Camp Sealth

Last updated

Camp Sealth is owned and operated by Camp Fire, a non-profit youth organization, and located on Vashon Island, Washington. Sealth hosts resident and day camp during the summer, environmental education for school groups during the spring and fall, and is a year-round conference and retreat center. Camp Sealth is accredited by the American Camp Association. [1]

Contents

Location

Camp Sealth is located on Vashon Island, Washington, has nearly 400 acres (1.6 km2) of forest, wetland and marine environment, and over a mile of waterfront along Colvos Passage in the Puget Sound. Most summer campers travel to Sealth via an Argosy boat affectionately called "Da Boata".

History

Camp Sealth was founded in 1920 as the first permanent resident camp for girls in Washington State. It began on Blake Island for the first season, then moved to its present location on Vashon Island in 1921. The South End Forest Fire on Vashon burned a good deal of Camp Sealth in 1922, [2] and campers helped fight the fire. Rounds Hall, the dining hall, was built in 1921, and it is dedicated to Edward "Daddy" Rounds. In the 1990s, the present Wrangler unit, barn and riding facilities were built. In 2005, extensive renovation included the new Green Birdcage building which replaced the old arts & crafts building, and renovation of three other buildings, including the dining hall.

Camp Sealth was a girls camp until 1975, when Camp Fire became a co-educational organization.

Campers and staff

Camp Sealth is a traditional, coed camp serving children ages 4–18. The camp has a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and welcomes campers and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. Camp Sealth has a strong partnership with the American Diabetes Association, serving campers with diabetes since 1941. Sealth also partners with the Gluten Intolerance Group, and the PKU clinic at the University of Washington to support campers with special medical and dietary needs. Scholarships ("camperships") for low-income kids are available. All staff must choose a nickname like "Oak" or "Zipper" or any other name to provide the adults with privacy and security. Some staff let their campers try to figure out their names at the end of camp. These nicknames are what the campers call their staff and counselors.

Each summer, Camp Sealth hires about 100 staff who work as counselors, unit leaders, program specialists and support staff.

Resident camp programs

Description

Sealth is one of the West Coast's largest traditional summer camps. Each session, between 250 and 300 campers attend overnight camp at Sealth. The summer season runs from late June through the end of August, and includes eight sessions ranging in length from 4 to 13 days long.

Classic Camp

Most campers attend "Classic Camp." Classic camp consists of many traditional camp activities, including archery, arts & crafts, boating, fishing, swimming, hikes, overnight campouts, outdoor cooking, nature, marine "touch tanks", games, songs, theme meals, and much more. Campers are highly involved in planning their own schedule, and a session at camp is based on what the kids want to do. Kids are placed in classic camp groups based on their age. Within the camp groups are the different cabins which have their own counselors.

Overnight campout

Overnight campouts are what campers, unless in the outback session, do one night at camp. The overnight is when campers hike to a camp spot already chosen previously by staff. There is a firepit, tarp for sleeping under, an outhouse, and a picnic table. At the overnight there are other campers from other cabins, so there is a lot of game playing with others. The campers also make their own food with help from their counselors. The campers also may do "challenge", which are group games. The overnight is an actual camping experience as opposed to the cabins where the campers usually sleep.

Specialty programs

Wrangler is Camp Sealth's horse camp program for kids ages nine and older. Kids spend 2–4 hours each day with the horses, including trail rides, arena lessons, horseback games, service projects and ground lessons.

Sealth's boating unit, Kiwanis, is for middle school and high school youth, and focuses on windsurfing, kayaking and sailing. In addition, two sessions offer a unique "Nocturnal" program where campers stay up at night and sleep during the day.

The Tripping and Outback unit focuses on outdoor living, backpacking, and occasionally leaves camp for one-day or multi-day trips. Past and current trips include backpacking, biking, kayaking, river rafting, climbing, geocaching and more. There is also a Splash Camp for children ages 9–11 where they go to different pools in the Vashon area.

