Camp Unirondack

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Camp Unirondack
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Camp Unirondack
Location within the state of New York
Location Lewis County, New York, U.S.
Coordinates 43°52′11.58″N075°9′19″W / 43.8698833°N 75.15528°W / 43.8698833; -75.15528
Established1951 (1951)
Website www.unirondack.org

Camp Unirondack is a social-justice and intentional community-centered youth summer camp and conference center that is located in the western foothills of the Adirondack Mountains near Lowville, New York, on Haudenosaunee Land.

Contents

The camp was founded in 1951 when the New York State Convention of Universalists purchased 9 acres (36,000 m2) of a "forever wild" peninsula on Beaver Lake (a part of the Beaver River flow) near the border of the Adirondack Park. [1] [2] Unirondack is a member of the Council of Unitarian Universalist Camps & Conferences and serves the Saint Lawrence Unitarian Universalist District and the Metro New York City Unitarian Universalist District, as well as bordering regions, including Quebec, Ontario, Pennsylvania and Ohio. [3] Each UU church in the region has a liaison to the Camp Unirondack Board. [4]

History

In the 1950s through the 1970s, summer sessions for different age groups were often organized around liberal educational themes. For example, World Citizenship Camp for middle schoolers explored cultural programming and relations between many different countries, often employing foreign exchange college students as counsellors. Liberal American kids often made their first acquaintances with people from Asia, Africa and Europe during these sessions. Another session was set aside for Liberal Religious Youth of high-school age in the Iroquois Federation, and later also the Mohawk Federation of upstate New York, who organized their own programs each year. One of the founders of Unirondack, Rev. Howard Gilman, was particularly well known for his efforts to bring inner-city youth outdoors to the Adirondacks during this period, where they met multi-ethnic age-group counterparts from less urban environments and formed lifelong friendships. Many learned to swim, canoe and fish in Beaver Lake and enjoyed the fellowship of singing around campfires each night, all non-urban experiences. [5]

Programming

The camp has a sand beach on Beaver Lake, athletic fields, many row boats and canoes, and a combination boathouse/arts and crafts studio. Outdoor recreation, exploration, social events, educational activities, and arts and crafts are a regular part of camp programming. [6] [7]

Although Unirondack hosts spring and fall sessions and works weekends throughout the year, [8] The focus of the camp is the summer sessions. The summer sessions are named after famous Unitarians or Universalists. Each is a week-long and is for a specific age range of campers: [9]

The camp also organizes week-long backpacking and canoeing trips throughout the summer. UU Congregations in the region may lease the camp for weekend retreats or meetings, [10] or may visit the camp for "work/play weekends", a low-key way to enjoy the woods and contribute to the upkeep of the camp. Attendees spend Saturday morning cleaning and repairing facilities and the rest of the weekend hiking, canoeing, or otherwise relaxing in the outdoors. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ "About Unirondack". Camp Unirondack. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  2. ↑ McDonald, George; Frommer, Arthur (1991). The New World of Travel, 1991. Prentice Hall Books. p. 48. ISBN   978-0-13-333196-7.
  3. ↑ "Unirondack—Unitarian Universalist Camp in the Adirondacks". Unitarian Universalist Association. Archived from the original on 2009-01-11. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  4. ↑ The First Universalist Church of Central Square. "Circle of Fellowship". Archived from the original on 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  5. ↑ Unirondack: Camp & Conference Center in the Adirondacks Accessed 2-14-09.
  6. ↑ "i can't blog...i'm too busy making bracelets". Unirondack Art. 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  7. ↑ "Unirondack Shoe Golf!". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  8. ↑ "Unirondack Spring & Fall Programs" . Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  9. ↑ "Unirondack Summer Programs". Camp Unirondack. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  10. ↑ "Unirondack Weekend, 2008-2009". May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society, Syracuse. Archived from the original on 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  11. ↑ First Universalist Church of Rochester, NY. "District & National News". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
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