Welcome to Drift Creek Camp: Drift Creek Camp is a place where Christian values of caring for and sharing with each other in daily life can be experienced. We are located in a temperate rainforest setting that speaks eloquently of God’s handiwork and beautiful creation. Drift Creek Camp is rooted in the Anabaptist tradition and operated by the Mennonite Camp Association of Oregon, Inc., and is a member of the Mennonite Camping Association (MCA) and Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA). Special Camps: Parent/Grandparent and Me Camp: This weekend camp is $160 ($145 before May 1) for each adult/child combination. If more than one child attends, each additional child is $75 (the sibling discount applied.) We encourage parents, grandparents and aunts & uncles to bring the children in their lives for this introductory camp experience. Bedtimes are earlier for these first-time campers. Surf Camp: A unique opportunity to integrate the skill and adventure of surfing while building friendships, learning about God, enjoying fellowship and having fun! Please visit our Surf Camp page for more information. Staff: Camp directors Tony and Brenda Kauffman and new program director, Kayla Mast are excited about Summer Camp 2010! Plans are in the works as we build the camp leadership team and recruit quality counselors. Each week a worship leader and pastor will lead morning chapel and evening firesides. A nurse will also be available to assist with medications and health-related needs. Swimming and inner tubing is supervised by Red Cross certified lifeguards. Campers are always under the supervision of camp staff. Each cabin group of ten campers is cared for by two counselors. We hire mature Christian counselors with a heart for the Lord and for children. At least one of the cabin counselors must be eighteen years old or older, with sixteen as the minimum age for junior counselors. Many counselors, pastors and volunteers return to DCC year after year and have developed a tightly knit community. Reference checks and a Federal background check are performed on each cabin counselors. Food at Camp: Your camper will enjoy plentiful, wholesome meals. Two daily snacks are provided so no need to bring extra. Not only does food in cabins attract pesty small animals, snacks consumed later in the day can inhibit much needed rest. Please notify administrators of dietary issues prior to registration in order to plan accordingly for your child's needs. Facilities: The A-frame lodge contains the kitchen, dining area, indoor recreation area, chapel, fireplace, nurse’s station, gathering area, office, staff sleeping quarters, and three camper “cabins” on the third floor. Five cabins and one yurt house twelve people each in bunks with mattresses. The five summer cabins have been rebuilt and are better insulated than their earlier A-frame predecessors. A bathhouse provides private showers, toilets, and sinks. The outdoor covered Activity Center contains a climbing wall, fireplace, and basketball area. Outdoor gatherings are held in the amphitheater or fireside ring. Camp's electrical power for comes from a generator. At “lights out” it is turned off and battery power provides emergency lighting throughout the night. Some cabin groups will have the opportunity to camp overnight at designated sites within the camp loop. The entrance gate is locked nightly for security. Mail, Phone Calls, and E-Mail: Mail call is an important event at camp. Please send letters early in the week to ensure arrival by Thursday. Please do not include candy in care packages. Campers will be allowed to call home in situations of extreme homesickness or medical issues. Campers will not have access to e-mail. Mail is picked up and sent out daily. Group Picture, T-shirts & Baseball hats: An all-camp group picture is taken on Monday each week of camp. Be sure to sign-up at registration if you would like to purchase a copy. Copies of the 8 x 10 color picture ($5) will be available to take home on Friday for those who purchase the service at registration. T-shirts , hats and mugs (all $12 each) are also available at registration. Parents: Parents are invited to stay through supper & campfire on Sunday afternoon, the first day of camp. Please give advance notice of 7 days if you plan to join for meals. Costs are $6.00 for adults/$4.00 for those ages 4-11. Please provide written authorization at registration if someone other than you will be picking up your child. Activities: There are 2-3 activity periods daily during which campers choose from a variety of options including swimming, hiking, crafts, climbing wall, archery, inner-tubing, field games, etc. The climbing wall may be used during activity periods. Our wall has been engineered and put in place by a professional organization. Our staff is trained to use and teach safe climbing techniques. We use all necessary safety precautions as well as approved climbing equipment. The Grade 9-12 camp will take a trip to the beach on Thursday afternoon. Transportation to Fogarty Creek State Park is provided by Mid-Columbia Bus Co. Things to Bring to Camp: The weather in the coastal mountains can be cool and wet, even in the summer. Please pack accordingly.
