WHICH CAMP IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CHILD?

Dear F&W Community, 

It is with great spirit that I want to let you know that I am retiring from Farm & Wilderness. I say great spirit because I’ve had an incredible experience at Farm & Wilderness, and it’s time. My wife, Brenda, and I have many ideas for our next phase of our life in Barre, VT both personally and professionally. I’m excited to have more time for the DEIB consulting business, Strength Perspective, which I started several years ago with Dusty Clitheroe, and I expect to get more involved with the BIPOC community in VT.  

As it says on my Circle of Light plaque, Farm & Wilderness saved my life. I came from northern FL during some tough racial times. About like it is now, actually, with legal permission for hate. I came to F&W and found my home and family. So much so that I live near my F&W family currently. I have had ups and downs, pain and sadness, joy and excitement, and all-around fun. I’ve made life-long friends. I’ve learned how to sit in silence, and how to motivate kids to do hard work and find joy in that. I’ve seen that our youth are much stronger than we give them credit for and can accomplish way beyond our wildest dreams. I’ve gained extra children who call me mom and fill my cameras with funny pictures that I find later.  

 I’ve raised my kids and god children at F&W and worked alongside one. I’ve watched our camping systems change from praying you have all the parts for your equipment to having all the parts and in great condition. I’ve been through so many changes at F&W. All changes that we had to work through and made us safer and more inclusive despite a feeling of loss. I have the honor of working under every ED except for Ridge and Jack Hunter. I was a camper when Ridge was director. Jack was a mentor and made the best blueberry pancakes for our day off.  I’ve been through a macrobiotic cook, floods, fires, extreme heat, intruders, and many other natural events at F&W. I’ve gone from mimeograph reports to computer reports.  

I am excited to end my last summer as “Utility Player.” It is my favorite role at F&W. I do different things each day to help. It’s an excellent job for my middle-age onset attention deficit disorder. I’ll share more stories and reflections on an upcoming F&W Podcast, and I will be hosting some summer events, so keep an eye out.  

I wish you all luck and look forward to spending my last summer as a full-time staff member with you! 

Peace, 

Polly 

We're excited to share with you the Interim Vol.87, which contains a beautiful bouquet of stories from 2023!

Read a letter from Executive Director Frances Mclaughlin and get the latest updates from F&W Conservation and our community members. Meet our new board-of-trustees member, get the inside scoop into the last year of camp magic, updates on upcoming events, and more! 

Happy reading, y'all!

Want to be featured in the next interim? Stay connected with our ever-growing alumni network and share your camp memories & life updates HERE. 

Click Here to Read the Interim Vol.87

Below is a list of articles that you can expect to read in the Interim! Follow the links to see our project directly as you read more about them in the Interim:

• Executive Director Letter by Frances McLaughlin
• Conservation updates
• "Camp as the Antidote"
• Emily Jones
• Silos Roberts
• Thad Gibson
• Firefly Song
• GOAT Hikes
• Immersions at TF
• Margo Lindauer
• WA at SAM
• Memories and Gratitude

Farm & Wilderness has decades of rich history providing joyful play, purposeful work, and rugged outdoor living to campers, staff, and families. This Vermont summer camp is truly greater than the sum of its already brilliant parts, and we owe it to our robust community (that's y'all!) for keeping our home vibrant. We cannot wait to share more of your stories! 

In a fast-paced world, the importance of slowing down and embracing present moments is often overlooked. This blog explores the benefits of taking time to be present in our daily lives.

"You Can't Eat Steam"

For Mental Health Month, I wanted to share an analogy about the accelarating and often unfullfilling nature of modern life.  For all the alumni and folks from my generation, I want to first establish the desire to "cut to the chase" and "skip to the good part" has always been with us. Author Seth Godin notes how "...ever since we've had High School, there has been the instinct to read the Cliff Notes."   Yet as more of our time is spent in digital spaces, this process is reaching deeper into more and more aspects of our lives. 

"We're at a rolling boil, and there’s a lot of pressure to turn our work and the work we consume to steam. The steam analogy is worthwhile: a thirsty person can’t subsist on steam."   

Read the full blog article here, which includes a graph of "The Dopamine Culture" by Ted Gioia.   

The Harmful Effects of Constant Busyness

In today's modern society, there is a constant pressure to do everything with less attention and in a shorter amount of time. This constant busyness can have harmful effects on our mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

Firstly, constantly rushing from one task to another without taking breaks can lead to burnout. When we are always on the go, our bodies and minds do not have a chance to rest and recharge. This can result in chronic stress, fatigue, and decreased productivity.

Secondly, the constant busyness can also negatively impact our relationships. When we are always focused on the next task or deadline, we may neglect spending quality time with people we care about. This can lead to feelings of disconnect and strain in our personal connections.

Lastly, constantly being busy can prevent us from fully enjoying and appreciating the present moment. Life is meant to be experienced, but when we are always in a rush, we miss out on the beauty and joy that surrounds us.

How Farm & Wilderness Camps Can Help

At Farm and Wilderness, we can interrupt these patterns by:   

• Seeing the people around us more clearly living without the distraction of screens and technology. 
  
  
• Daily Silent Meeting.  Taking stock of the trees and birdsong around us. 
  
  
• Including appreciation and gratitude into our community habits.
  
  
• Making space for different voices to be heard.  Noticing what perspectives are absent from a conversation.  
  
  
• Enjoying a balance of daily routines alongside moments of surprise and wonder. 
  
  
• Ackowledging that friendships and social connections are core pillars for mental health.  
  
  
• Doing purposeful work together creates connection, allowing for people to contribute in different ways.  We don't stop when we lose interest, we stop when the job is done - because the community depends on us. 
  
  
• From the very first evening's "Cabin Contract", we are discussing boundaries. This is role-modeling and practice can be brought back home when camp is done. 
  
  
• We practice "No Body Talk" to limit a deficit mindset around the gifts of our own unique bodies. 
  
  

I hope you can join us this summer in the green mountains of Vermont.