Sealth offers many opportunities for teens interested in leadership, including the Counselor-in-Training (CIT), Riding-Staff-In-Training (RSIT), and High School Internship programs. CITs and RSITs are leadership campers that participate in skills workshops and job shadows to learn more about working as camp staff. High School Interns are volunteer junior staff who work alongside counselors and specialists.

Day camp programs

Camp Sealth also hosts a summer-long day camp program for kids ages 4 to 12, primarily for Vashon Island youth. Between 20 and 40 campers attend each themed week of day camp. Day Camp themes include "Harry Potter", "Space Odyssey" and "It's a Mad, Mad Science Camp".

Alumni

Every two years (odd years) Camp Fire members and Camp Sealth past attendees and staff, gather in September to sing old camp songs, participate in a service project, as well as reconnect with old friends.

Related Research Articles

Scouting in Florida is composed of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) local councils in Florida. Scouting in Florida has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer camp</span> Supervised program for children conducted during the summer months

A summer camp or sleepaway camp or residential camp is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps are known as campers. They generally are offered overnight accommodations for one or two weeks out in an outdoor natural campsite setting. Day camps, by contrast, offer the same types of experience in the outdoors but children return home each evening. Summer school is a different experience that is usually offered by local schools for their students focused on remedial education to ensure students are prepared for the upcoming academic year or in the case of high school students, to retake failed state comprehensive exams necessary for graduation. Summer residential and day camps may include an academic component but is not a requirement.

The Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA consists of Camp Becket, Camp Chimney, and Becket Day Camp, all of which take place in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts during summer. Camp Becket and Camp Chimney identify as boys-plus and girls-plus, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YMCA Camp Orkila</span>

Camp Orkila is on the northwest shoulder of Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington, overlooking Presidents Channel, and the Canadian Gulf Islands. It has been in operation since 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YMCA Camp Cory</span> Summer camp in New York State, U.S.

YMCA Camp Lawrence Cory, better known as "YMCA Camp Cory" or simply "Camp Cory," is a resident-style summer camp in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It was founded in 1892 and established at its current location in 1921. The name comes from Lt. H. Lawrence Cory, an American World War I soldier who was killed in action.

Frost Valley YMCA is a camping, environmental education, and conferencing center located in Claryville, New York, part of the Catskill Mountains. Founded in 1901 as Camp Wawayanda, the camp moved to its present location in 1958.

Camp Tousey was a YMCA summer camp located about two miles (3 km) from the village of Redwood in Jefferson County, New York in the United States, and about eight miles (13 km) from Alexandria Bay, New York, a small resort town on the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands area. The camp was operated by the Syracuse, New York YMCA for many decades during the twentieth century. Non-Christians were not excluded from the camp and many attended. The camp comprised 500 acres (2.0 km2) wooded on the shores of Millsite Lake and of Sixberry Lake and also included Royale Island on Millsite Lake, just offshore from the main camp. The terrain was rugged, with a tall rocky cliff backing the buildings of the main camp, clustered along Millsite Lake. Standing atop the cliffs provided an expansive view of the camp and of Millsite Lake.

Raquette Lake Camps is a pair of summer camps located in the center of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, west of Lake George and south of Lake Placid. Raquette Lake Girls Camp and Raquette Lake Boys Camp are two of the oldest, continuously-operating summer camps in existence. Widely regarded as one of the premier summer camps in the United States, Raquette Lake Camps enroll around 400 campers each summer.

Camp Whitcomb/Mason is a year-round facility located near Hartland, Wisconsin, approximately 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Lake Keesus. Founded in 1911 and owned and operated by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, it is the oldest Boys and Girls Clubs camp in America.

