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Camp Hurontario

Mission Statement

"Hurontario’s unique small-group philosophy and non-competitive atmosphere have long built self-confidence, strong team skills, and lasting friendships. Our “woodsy” approach teaches environmental ethics and provides skills necessary to live in the great outdoors."

- Pauline Marston, Owner of Camp Hurontario, https://camphurontario.com/

Background

Camp Hurontario is a Canadian boys' summer overnight camp located on the Georgian Bay near Mactier, Ontario. The camp was founded in 1947 by Birnie Hodgetts, a former Trinity College History Master who founded his camp's philosophy around an immersion with nature and focused on preparing activities for campers that could not be replicated in an urban environment, such as canoe tripping, fishing, and sailing. Since its inception, Hurontario's range of activities and cabin size has grown exponentially, with over 200 campers on the island for the July session, and over 100 campers in the camp for the August session of 2019, as well as including a variety of new activities for the older campers, such as skeet shooting and canoeing on white water trips. The camp continued to follow this direction since Birnie passed the camp's ownership down to his daughter Pauline 'Polly' Marston, who runs the camp today as the head director and owner. The camp has a wide range of campers, aging from 5-15 years old, with many campers after their leadership-in-training year given the opportunity to return to the camp the following summer as a staff member or a counsellor-in-training.

Sections

Camp Hurontario accepts a wide range of campers to join the island's activities for a singular session, resulting in a large focus on ensuring campers are interacting with fellow peers their own age, while also being able to mingle with some of the older campers in the larger 'all-camp' activities. Hurontario ensures this by dividing the camp into three separate sections, with the youngest campers typically aged 6-10 staying in the Hamelin section, older campers aged 11-12 in the Bruce section, and having the most senior campers aged 13-15 staying in the Hall section. The Hamelin section has the largest range of campers as the section offers a two-week session as opposed to the full month session, so campers who might already have plans for the summer are still able to spend time at camp if they choose. For young campers or parents who aren't sure that camp or this camp is the right place for them, the Intro session offers a 5 day and 9 day program for campers who are trying to get oriented with going to a summer camp for the first time.

While the sections have no bearing on the experience the campers partake in, it is designed in a way where fellow section members are able to interact with each other based on the physical location of the cabins, as well as join other cabins in group programming which encourages not only making friends in the cabin but making friends with fellow peers in the section. Section camaraderie is a large part of Hurontario's operations, with directors assigned for each section to ensure cohesion amongst campers as well as programming section wide events like 'Capture the Flag' or 'Movie Nights'.

Activities

Camp Hurontario's activities over time have remained the same, and are still oriented around being immersed in nature with a small group of campers.

Archery & Shooting: Campers from any section are able to participate in the archery range with the direct supervision of a shooting instructor, and older campers in the senior section are able to partake in both rifle and skeet shooting.

Bio: Campers with the supervision of staff members are able to travel off of the main island to some of the camp's owned surrounding properties to discover unique ecosystems in the Georgian Bay, to create habitats for various creatures to live in temporarily back on the main island, and to gain a better understanding of the biome which the camp is located in and shares with nature's inhabitants.

Canoeing: Due to the camp's location on an island, canoeing is an integral part of traveling to any of the surrounding islands affiliated with the camp. Because of this, campers from the age of 5 are taught the most basic of paddling skills, with increased lessons and techniques instructed as the campers enter the more senior sections of the camp. At the end of each month's session, time trials are conducted for three separate paddling competitions; the Hartwood, Hodgetts, and Muntz-Weller, and are awarded for junior, senior, and solo canoeists respectively.

Crafts: Based on the age of the campers and how long their session at Hurontario is, staff members assist campers in making homemade woodwork projects by designing the project with the camper and applying the proper power tools to create what the camper has envisioned. The youngest campers are often only able to make ping pong paddles or door knockers based on their limited stay compared to some of the older campers, who can use the entire month session to work on handmade canoe paddles or larger creative projects.

Kayaking: Hurontario has a fleet of both still-water and sea kayaks, which campers use to travel to one of the local camp owned islands with their cabin, and can play unique boat games in the water such as 'piano keys', where one camper is asked to get out of their kayak while in the water, travel across a series of joined kayaks formed by their cabin-mates, and make their way back and forth into their own boat again.

