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The High Cost of Fun Visits Local Camps

July 23, 2008 - LAKES REGION -- While walking along a narrow dirt road, girls attending the junior woodsmen session at Camp Pondicherry pointed out white pine, beech and white birch trees.

The girls learned to identify the trees as part of their two-week session at the Bridgton Girl Scout camp.

"I really like to be in the outdoors," said Julia Vacchiano, 13, of Cornish. Liann Hoxie, 13, also of Cornish, said she wants to be a counselor someday and thought the junior woodsmen program would provide her with good experience.

Camp is a summer staple for many children, providing them with an opportunity to be outdoors, gain independence and make new friends. But with rising costs and tight budgets, camps are harder for some families to afford. Lakes Region camps and town recreation programs reported a variety of trends in their enrollment and operating costs this summer.

Camp Pondicherry, which spans 700 acres with waterfront on Adams Pond in Bridgton, is seeing lower enrollment than previous years, said Anne Randall, outdoor programming director for the Girl Scouts of Maine. Randall said enrollment came more slowly this year and numbers are lower at all three overnight Girl Scout camps and particularly at Camp Pondicherry.

With increased costs for gas, food and other necessities, some parents struggle financially to send their children to camp, Randall said.

The junior woodsmen program was one of eight programs at the camp this week, with a total of 96 campers staying in canvas tents on wooden platforms. The other programs focused on horseback riding, arts and crafts, night activities, outdoor survival, quilting, water bugs and water activities.

"We can learn new experiences," said Kaitlyn Amermari of North Berwick, who is also in the junior woodsmen program. Amermari added that she signed up partially because she thought it would be fun to learn to use an ax.

"People are choosing between paying off last winter's fuel bill and sending Susie to camp," said France Shea, communications manager for the Girl Scouts of Maine, adding that the Girl Scout Council tries to make it possible for all girls to go to camp. "The economy is an issue but I think we still provide an extremely reasonable camping experience," said Shea.

Until this year, the Girl Scouts of Maine operated four overnight camps. Because of low enrollment, the Scouts switched Camp Kirkwold in Readfield from an overnight camp for teenagers to a location for Girl Scout troops to camp this year, according to Randall.

Some area camps reported steady or even rising enrollment.

At Kingsley Pines Camp in Raymond, Director Alan Kissack said enrollment is going up. He attributes the rise to their promotional materials and staff.

Sean Daggett, camp director of Gander Brook Christian Camp, also reported increased enrollment this season. The camp, which combines traditional camp activities with Bible study, has been in business 52 years.

"We're probably one of the cheapest camps in Maine," Daggett said, because the camp is nonprofit and many of the staff are volunteers or work for low wages because they believe in the camp's mission. The camp, area churches and other donors offered around 30-40 camperships this year to help children afford the program.

Mary Ellen Deschenes, program consultant for the Maine Youth Camping Association, said she has seen some of the mid-range camps having problems filling all their sessions this summer. Deschenes said around 30,000 children attend 200 overnight and day camps in Maine each summer, with around half of these children from Maine.

Deschenes also said there has been a drop in camps based on wilderness trips due to high costs associated with transporting children.

"We are actually rethinking programs that require trips because of the gas prices," Randall said, adding that several trip camps based out of Camp Natarswi in Baxter State Park were canceled this summer.

A number of town recreation departments also offer summer camps and other activities for children in the summer. Recreation directors in Naples and Standish are seeing the impact of an economic downturn in low enrollment for certain programs. Still, several parents said sending their children to camp is worth it.

Denise Brilliant, of Standish, sends her three sons to the whole seven weeks of the Standish recreation program's summer camp. "It keeps them active," Brilliant said. "They get to see their friends from school."

Steep Falls resident Pam Bridges said her 12-year-old son is experiencing a lot of firsts with the Standish recreation summer camp, including going to the skate park and canoeing. "They try to have kids engaged in something other than playing games," Bridges said, adding that she likes that her son is involved in fundraising for their end of the summer camping trip.

Standish Recreation Director Linda Brooks said while total enrollment numbers are constant, she has seen parents choosing different options for their children this summer.

In her 14 years as recreation director in Standish, Brooks said this was the first year there wasn't enough enrollment to run the horseback riding program. She added that numbers are down for their week-long soccer program and swimming lessons as well, and the drama program was canceled due to low numbers.

"We've seen a significant difference in terms of what parents are paying for," Brooks said. The Standish recreation summer program offers a number of options, with the least expensive being basic summer camp and special activities and field trips costing extra.

The two camps, Camp Edna for 4-9 year olds and Camp Jack for 10-15 year olds, are based out of the town's elementary schools. They also spend time at the Kiwanis Beach, Saco River and Mountain Division Trail. Brooks said they try to keep costs low by staying close to home and being efficient in their transportation plans.

Sebago Recreation Director Corinne Davis said this is the first year the department has offered summer trips in two or three years, and some of the trips have already sold out. Davis said the department is able to cut costs because they share buses with Bridgton and Harrison departments and collaborate with daycare facilities.

In Naples, Recreation Director Harvey Price Jr. said enrollment at the town's day camp is about level this year with 2007 but the camp program for teenagers has dramatically decreased in the past three years. Last summer, Price said, 16 trips for teenagers were offered, with 14 occurring. This year the department planned nine trips and will run four.

Price said he thinks parents are choosing between filling their oil tanks and sending their teenagers white water rafting or on other trips. With the younger children, Price said, they have to go somewhere anyway, but it's cheaper to let the older children stay at home.

Price said the recreation programs provide companionship with peers and a safe place for children to spend the summer. "They get to have fun," Price said, "and do things they might not otherwise because their parents are working."

By Julia Davis , www.keepmecurrent.com , July 18, 2008.


Lakes:
Regions: Sebago


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