Moving across the country for a summer job was a little intimidating at first but since I have been here at Camp Hale it has turned out to be one of the coolest experiences I have had. Between working on trails and learning about the different types of conservation that occurs within the Squam Lake region to working at a summer camp each day has easily been eventful and different. I knew for a long time that I did not want to be stuck working in an office all day long so being able to be outside all of the time has been a really cool experience.
When I first came out here it was a lot of training in trailwork and conservation but that quickly changed a few weeks in when the kids arrived. I transitioned from doing field work and handyman tasks around camp to leading Nature activities with the kids. To narrow it down to just leading the nature activities would not properly capture the day to day life at camp. From taking cabins to hiking trails in the White Mountains, to bringing groups out in the boat to go loon watching, or even just the massive camp wide games that occur there has been no end to the interesting things I have been able to do.
Easily the best part for me though has been leading the nature activities with the kids. Growing up I loved learning about animals and absorbed as many facts as I could, so being able to enable that same curiosity in these children has been a really cool opportunity. Some of the activities I have done have been examining different insects such as wasps, spiders, and even a tick under a microscope, venturing out into the lake to observe loons around Loon Island and practicing our loon calls, and even searching around the docks for the local painted turtle that lives near camp’s dock. It has been really awesome learning about what aspect of nature excites a kid's curiosity and then enabling them to experience it firsthand. Each kid has had a unique thing that grabs their interest so no two interactions have been the same which has been really fun. All in all I am looking forward to the rest of the summer and whatever opportunities are coming my way.
James came to Camp Hale as a recent college grad, with a degree in Biology from Elmhurst University. Learn more about James here!