Sailing: Sailing has continued to remain one of the largest activities at Hurontario. With over 20 different vessels composed of 3 lightning boats, 10 JY rigs, and a fleet of Byte boats, campers are able to sail for a morning or afternoon with their cabin mates or with people from across the section who are also sailing. More senior campers are allowed to go out into the larger 12 Mile Bay with direct supervision of a sailing instructor nearby in a crash boat.

Seen above is one of the Lightning sailboats, which up to eight campers are able to fit on during one session of Sailing

Rocks and Ropes: Camp Hurontario offers a 50ft rock climbing wall with multiple routes for campers to try and challenge themselves with more technically challenging paths to climb. Once at the top, campers are given the option from the supervising rocks instructor of whether or not they would like to zip-line off of the climbing ledge. Hurontario's rope sections involve collaborative exercises with campers and counsellors to traverse a series of challenging team-bonding activities to help boost confidence and trust amongst the cabin mates.

Silk: The 'Silk' activity at Hurontario allows campers to design their own t-shirt by drawing and stencilling out an initial design, and then either the campers or counsellors (dependant on their age) applies the paint. If campers do not want to create their own t-shirt design, they have the option to create a tie-dye shirt, by using a series of dyes and elastic band patterns to create a unique shirt for the camper. After the shirts have successfully dried, campers are able to take their projects home and show them to their parents.

Swimming & Lessons: Due to the surrounding waters of the Georgian Bay, swimming is a skill that Hurontario takes very seriously and integrates into daily programming with campers. Campers often have the opportunity before meals or after programming to jump in the water as a way to beat the heat or spend some time before heading to their next program. Swim lessons take place with an NLS trained instructor who works with all levels of campers to enhance their ability to swim and boost their swimming confidence so that they are able to enjoy their beautiful surrounding environment without hesitation. At the end of each session, swim tests are conducted to determine whether or not in the future years they will qualify for the Bronze Star, Medallion, or Cross certificates, awarded from the National Lifeguarding Society.

Canoe Tripping

The Moisie River, one of the many white water trips a select group of senior Hurontario trippers partakes, which often span from two to three weeks in length for the total time spent on the trip.

Camp Hurontario has historically prided itself on the variety of trips they offer to their campers. From the overnight trips for the youngest campers to the Hood River's trip taking over three and a half weeks until everyone is back home, there is a large range of canoe trips which campers can experience and appreciate through their returned summers at the camp. Counsellors when preparing for trips confer with their cabin to ask what meals they would like on the trip, what activities they would like to partake in once on the trip, and outline a map of the trip to inform the campers on where they will be going and how far they will be traveling each day.

For the youngest campers in the Hamelin section, their counsellors typically take them out for either overnight or three-day bay trips, to give them a brief experience of what living in tents and collecting firewood is like, while also ensuring that they are not far from their familiar environment of the camp island. Bruce campers are introduced to longer trips, typically spanning anywhere from 4-6 days, while also having the opportunity to use Hurontario's sea kayaks as a different method of travel on the trips. These kayaking trips are often much longer in distance due to the amount of water they can cover compared to a canoe.

The Hall side trips are focused around the river experience, and slowly prepare the camper for eventually completing their leadership-in-training trip in their final year as a camper. The majority of these trips take place in Ontario, with campers going as far as Chapleau, ON to experience the Canadian wilderness. The leadership-in-training trips require trepidation down large white water rapids, which Hurontario prepares for by having each leader-in-training complete a white-water training experience at the Madawaska Kanu Centre in Barry's Bay, ON. The leadership-in-training trips range from two weeks to three and a half weeks in length, taking Hurontario's campers to Labrador on the Moisie River, the Arctic Circle on the Hood River, Moosonee on the Kesagami River, and more.

References:

https://camphurontario.com/

https://camphurontario.com/philosophy/

https://camphurontario.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GeorgianBayToday.pdf

https://www.mkc.ca/paddling-courses/?gclid=CjwKCAiAtej9BRAvEiwA0UAWXhn5GkdlVh11u-S1nfczcTeoPBFj-DZIOkmDVm_CdCxOIlfy1cEeGRoCXO4QAvD_BwE