The Eagle Fall 2023

EAGLE’S NEST CAMP

THE EAGLE

THE OUTDOOR ACADEMY

HANTE ADVENTURES

The Eagle’s Nest Foundation Newsletter FALL 2023

Finding Joy in Work and Play

IN THIS ISSUE: With Gratitude for Noni

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OA Intellect Cornerstone

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Ted’s Deck

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The Value of Joy

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EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, PROMOTING THE NATURAL WORLD AND THE BETTERMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER

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With Gratitude

t’s no surprise that following the announcement that Noni would be retiring from her position as the Executive Director for Eagle’s Nest Foundation (ENF) in September Noni Waite-Kucera to Retire as Executive Director of 2024, messages of gratitude and congratulations flooded in through of Eagle’s Nest Foundation email, social media, calls, and cards.

Since 2000, Noni has served as a Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director prolific leader of our mission-driven organization. Building on the vision and work of Helen Waite (who became the Executive Director in 1993 after serving as Camp Director since 1977), Noni continued to transition the Foundation from an experiential education organization that was primarily family led since the 1940s to a very professional non-profit foundation. Just as importantly, she continued to serve as a table parent at camp, to always dress up for Final Banquet, to make the most thoughtful Giving Day presents, and to greet nervous students and (even more nervous) parents on opening day of each Outdoor Academy semester. Noni has truly done just about everything that a person could do, filling many, many roles while keeping the mission and vision of Eagle’s Nest Foundation at the heart of every project, decision, and dream.

Noni grew up at Eagle’s Nest and is infused with the traditions, values, and educational and developmental focus that make our programs so meaningful. Over the years, she has served as a Cabin Library counselor, Paddling Head, Hante leader, Business Manager, Camp Director, and the Executive Director, among other positions. She told me that as a kid she loved the water and always signed up for swimming (which she also taught). She also loved being with the horses until she got hooked on whitewater canoeing. She loved taking campers out to experience the beauty and thrill of the rivers that populate Western North Carolina. She felt proud when other paddlers recognized and complimented her campers on their skills. To prepare to be the Paddling Head, Noni took a challenging 5-day American Canoe Association Open Boat course. Right after the course she wrote the Canoeing Advancements that we still use today, even though they are likely the most challenging of all of the advancements. Noni has also set high standards, believed that campers, students, and staff could reach them, and supported us all along the way.

As Business Manager, Noni worked on the financial side of The Outdoor Academy, one of many people that helped make Helen’s dream of an academic semester school become a reality. She has also built a strong Board of Trustees to keep Eagle’s Nest on track with our mission and as a financially stable organization. She created the committee structure of the trustees, and has created new systems for thoughtfully onboarding and training new members of the Board. In 2014, Noni oversaw the development of the Centennial Plan: where we would like to be when Eagle’s Nest reaches its 100th year in 2027. The creation of the plan included a “listening and discussion tour” across the United States where OA, Hante, and Camp alums, parents, and staff members came together to share their vision of how Eagle’s Nest should evolve and grow. She also oversaw a facilitated retreat where Outdoor Academy faculty members and program directors spent a weekend distilling the thoughts shared during the tour to create a plan for the future. She has continued to shepherd staff and trustees through goals, helping Eagle’s Nest continue to grow.

Intentionally working towards creating a more inclusive and equitable foundation was one of the goals for the 100th anniversary (and beyond) of Eagle’s Nest and continues to be a priority. In 2018, Eagle’s Nest partnered with consultant Niambi Jaha-Echols to conduct a Transcultural assessment and share recommended goals and suggestions for opening Eagle’s Nest as a safe and supportive community for all. Niambi helped Eagle’s Nest recognize our blind spots and gave us tools to open our eyes and see a more diverse and inclusive future. Noni created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the full-time staff at Eagle’s Nest and also a Transcultural Responsiveness Committee for the Trustees. Noni has led Eagle’s Nest through changes to what was once our “tribal system,” retaining the essence of the program, while also creating something that was uniquely Eagle’s Nest without the appropriation of other cultures. Noni also works with the staff-driven DEI committee to create systems to support campers, students, and staff who are transgender, continuing to protect the safety of all children.