Please do not bring extra food as daily snacks are provided. Please leave behind all electronic devices including ipods, cell phones, or games; as well as water guns, knives, fireworks and Axe body spray. Inappropriate pictures or language on clothing items are not acceptable nor are spaghetti straps, exposed midriffs, or other types of revealing clothing. Bathing suits must be one piece (no “tankinis” girls or “speedos” boys). Please dress modestly…this is camp! Lost and Found: Items left at camp will be held until the end of July and then donated to charity. Drift Creek Camp is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Some parents find it helpful to label children's clothing with permanent markers. Directions: (a map is available here)
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Nature lessons for DCC summer camp activity periods: Parent & Me – 1. Seeing Double: A Nature Memory Game – Parents and students will test their memory with this fun game while learning more about what they see in the forest around them. 2. Nature Scavenger Hunt – Parents and students will get out in nature and work together to search for interesting items found in the Drift Creek loop. 3. Painter’s Palettes – Students will get a chance to look more closely at the many beautiful colors that occur naturally in the forest. They will create their own palette with the colors they find. High School – 1. X-Stream Exploration II – This lesson begins at the creek where students will collect living organisms that they find living in the water. The lesson will then move indoors where they will use microscopes to identify and categorize the macroinvertebrates they collected. They will use this information to calculate the water quality rating of Drift Creek using a Stream Study recording sheet. 2. Nature Photography – Learn the basic functions of digital cameras and get lots of tips on how to take artistic nature photography. Students will have the chance to use digital cameras to try out what they learned. 3. Team Scavenger Hunt – Campers team up to find specific plants in the Drift Creek Camp loop. 4. From Death to Life – after examining scriptures about death turning to new life, campers will find examples of this in the forest. 7-8th – 1. Plant Roles: What’s so important about that plant? – In pairs, students will draw, collect, and identify plants using field guides for 1 of each of the following: a fern, tree, flowering and non-flowering plant. We will discuss the important roles these plants play in the forest ecosystem. 2. X-Stream Exploration – Students will explore the creek searching for the animals that live in it. They will learn how to collect and identify the animals they find. They will learn about the food chain and how all of the organisms they found are connected. 3. Forest Nursery: Exploring an ancient nurse log – Learn about the hidden mysteries of nurse logs. Calculate how old the nurse log is and discuss its importance in the forest. Identify the many plants and animals that make the nurse log their home. 4. All about Salmon! – The students will hear the exciting story of a salmon’s life cycle. They will get a chance to see preserved baby salmon in the different stages of development, play some salmon games and learn how they can help more salmon survive to spawn. 5. Nature Photography – Learn the basic functions of digital cameras and get lots of tips on how to take artistic nature photography. Students will have the chance to use digital cameras to try out what they learned. 5-6th – 1. Plant Roles: What’s so important about that plant? – In pairs, students will draw, collect, and identify plants using field guides for 1 of each of the following: a fern, tree, flowering and non-flowering plant. We will discuss the important roles these plants play in the forest ecosystem. 2. X-Stream Exploration – Students will explore the creek searching for the animals that live in it. They will learn how to collect and identify the animals they find. They will learn about the food chain and how all of the organisms they found are connected. 3. Nature Hike: The third day – While hiking, students will identify the many types of plants they see using field guides. We will talk about how God made all of this on the third day of creation and we haven’t even “scratched the surface” of what he did on that third day of creation! 4. Knowing the Trees – After reading a book about trees, students will go out on a scavenger hunt to identify the different types of trees we have in the Drift Creek Loop. In addition to the lesson plan - Make and label crayon prints of leaves, needles, and/or bark of the identified trees. 5. Animal Senses – Using the book Animal Senses by Pamela Hickman, students will learn how animals use their senses of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and hearing differently than we do through many fun games and experiments. 6. Build a Tree – Learn about the parts of a tree, their roles, and how they all work together to support a tree by acting out each part. Ultimately, a human replica of a tree will be made. Ideal for a large group. 7. All about Salmon! – The students will hear the exciting story of a salmon’s life cycle. They will get a chance to see preserved baby salmon in the different stages of development, play some salmon games and learn how they can help more salmon survive to spawn. 8. Animal Tracking – Learn how to find and identify different animal tracks. Students will make their own animal print cast to take home with them! 9. Nature Photography – Learn the basic functions of digital cameras and get lots of tips on how to take artistic nature photography. Students will have the chance to use digital cameras to try out what they learned. 3-4th – 1. Knowing the Trees – After reading a book about trees, students will go out on a scavenger hunt to identify the different types of trees we have in the Drift Creek Loop. In addition to the lesson plan - Make and label crayon prints of leaves, needles, and/or bark of the identified trees. 2. Animal Senses – Using the book Animal Senses by Pamela Hickman, students will learn how animals use their senses of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and hearing differently than we do through many fun games and experiments. 3. Build a Tree – Learn about the parts of a tree, their roles, and how they all work together to support a tree by acting out each part. Ultimately, a human replica of a tree will be made. Ideal for a large group. 4. Nature Games a. Web of Life – Students learn about the interconnectedness of the forest ecosystem. b. Seeing Double: A Nature Memory Game – Students test their memory while learning about the many things that can be found in the forest. 5. All about Salmon! – The students will hear the exciting story of a salmon’s life cycle. They will get a chance to see preserved baby salmon in the different stages of development, play some salmon games and learn how they can help more salmon survive to spawn. 6. Animal Tracking – Learn how to find and identify different animal tracks. Students will make their own animal print cast to take home with them!
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