Thanks to everyone who came out for Partner Service Day this weekend!

We were able to collectively complete many projects that have been on our to-do list all winter! (click the images to see the full-size versions)

Planting Flowers to make a great first impression when new people enter camp:

Picking up sticks and branches to keep campers safe:

Creating a new path within the Teams Course so that groups can use the elements more effectively:

Building a new Pioneer-era cabin to replace and improve upon the Outdoor Education programs:

Simply making new friends and having a good time:

All of these are important and worthy endeavors that volunteers participated in this weekend! 

Pass this along to someone if you recognized them in a photo… and plan to join us in the fall if you can! Partner Service Day is always a great time!

Two summers ago Camp Tecumseh planted a large area of native prairie grass and flowers. The prairie was doing well enough that Camp decide to do a burn. With Turkey, Kilimanjaro, and Llama standing by with buckets of water, the prairie burned just as planned.

What is the camp prairie used for?

A small section was left for one more year to allow for it to thicken a little more and to give the schools coming in the next couple of weeks a place to do the ‘Meadow Safari’ (part of the Discovering Nature program). Before it was settled, most of Indiana was forest. The Northwest corner of the state was the only area that prairies could be found covering large areas. Camp is also using this new prairie during ‘The Meadow’ trail in Earthship Journey and is also a great backdrop for parts of the Pioneer Heritage program. Another area in the Lake Village pioneer settlement has recently been designated for a second native prairie.

Why Burn???

Managing prairies with prescribed burns has many benefits. Unburned prairies leave a mantle of dead and decaying vegetation. This stifles the growth of the prairie plants and deprives plants of space and light. The burn also helps release the nutrients in the dead vegetation so it can be used by the new growth. The blackened soil heats up fast by absorbing solar energy, thus stimulating speedy seed germination, sprouting and growth. Burning also helps in controlling shrubs that are invading into the prairie. Without burning, many of the prairies would eventually turn into forests.

Prairies are an important part of the ecosystem. Prairies have an abundance of plants, insects, birds, mammals, and reptiles, many of these found only in prairies. The grasses and forbs also provide seed and nectar for insects, butterflies, birds, and small mammals. But to get these benefits, fire must occur to restore the prairie. (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/articles/prescribed.htm)

Our maintenance crew is hard at work on the new Oregon Pavilion. The pavilion is not like a typical pole barn, it is a large timber building and will fit nicely in the pioneer settlement.  Eventually there will be three-foot high stone pillars that will surround the base of the posts. The stonework will match the stone around the fireplace.  The new Oregon cabins will have the same stone pillars in the front side of the porch.

The pavilion should be able to fit approximately 200 people under the roof.  The primary use of the pavilion will be for our Summer Day Camp Program.  Day camp will use this pavilion as one of their main meeting areas. It will also be a great place to stay out of the rain!

Outdoor Education and Weekend Retreats will use this facility for a variety of things throughout the year.   This pavilion will serve as another option for groups to meet, participate in activities or just hang out.  Groups will gather for campfire programs and picnics inside.

The project should be finished by March and ready for Summer Camp 2010!

The first of the new cabins is well underway in the Oregon Territory section of camp beyond the swimming pools. Sponsored by a special camp friend, it is scheduled to be ready for next summer. This new set of cabins will replace the Oneida and Onondaga cabins built in the 1950s. The design of the building is very similar to those in Lake Village but with extended porch entries with additional seating. It will make a nice area for campers to just sit and talk. Oregon Center has always been a unique part of camp so our new cabins were designed to include some special touches to make them distinctive. We will post pictures as the construction progresses and the features take shape.

Parents arriving on check-in days have undoubtedly noticed how narrow the entrance road to River Village is. After all, it has been essentially unchanged in 35 years.  Camp’s Board of Directors made a decision this year to widen the entry to make it safer for two-way traffic, especially all the buses that bring the 140 school groups per year.  Of course it will be better for van-loads of camper families too.  It will maintain the curve and ‘discovery of camp’ feel at the bottom that we have all come to love. Watch for it when you next return to camp.

Adding the new shoulder paving

Widening the hill curve section of the drive