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A true lover of nature, Noni was undaunted by years of work to preserve and protect the land on which Eagle’s Nest operates. In 2016, that dream became a reality when 76% percent of the land (147 acres) was placed under a conservation easement to be protected in perpetuity. Her dedication to this project is a gift to future children and critters that will roam our woods and creeks.

In expanding year-round teaching facilities, Noni oversaw the construction of Wayah (named for Wayah Bald in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin, North Carolina) and Cheoah (named for the Cheoah Bald in Southwestern North Carolina). She and others drove around the Little River Valley looking at various tin roof colors before drawing straws to settle on the red roofs that are a beautiful final touch. During her tenure, she also worked on the new builds of Cabins 3 (the last of the army barrack cabins remaining on campus) and Cabin 10, which was winterized so it could serve as a camper cabin in the summer and a cozy dorm for OA students in the winter. To the delight of many, Cabin 10’s bathroom has radiant heat floors and a wood stove to keep students warm in the winter. Working within the ENF Campus Sustainability plan, Noni also led the core campus renovations to move the Maintenance Shed from the central campus and construct a new, much needed larger shed on the property’s perimeter. Finally, Noni helped Eagle’s Nest realize the decade-long vision of offices for The Outdoor Academy and additional staff housing with the completion of Mo’s Hillside, which was constructed with sustainability as a priority. Among other environmentally friendly features, Mo’s Hillside includes more insulation, mini-splits, and automatic lights to be more energy efficient, and all of the trim work and some of the siding was made from the pine trees that were cut down to make room for the new building. When working with the builders to prepare the site, Noni was careful to guide them to remove as few trees to protect as many Pink Lady Slippers as possible. She also worked with landscape architects, including OA alum Carson Hale, and with volunteers to plant native plants around the building.

When I asked Noni to share some of the special moments at Eagle’s Nest that touch her heart, she shared her love of the quiet stillness of Kindred Grove, hearing the call of the wood thrush and feeling the campers embrace the significance of those moments as a community. She also shared how grateful she is to have grown up at Eagle’s Nest living in a cabin in the woods. She said that those summers away from distractions taught her to be present, to work hard, to set an example and to go through life and moments with intentionality. She also shared that her future hopes for Eagle’s Nest are to continue to become more diverse and inclusive. She mused that we still have a long way to go, but that this is important work and we need to keep pushing forward with the help of new partnership, alumni engagement, and fresh ideas and energy.

Over the years, I have often heard Noni describe Eagle’s Nest Foundation as a bird’s nest that supports and protects the little birds in it (The Outdoor Academy, Camp, Hante Adventures and our development program). Continuing that metaphor, Noni is the Mama Bird, tirelessly nurturing her hatchlings as they grow, begin to fledge, shakily fly, and then begin to soar. She has selflessly given her time, vision, organization (and knowledge of spreadsheets) to securing a sturdy nest, through the pandemic, recession, and other threats. Everyone who has witnessed her working with a homesick camper (or been that homesick camper) or out in to the woods knows that she is the personification of the Eagle’s Nest mission. As folks shared at the news of her retirement, Noni is a “truly amazing and beautiful person who made a positive impact on thousands of children. My friend, you are passing through this world and making a huge and positive difference…thank you.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself..

Noni, thank you for all that you have given to Eagle’s Nest Foundation and the legacy that you have created. We’ll look forward to seeing you as a “Grandparent Counselor” in the not-too-distant future. I think we all know that you have many talents to share.

