Monthly Archives: May 2021

Top 5 Reasons To Do SLP

The 2020 Servanthood Leadership Program participants think you should do SLP! Here’s why:

Making Friends and Community

I believe that one of the best reasons to join SLP is to make new friends and get involved in the community. I feel that SLP creates a unique environment, which allows everyone to connect through their shared love of volunteering at camp and working with kids. In addition to bonding over these things, you eventually learn more about everyone’s interests and are able to bond over that as well. I found that many of the people in SLP had many things in common with me, while also introducing me to new things such as new camp activities and songs! Everyone in SLP is so kind, accepting, and are overall amazing people that I was able to befriend easily. The friendships I have created in SLP are special to me and without SLP, I wouldn’t have been able to make them. SLP also allows you to become more involved in the community. It exposes you to so many people within the community and gives you the ability to make the community a better place. It is an amazing way to build up your community in a positive way. Overall I feel like SLP is not only a great way to volunteer, but also to meet people and make new friends that share common interests, values, and outlooks and to make a difference in the community.

– Veronica

Learning New Skills and Collaboration

One of the greatest things about SLP is that it is such an amazing learning experience. Skills like collaboration, patience, responsibility, self-confidence, and problem-solving are all building blocks for success that can be fostered and developed at camp. Additionally, there are so many outdoor skills to be learned, like canoeing and hiking! One of the many amazing parts is that you don’t have to learn these things alone. Through the whole experience, you have other SLPs and SLP leaders to guide and help you as you learn and grow. Thanks to the SLP program, I have developed better communication, leadership skills, confidence, and so much more that I have been able to apply outside of camp. The skills I’ve learned from SLP have, and will continue to benefit me in all aspects of life

– Eryn

Gaining experience, and maybe a camp job in the future!

SLP is an amazing way to stay connected with the camp part of your life. Even when you are older and can no longer be a camper with SLP you can still stay involved. Many people decide to try out the SLP program and then eventually become a counsellor. Also many of them used to be campers at Cave Springs themselves. It’s a great way to gain experience being a leader and you learn many valuable skills. The experience you get from SLP could help you to get a job as a camp counsellor in the future.

– Beth

Staying with church and faith

There are many reasons why I loved doing the SLP program and I am going to share one of them with you. The SLP program really helped me learn about my faith and grow as a person. I was able to have the opportunity to meet many young people just like me and talk about our faith. It was a good experience to talk to others who understood my religion and had questions similar to mine. During the SLP program I learned about my religion in a less traditional way, this really helped me grasp some of those key concepts. We watched plays, skits and sang songs that were all about our faith, sometimes I even find myself singing along to these songs when I am not at camp. So, to sum this up I think the SLP program is a great opportunity to grow in your faith and learn more about the church.

– Michaela

Passion for outdoor and camping and kids

Last but certainly not least, SLP can help you develop a passion for outdoors, and working with children! People say camping isn’t for everyone, but I disagree. The outdoors can be a great place to help you clear your head, and learn more about yourself. Exposure to the outside can lead you to new hobbies, passion, and interests. You may even find something you want to pursue career-wise. Being in nature is a great stress reliever as well, and being a part of SLP, you find yourself surrounded by the beautiful Niagara Escarpment environment.

In SLP, you can get lots of experience working with kids as well! This can help with your social skills, patience, and give you some great experiences. Kids can teach us so much, and can help us learn so much! Whether you love being around children or not, the kids at Cave Springs are incredible, and amazing to work with. You’d be surprised what you can learn from simple things like being outside and with kids. I know I learned lots!

– Olivia

10 Fun Activities To Try This Spring

Written by Jessica Grant, former CSC camper and counsellor, and 2021 Float Staff. Jess also joins the Cave team for summer camp preparation this May and June!

It’s been over a year of trying to minimize our contact with others to keep our community safe and healthy, and you may be running out of fun things to do with your kids! But don’t worry, Cave Springs Camp has got your back! Here are 10 fun things you can do as a family, while maintaining physical distance from others to keep everyone healthy.

Geocaching!

Geocaching is a fun way to get your kids out in nature. It is like a treasure hunt, and there are geocaches all over Southern Ontario! Some of them you can bring things to trade for, and others you can sign a logbook signifying that you found it. You can find the geocaching app for free in the app store, or by clicking here. Just remember to put the geocaches back where you found it when you are done. Psst… there’s even a Geocache along the Bruce Trail at Cave Springs – you can get there through the Cave Springs Conservation Area.

Play Freeze Dance

What is one thing that most kids have in common? Their silly and energetic nature of course! One fun thing to do that can help them release a crazy amount of energy is play freeze dance! It is so much fun to turn on the music and release all the built-up energy, and then stop as soon as the music does. It is a great activity for kids and can make for such good memories.

Introduce your kids to Mad Libs

One of my personal favourites as a kid was the wacky game called Mad Libs. Mad Libs are these word games where you add random nouns, verbs and adjectives and it makes a funny story.

I used to laugh so hard at them, and it was a great way for me to learn my word classes. You can download the app for free in the app store, or buy a Mad Libs book online at Indigo. Here’s a sample from the Mad Libs website for you to try out!

Have a family movie night

Another one of my personal favourites as a kid was a family movie night. We would stay up an hour late and pick out a movie and enjoy popcorn as a family. I would always get so excited, and brag to all my friends that we were gonna have a movie night! It was something small, but as a kid it meant the whole world! So break out the popcorn and Netflix and enjoy it!

