Lots of exciting things have been happening at camp this past week! Big Trips departed and returned, younger campers enjoyed special leadership opportunities and events, and the second overnight of the session gave participants more chances to bond with one another and practice their outdoor living skills.
And last but certainly not least, a major highlight from this past week was our celebration of Nell Robinson Day.
Nell Day began as a commemoration of the woman who previously lived on the property where camp is now located. Nell Robinson was a remarkable woman who shaped the history of Johns Island and left a lasting impression upon all who knew her. Nell Day pays tribute to her and allows us as a camp community to reflect on our connection to the past.
Nell Day incorporates all sorts of engaging elements, including color teams, face painting, kooky skits, watermelons, and a treasure hunt. Campers in the Forester and Voyageur units were selected by staff to lead each color team, and purple, pink, yellow, green, and orange teammates donned their assigned color to show their team spirit.
Campers showed their Nell Day color-team spirit with bright clothing, costumes, and face paint.
In the morning, Nell Day specials gave campers the chance to participate in an activity not offered at any other time during the session. Staff came up with creative options for the campers, including the opportunity to create food art, play a mashup of capture the flag and raptor tag (two camper favorites), and get their groove on at a staff-led dance party.
If it’s the right color, just about any prop can be incorporated into a Nell Day outfit!
After lunch, staff members presented a silly skit introducing the afternoon’s activity: a camp-wide scavenger hunt! The campers’ objective was to answer riddles and perform tasks posed to them by staff spread out across the island, the successful completion of which would lead them to their prize. The first team to reach the finish line with their valuable treasure (a watermelon) would be the winner! Campers fanned out across the camp property to seek the treasure melon, and we all cheered as they raced under staff and fellow campers’ upraised arms at the finish. Then we all enjoyed delicious watermelon slices together.
Teams raced to the scavenger hunt’s finish line with their watermelon prize.
All in all, it was a fantastic Nell Day, and we’re so grateful for the time we’ve gotten to spend with our younger campers this week. Tomorrow our Little Big Trips will set out and we’ll be a smaller camp once again, but for now we’re savoring our time all together as full camp!