Eagle’s Nest is working with the Aspen Leadership group to search for the new Executive Director. Aspen will be seeking input from our constituents via a survey that will be open October 16 - November 16, 2023. We hope to have a new Executive Director hired by April 2024, with a goal of having that person start in August so that they are able to train with Noni at the end of the camp season, the beginning of The Outdoor Academy semester and through September. For more information on the search, please visit our webpage. https:// www.enf.org/foundation/executive-director-search/

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Liz Smith

ENF Finance Director, Retires After 28 Years of Service!

Noni Waite-Kucera, Executive Director

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n May 15, 1995, right before the busy season of summer and the opening of our first semester of OA, Liz Smith started at Eagle’s Nest as the new Comptroller. Now, 28 years later, and after taking our Business Office from basically a one person show to what we see today with four people each working at full capacity managing various business units and intricate accounting systems, Liz has made the well-earned decision to let someone else take the helm. We are so fortunate to have had her incredible leadership of the Eagle’s Nest financial systems through the opening year of The Outdoor Academy, a major recession, a pandemic, and sunnier skies in between. I am so very grateful to have had her by my side these many years and for all that I, and others, have learned from her deep wellspring of knowledge. Thank you Liz!

From Jesse Pyles,

The Outdoor Academy Director

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am so thrilled to join Eagle’s Nest Foundation and the team here at The Outdoor Academy. Our mission to promote “the natural world and the betterment of human character” is vital to strengthening our communities and caring for the environment. We do that through experiential education of the highest caliber I have seen. I feel so lucky to join this stellar group of educators and to help make this kind of transformational learning available to even more young people.

My family and I come to Eagle’s Nest from Vermont after a year on the road exploring interesting natural places and reconnecting with far-flung friends and family. Our three kids have embraced campus here as their new backyard and eagerly joined Eagle’s Nest Camp last summer. In Vermont we ran Smokey House Center, an educational nonprofit organization focused on conservation and agriculture, stewarding a 5,000-acre property in the Taconic Mountains.

We were also a founding family of our local community school where my partner Laura – an experienced environmental educator – also served

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Blog Article

as an Assistant Teacher. As alums of the Audubon Expedition Institute, Laura and I are no strangers to the benefits of an immersive, supportive learning community. We’ve committed our professional lives to promoting just such meaningful learning in the environmental context and see OA and Eagle’s Nest Camp as exemplars of the best kind of education.

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Indeed, The Outdoor Academy program is so strong. We have top-notch faculty ensuring academic rigor through our integrative, interdisciplinary curriculum (Intellect).

Our residential life team works tirelessly to support the social-emotional health of our students in this unique boarding environment (Community). Our outdoor programming introduces challenge and adventure as a tool for personal growth – on the trail, on the rocks, and on the water (Environment). And the integration of local cultural history and traditional skills infuses our daily lives and roots us to this special landscape (Craft). In my brief onboarding here, I’ve heard over and over again what many of you already know: OA changes lives.

Looking ahead, my work – our work – is to change even more lives through this incredible program. As we increase and diversify our enrollment in the coming years, I’d love to hear from you about how OA has changed your life or your teen’s.

I am so glad to join you in this important work. Please keep in touch.

Jesse Pyles (jesse@enf.org)

Habits of Intellect:

How Learning Happens at OA Jesse Pyles, OA Director

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t The Outdoor Academy, by design and in practice, we make the learning and the living indistinguishable. Each semester, we create in students a disposition for learning, cultivated through a number of OA traditions intended to build habits of Intellect (that foundational Cornerstone of the OA experience): Morning Watch, Work Crew, Community Meeting, Giving Day, and Goodnight Circle, to name a few.

Morning Watch: Each class day on campus, students gather to silently climb the hill and greet the rising sun in a moment of quiet reflection. Morning Watch is about routine and intention and observation. It’s about committing yourself to a practice.

Work Crew: Through weekly Work Crew projects, we promote the value of pitching in to care for your place. Work Crew is about identifying needs, jumping in to fill them, and about knowing the impact you can have individually and collectively.