Go on a Nature walk!

Nature walks are great things to do right now, you can never get enough Vitamin D! Living near the escarpment means that there is so much nature around us, which is perfect for a nature walk! There are so many trails that you can find with a simple google search, and you can even find them at both low and high intensity. Perfect for the family!

Dust off the old board games!

Board games can be so much fun, and yet are overlooked when looking for something to do! Many of us have tons of board games stashed away somewhere in the house, and if you don’t, then it’s the perfect time to make your own using cardboard and markers! The kids will be overjoyed and it will be a fun afternoon well spent.

Build the world’s best blanket fort (and if you’re willing- camp in it!)

Another crazy memory from my childhood was building super intense blanket forts with my siblings and cousins. We would tip over the couch and connect them to chairs and hang blankets off of them, and then have popcorn and a movie night before camping out in them. This created so many fun memories and I encourage you to try it as a family! The kids will find it so cool, and have so much fun! You will spend the evening making great laughs and memories.

Bake Maggie and Chad’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies!

In the spring of 2017 two of our former staff, Maggie and Chad, spent two months trying to create the most perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. In March of 2021, their secret recipe was leaked on our blog!! Their final recipe was easily the best cookie recipe I have ever tasted, and it is the recipe we currently use to make our cookies at camp!

Go on a picnic (and bring the cookies!)

It is never a bad time to get outdoors and enjoy a picnic (unless it is raining of course!) What is better than sitting on a blanket in the grass and enjoying a sandwich in the sunshine with your loved ones? You can do it in your backyard, a local park, or even on a hike! Just don’t forget to bring the cookies!

The floor is lava!

Lastly, I introduce to you a classic childhood and family game! The Floor is Lava! All you need for this is items you can put on the ground to walk or crawl across, while pretending that everything else around you is lava! Feel free to put on some action music to make the game as fun and intense as you can! It’s the perfect game for a rainy day spent inside!

Snapping Turtle Program

Snapping Turtles is gonna be A BLAST!

You’re never too old to have fun at camp! For the first summer ever we are offering a day camp program for this age group! Here’s why you should spend a week (or two) at Cave Springs Day Camp as a 13-14 year old this summer:

Experience nature like you’ve never experienced it before!

Hike all the way to Ball’s Falls! That’s 12km along the Bruce Trail!!!

Participate in a Outdoor Skills Day, learn useful skills like fire building, plant identification and MORE!

Snapping Turtles Takeover

Stay later than the rest of camp one day for an extended fun time including dinner over the fire.

Meet like-minded youth

Make long- lasting friendships!

Gain role models in your enthusiastic and compassionate camp counsellors.

Socialize in a safe, outdoor setting with new people!

Get to know the ropes

Learn to belay at high ropes!

Challenge yourself with low-ropes and team building initiatives.

Explore mindfulness, gratitude and spirituality

Have meaningful and thoughtful conversations with peers about themes such as community, love, trust and faith.

Gain leadership and responsibility

A taste of what it’s like to participate in our Servanthood Leadership Program (SLP) which is offered for 14-15-year-olds!

Give back to the Camp Community

Design and execute alongside your peers a collaborative legacy project that will remain at camp for years and years to come.

Have SO MUCH FUN!

Click Here to Register

July 26-30
August 16-20

Camp Recipe: EMP’s

Let your kids cook you dinner!

Confidence in the kitchen is a great skill for kids to work on! It will lead to a strengthened sense of independence and self-esteem. This easy camp recipe will have them feeling like total chefs. They might need a little bit of help with some of the steps, but overall this is a very simple yet delicious meal for the whole family to enjoy.

English Muffin Pizzas (E-M-P’s)

Makes 2 E-M-Ps

Note: 1 person might eat 2-4 EMPs.

Ingredients

1 English muffin, separated into 2 halves
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce/ pizza sauce
2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Toppings such as:
- Pepperoni
- Diced bell peppers
- Mushrooms
- Olives
- Pineapple
- Whatever you like on your pizza!

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place the English muffin halves on a baking tray with the inside part facing up.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce onto each English muffin half and spread so that the sauce covers right up to the edge.
Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of cheese onto each half.
Add any toppings you choose!
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Enjoy!

*For bigger personalized mini pizzas, you can try making these on Naan bread instead of English Muffins!

All About Trilliums

The trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario, and if you’ve been on a walk through the forest near Cave Springs recently you may have noticed that they are currently blooming!

Here are a few facts about trilliums:

They love sunlight!

They bloom in the spring when the trees don’t have leaves on them- their flowers disappear once the leaves block sunlight from reaching them.

Trilliums are very fragile.

If you pick one, no other flower will grow in its place and the plant itself will probably not be able to survive winter. They also grow extremely slowly- it takes 7-10 years for a trillium plant to flower. Picking a trillium is heavily discouraged- and it’s actually illegal to do so according to the Ontario Trillium Protection Act (2009).

Three is the magic number for trilliums.

They have three petals on their flower, three leaves, three green sepals, and a three-sectioned seed pod. This is why they’re called TRI-lliums.

White trilliums are the favourite food of the white-tailed deer.

Specifically white trilliums, deers don’t prefer the other trillium species.

Ants spread trillium seeds!

Ants are attracted to the protein-rich elaiosome on the seeds of trilliums, which they eat after carrying the entire seed back to their nests. The actual seeds are not harmed during this process, and are later discarded to grow a new plant. This dispersal method is known as Myrmecochory.