Firstly :(is that a word?) I have not 30 but 39 children signed up for harvest camp and added 3 campers who switched from the amazing general recreation camp here at Mountainside. Unlike other camps most of the children are recipients of a scholarship or pay a nominal fee to attend. Our parents have seen the value of what we are doing and have paid handsomely for their children to participate. Now if I can find a way to get scholarships for deserving kids for next year.
Secondly : I got Josh, or perhaps I have Josh, or I have Josh as an employee. This is posted publicly and my Journalism teacher God rest her soul would haunt me with improper usage. He really is amazing with food and with children. Valinda, AJ, Sam and all the other counselors and JC's keep the kids engaged and moving. Oh yeah (not proper English) and there is a ton of stuff to do and pick.
Thirdly : I mentioned Valinda but she gets a second prop (also not proper English) because she makes such wonderful food from that which the children just picked. Those curly cue fries yesterday would beat the heck out of Thrashers at the beach. The Salsa the day before would make any Mexican restaurant proud.
And the Kicker : I have a pool within 100 feet of the greenhouse. Yesterday felt like summer in DC. Low 90's, humid, little air movement, and the heat index close to 100 degrees. As excited as the kids were to see the potatoes popping out to the ground they were good for 45 minutes tops. Potato picking is fun and you are supposed to get really dirty. However fumbling thru dusty mounds in searing heat was good for only one row of potatoes. These campers started wilting in the sun like my petunias. Solution, a hop in the pool not once in the day but twice. We split the campers into groups of cookers and pickers. The first group went swimming minutes after picking and then they went a second time after cooking. Wanna (not a real word) keep children excited about farming, give them a break and let them cool off. All I could think of were kids learning about farming somewhere else that was equally hot. With no pool, there would be far less enthusiasm and productivity sprinkled in with a little misery. Even if you took the children to a local pool it would be a one shot deal and a lot of time lost.
Look, parents want their children to learn and have unique experiences in the summer months now a days. Playing with friends and making memories is no longer enough. Of course "Harvest Camp" is appealing to them. But they are working in an air conditioned office somewhere cool and comfortable and don't care if their kids are hot and miserable. They are not out there sweating and dirty. They do care about sunburn, but that is it. Our campers learn, eat extremely well, learn how to cook, make friends, get to swim and have fun all in the same day.
I challenge any other Harvest Camp to top that!!!!
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