencies and those of Camp Regis Applejack and we are busy planning a wider range of opportunities for our campers to explore in the 2020 Summer sessions.