Camp Counsel

Canoeing is among the summer camp activities at Green River Preserve in Cedar Mountain. Photograph by Jane Izard Camp Counsel Hello Muddah, hello faddah, it’s time to start thinking about summer camp written By Paul Clark During these chilly days of winter, canoeing, swimming, and the sundry outdoor merriment of summer are distant daydreams. But Mom and Dad, if you’re planning to send your kids to summer camp, now is the time to sign them up. Luckily, there are plenty of camps to choose from in WNC. Here are three to help you start your search. Camp Carolina A high adventure and sports camp for first through 12th grade boys, Camp Carolina in Brevard provides just about any activity an eager boy could dream up. Staff trained in backcountry safety teach basic sports and adventure skills before taking campers into DuPont State and Pisgah National forests. Activities also include overnight trips to Charleston, South Carolina, for sea kayaking and surfing. Mountain boarding and biking, skateboarding, horseback riding, caving, canoeing, rafting, rock climbing, wakeboarding, tennis, golf, arts and crafts, and fencing are among the offerings at this camp, in operation since 1924. The camp’s philosophy is based upon respecting nature, valuing human relationships, and relying on oneself to tackle challenges. First session begins June 3. www.campcarolina.com Green River Preserve Green River Preserve in Cedar Mountain strives to strengthen character and heighten appreciation for the natural world by letting, as camp Director Sandy Schenck says, “104 bright, curious, creative kids” explore their interests, and find new ones, on a 3,400-acre preserve along the Green River. “We’re not a camp that speeds children up,” Schenck says. “We slow them down. With our quiet, calm approach, the children find soul restoration in these beautiful mountains. That leads them to a more simple, appreciative life.” Half of each day, campers wade trout streams, play under waterfalls, taste edible plants, and hike to archeological sites. The second half they spend in noncompetitive activities such as fly-fishing, rock climbing, canoeing, archery, painting, and gardening. On weekends, counselors take rising second through 12th graders camping under the stars. First session begins June 10. www.greenriverpreserve.org Gwynn Valley Farm-to-table is an important concept at Gwynn Valley, a 320-acre co-ed camp in Brevard for children and young teens. Working at the farm, which produces 60 percent of the camp’s food, is among the activities. Children learn where their food comes from by milking goats, feeding animals, picking vegetables, gathering eggs, and lessons in veterinary science. “They love it,” says camp Co-director Anne Bullard. “They weigh the vegetables and see how much they’ve harvested, and it’s announced in the dining room.” Gwynn Valley’s programming is broken into camps according to age. Grade-schoolers are exposed to activities such as meteorology, horseback riding, kayaking, drama, folk dance, and ecology in the Main Camp program, which lasts up to 10 days. At Mountainside wilderness camp, older children learn responsibility through orienteering, mountain biking, tubing, and overnight camping trips during three-week sessions. And at Riverside camp, rising eighth- and ninth-graders go on extended wilderness adventures that include backpacking, white-water canoeing, and rock climbing. First sessions begin June 8. www.gwynnvalley.com To find other North Carolina camps and tips for your search, visit North Carolina Youth Camp Association’s website at www.nccamps.org.