Camp Bloomfield was a 45-acre (180,000 m2) campground in the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu, California, United States. In 1958, Henry Bloomfield purchased the land, donating its use to the Foundation for the Junior Blind to create a camp for children and youth who are blind, visually impaired or multi-disabled. As the largest of its kind in Western United States, Camp Bloomfield served hundreds of campers and family members free of charge each summer and was accredited by the American Camping Association (ACA). It was destroyed in the Woolsey fire on November 9, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Billings</span> United States historic place

Camp Billings is a co-ed, summer camp on Lake Fairlee in West Fairlee and Thetford, Vermont, United States. Accredited by the American Camp Association, it was established in 1906, and is open by boys and girls between the ages of eight and sixteen. In 2006, it was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Avoda</span>

Camp Avoda is a Jewish boys' overnight camp located on Tispaquin Pond in Middleboro, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since the summer of 1927, making it the oldest Jewish boys' camp in New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Airy</span> Boys Jewish sleep away summer camp

Camp Airy is a Jewish sleep away summer camp located in Thurmont, Maryland at the edge of the Catoctin Mountain Park. Boys between the ages of 7 and 17 attend for one to seven weeks, depending on their age and interest. Airy is a fully accredited member of the American Camp Association. Camp Airy is the brother camp to Camp Louise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Firwood</span> Christian summer camp in Washington, US

Camp Firwood is a Christian summer camp situated on Lake Whatcom, southeast of Bellingham, Washington. It is part of "The Firs", a Christian camp and retreat ministry that is in good standing with the Christian Camp and Conference Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falling Creek Camp</span>

Falling Creek Camp is a traditional summer camp for boys, founded on Christian values. It is located on over 900 private mountaintop acres in Tuxedo, North Carolina. Falling Creek was founded in 1969 by Jim Miller. Sessions range from one to four weeks for rising 1st through 12th grade boys, and Father/Son Weekends are offered. In addition to the classic camp activities, campers can choose to participate daily in a variety of out-of-camp adventure trips, ranging in skill level from introductory to advanced, and from one-day trips to five-day trips.

Camp Beaverbrook was a co-educational overnight summer camp located at 14117 Bottle Rock Road, Cobb, California, near Cobb Mountain, in Lake County, California from 1961 - 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Ralph S. Mason</span> Summer camp in New Jersey, US

YMCA Camp Mason is a YMCA summer camp located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. The 650-acre site is located next to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Camp Mason annually serves approximately 800 campers in its summer camp programs, and 7,000 participants at its outdoor center.

Located on 150 acres on Cedar Lake in Chester, Connecticut, Camp Hazen YMCA provides youth camping for over 1500 boys and girls each year from throughout the state. Group camping includes over 6000 participants annually. Camp Hazen YMCA serves youth from throughout Connecticut, New England and many states around the country. Each summer, Camp Hazen YMCA is also home to campers and counselors from more than 25 different countries. Campers come from all socio-economic backgrounds, and range in age from 5 to 18. Over 800 campers were provided with financial assistance in 2009. These funds, over $205,000, were provided by individuals, foundations, businesses and service clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Ondessonk</span> Catholic youth camp

Camp Ondessonk is an outdoor, Catholic residential youth camp run by the Diocese of Belleville. It is located in the Shawnee National Forest of Southern Illinois, near Ozark, Illinois. The mission of the camp is "Exceptional outdoor and spiritual adventures empowering kids of all ages." Camp Ondessonk is accredited by the American Camp Association.

Cheley Colorado Camps is a residential summer camp in the Estes Park Valley. Cheley is located at two sites: Land O'Peaks Ranch in Estes Park, Colorado, which houses three girls' units and three boys' units, and Trail's End Ranch for Boys and Girls in Glen Haven, Colorado. Since 1921, Cheley Colorado Camps has had around 50,000 campers. Cheley hosts over 1,200 campers each summer.

References

  1. ↑ "Camp Sealth - An ACA-Accredited Camp". acacamps.org. Archived from the original on 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2006-08-01.
  2. ↑ Haulman, Bruce (November 5, 2004). "Vashon-Maury Timeline". vashonhistory.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-23.

47°21′56″N122°31′05″W / 47.36556°N 122.51806°W / 47.36556; -122.51806

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.