Dear Timberlake Families,

To those who are new, welcome, to those who are returning, welcome back. It is going to be an amazing summer at Timberlake camp and at Big Lodge in particular.
Being new to the Farm and Wilderness Family myself, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share what experience I bring to the Big Lodge Head position. I have over 13 years of experience in several different educational settings, including six years as a counselor/head counselor at a camp located in the foothills of the Oregon Coast. I have also worked in a classroom setting for over 10 years helping students to meet their social, emotional and educational goals for personal success and growth.
I am very confident in the counseling staff that will be at Timberlake this summer and in their ability to give your camper an experience that is both memorable and remarkable. We have a  group that is highly knowledgeable, energetic, fun, and brings a wide range of skills. They make a phenomenal team.
This summer will be filled with growth, discovery, skills building and the confidence that comes from living within a caring and supportive community environment for your campers.
Before you arrive and as the summer progresses, I will also be your main contact person if there are any questions or concerns that may arise. Please feel free to contact me at enclin@hotmail.com or (802) 422 2316 for any special needs your camper may have while attending Timberlake (dietary, medical etc.) so that we may ensure the best experience for your camper.
I look forward to an awesome summer and to meeting each of you and your campers.

Best Regards,

Erik Biornstad
Big Lodge Head
Timberlake Camp

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Timberlake summer 2010. My name is Coleman Yunger and I am the Senior Lodge head. I will be your primary contact through phone and email during the summer. You can leave a message at the Timberlake office (802) 422-2316 or email me at cole.yunger@gmail.com. This is my third year in this position and my sixth summer total at Timberlake. I want to assure you that I am qualified for this job. The two years prior have helped me gain insight on how to be a great presence for Senior Lodge, but I have spent other summers at Timberlake in other roles such as waterfront head for two summers as well as cabin staff for two summers. I have found an amazing home here at Timberlake and I am trying to pass on the wonderful skills that I learned here as a boy myself. Coming into my tenth summer at Farm and Wilderness I am excited to bring many years of experience to my job, but I am also excited to learn new skills from your boys. The Senior Lodge staff members are all skilled, eager to teach, and willing to learn from the campers. I have put together a great group of young men who will help teach your boys amazing skills this summer.

I have had the pleasure of knowing most of your boys for sometime now and I hope to build on those great days from summers past. I am equally excited to meet the new campers to Senior Lodge and new campers to Timberlake. Above all I feel the best quality that I bring to this job is a willingness to learn from the boys about their needs and their wants and how to provide for them.

Sincerely,

Coleman Yunger

TL Staff 2010 are AMAZING! I enjoyed learning during the interviews what they had accomplished before, but now I am thrilled to see where they are willing to go. F&W is a values-based organization and I am proud of how people are not only open to learning new skills but also to leave behind the comforts of home, including all the props and conventions that decorate most young people’s lives. This staff is already showing strength and leadership on personal level.

While there is certainly a lot of work happening. We fill ourselves up with creative solutions and fun. Six days ago, staff begun their first day of orientation with a game. Instead of just a walking tour of camp, we opened with a skit, with a mission to accomplish:

Skit/Story:

The evil Papa Idol has taken the ability to make music from the cheerful denizens of Timberlake, once his plans to install a PA system are in place, there will be no stopping him, canned corporate music will reign for eternity and no one will be allowed to even hum a melody that hasn’t be corporate-approved.

Your mission is to travel through the land, finding the ingredients to a potion that will banish Papa Idol and let simplicity reign.

Every staff became familiar with the different areas of Barns and Gardens, Work Projects, Outdoor Living Skills, and the Waterfront. Returning staff were engaged, and everyone had to watch out for the “Schmeanies” (or Staff Handbook Meanies) who jumped out unexpectedly with questions from the staff handbook.

After this afternoon, we will have new Red Cross certified Lifeguards and Water Safety Instructors, Work Project, Barn and Gardens staff trained in Risk Management and curriculum design. Other courses include Trips Training, Outdoor Living Skills and others. And plenty of help in the kitchen with Pots and Hobart as well!

After a well-deserved day off, we’ll have a two day intensive Wilderness First Aid course.

And then the nine days of  Staff “Week” begins.

We can’t wait for all the campers to arrive and make all this training worthwhile!

I have been very inspired by conversations with staff lately. When I ask them about what they are proud of, they come up with some remarkable accomplishments, but most of all they are proud of finishing what they start.

Market pressure kids and parents alike to buy, try, then discard for something more novel. Karate lessons are started, science kits are purchased but it’s so easy to become distracted these days.

And on the personal level, we can sometimes forget personal commitments and move to greener, fresher pastures.

“Integrity” means whole and unfragmented, and I appreciate that as a group we will hold that value of an integral experience this summer both with the friends we make and the skills we learn.

Blue Skies!

Tulio

Back in Spain I used to do a staff orientation skit where I would sit on the floor in a robe and gray beard. Staff would file in and by candlelight I would tell them a story of a faraway land that must be believed to be seen. I spoke of the numerous Elves, filled with light, magic, delight and sometimes mischief! I told of the Good Wizards that worked to shape and aid the magic of the land and elves. And finally, I spoke of the Elders, who were rarely seen, but were present through the elves and who must be respected, for they made this land possible.

The Parents are those Elders, and you make this non-profit land of Farm and Wilderness possible so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, insights, inspirations or concerns with us before, during or after this summer.
(cue: “This land is your land, this land is my land….”)

Blue Skies!

Tulio

… really, really beautiful. It’s inspirational just walking down the road here at Farm and Wilderness. The new growth makes a cathedral roof of chartreuse above you, while the sun filters in from every direction.

I can’t wait for summer.

As I wait, I am thrilled to hear of returning campers counting the days until camp begins and also eager to communicate with new parents and campers and let them know how focused we are on getting to that place where camp feels like a home away from home. Time tends to work a little differently here at camp, so don’t be surprised if that happens in less time than you think!

Staff will be arriving for training on June 11th so the next few weeks are great times for this year’s campers and parents to contact me.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Blue Skies!

… a bit of a blur! Systems, systems, systems. My Outlook calendar looks like weird wallpaper this month.

It’s time to start taking advantage of the longer days. All the information from the March American Camping Association conference needs to be revisited and adapted so that it’s fully incorporated into camp.

For any returning camper reading this, don’t think I am going to change everything around on you! Most of these improvements have do with everything that happens behind the scenes so that camp runs smoothly and everyone communicates well and gets what they need.

Timberlake will always be about simple living, but it never hurts to have an extra rain plan up your sleeve!

And that take planning and careful preparation.

Besides, the more detailed the plan, the more fun it is to be spontaneous and change it to better suit the moment.

…. full of buds of green that had everyone excited. A big maple in front of my house displayed that subtle yet majestic shift from it’s Winter to Spring appearance. Laden with little buds, It made one do a double-take.

It didn’t really look different, but something felt different.

The hills, meanwhile, were undergoing a “popcorn” effect; where from one day to the next several trees would suddenly add a puff of bright green to the hillside.

I kept myself busy with extensive interviewing of staff, hiring, and general preparations. I changed and added a few questions this year to focus less on hypothetical situations (“what would you do if…”) and more on specific accomplishments that demonstrated what these staff were capable of. This made for some fascinating interviews. One evening I looked up at the watch and realized I had been on one call for almost two hours!

I am very excited to be working with this year’s staff. They seem in every way as surprising and full of potential and wisdom as that big maple in front of my house…which is saying a lot!

When I took these photos I thought how nice it would be for folks living South of us to see some snow.  Since then, it seems everyone but us has been getting their share of the fluffy white stuff.     Still it’s nice to see our summer landscape in a different season.

(One cabin is missing… can you guess which?   Send me an email and I’ll let you know if you are correct.)

TL Waterfront

Catamount Bell Detail

Tupelo

Sycamore

Hawthorn

Alder

Catamount

Foxes

Otters

Bears

Rivermen

Lumberjacks

Trappers

Rangers

There’s great and then there’s GREAT

During this season I spend a lot of time talking about Timberlake with parents at camp fairs, on the phone, and at house parties.

I used to search for the right way to describe why Timberlake is such a GREAT place and not just a great place. You may pause her to ask “What’s the difference?”

People will often say “You’re really great”. While this vague acknowledgment of our virtues is nice, it’s often not enough. We need acceptance but we also need a sense of accomplishment and achievement. We want someone to say “I see what you’ve accomplished and I’m impressed”.

What is so great about Timberlake?

I believe it’s a great camp because we have stuck to our roots and to the core values of summer camps.

In an article published in the American Camping Association magazine, they identified three core elements of camp:

- An intimate relationship with nature
- Authentic human connections
- Human-powered activities

As a camp, we have intuitively known these three truths and remained faithful to them over the past seventy years.

By having a silent meeting on the top of a mountain, we aren’t just ‘bagging’ the summit, but deepening our intimate relationship with nature. Just as our three-sided cabins and general lifestyle helps us love being outdoors…by being outdoors.

When it comes to human connections, we strive to find authenticity in letting everyone have a voice and by improving our listening skills. We find authenticity when we don’t shy away from issues around race or gender and do the work necessary so that everyone feels at home and accepted.

And yes, we build fires, chop wood, paddle canoes and even turn Ferris wheels by hand. TL power is human power!

So, yes I do believe we are a “great” camp because we focus on seeing the unique strengths and greatness in each boy. Every summer is a fresh start, bursting with potential.

I welcome you to join me in preparing for this coming summer.

It’s going to be a great one.

Tulio