Community Meeting: Our weekly, student-run Community Meeting is an opportunity to express gratitude, address group concerns, and practice communication, planning, and leadership skills.

Community Meeting is about listening carefully, speaking thoughtfully, and making room for different perspectives. It’s about exercising your agency.

Giving Day: Students and staff work secretly all semester on a meaningful, hand-crafted gift for their Giving Day recipient. Giving Day is about careful planning, deep engagement with the skill or topic, and about time management. It’s about establishing objectives, and then revising, refining, and fine-tuning. It’s about sharing your best self with others.

Goodnight Circle: Every night, students circle up on Cabin 7 field under the stars to hold hands and sing a quiet song before heading to bed. Goodnight Circle reminds you of your place in the full group.

It’s also about leaving the work of the day behind and settling into rest.

When students leave OA, we want them to remember how they learned here, even more than what they learned. These traditions may be unique to The Outdoor Academy, but the lessons they promote are universal learning tools: routine, proactivity, responsibility, inclusion, persistence, belonging, wellness, and more.

We want students to know that they have an impact on their communities, some agency over their lives, and a real responsibility to care for themselves and their places. We equip students with a set of tools that will support a vibrant and engaged intellectual life for years to come, wherever the sweet winds might take them.

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A Project in honor of Ted: OA’s founding director and Natural History teacher for 27 years.

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f you come back to visit the Sun Lodge soon, you’ll certainly notice something(s) new! This summer and fall, a full renovation of the 1978 passive solar building took place to upgrade windows and doors and add an expansive deck onto the second level. There are two sets of French doors leading onto the deck from both the kitchen/ dining room and the den, making this addition a wonderful place to meet for classes, meetings, and convene before meals. There is still some work to be completed, including new siding, awnings over the new doors, and adding outdoor seating/benches. The heart of OA is beating stronger than ever with this new community space.

The Story of the Sun Lodge as told

by Ted Wesemann Long ago a man built a big house on a hill, and then went far away, never to return. But that was fine because he had not built it for himself – he had built it for children he would never know. Every summer the children came and filled the house with their laughter and the house was happy. But at the end of every summer the children swept and cleaned and closed the doors leaving the house empty and lonely through the beautiful fall and cold winter. The house had to be satisfied giving shelter to the mice and squirrels and sometimes even a snake through the long months. When the spring leaves turned the valley green the house grew excited knowing the children would be back soon. And they were – every summer.

At the end of one fun summer the house was cleaned and closed as usual and the house stood on its hill bravely facing months of solitude once again. But, in the middle of one afternoon nap – what’s that?! Voices outside? Why were the children back? Certainly the house had not slept all through the winter? The door downstairs was flung open and children poured in with their packs and bags and books. Books? That was new. The mice and squirrels upstairs scattered in all directions at the excitement and noise. Even the black snake retreated to the safety of the attic. And the house was happy again because now it was full of children for the whole year.

Over the years, the big house was joined by other buildings scattered at its feet. They were pretty and friendly, but the children all loved the house on the hill best and the house loved them right back, giving them tasty meals and warm woodstoves and hot cocoa and cozy corners to read. Songs were sung at every meal, games were played in the den, music rang through the big rooms, and sometimes costume parties were thrown. The children were happy and the house was glad to see all the friendships that were made under its roof. It completely forgot about those long, lonely winters.

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ADVENTURE INTO THE OUTDOORS, DISCOVER YOURSELF 7

Student Work

Spotlight What a River Has to Teach Parkder D., OA Semester 57 The river tells me to go with the flow To let go of worries, and let my spirit grow To not fight the current, but let it guide me And find peace and happiness with each bend and bend I see

Caricature of Ben and Marge, Henry H., OA Semester 57

The river reminds me to take life one day at a time And not to let worries cloud my mind For the water flows from the mountains to the sea And so too will I find my own destiny The river teaches me to be persistent and strong To keep flowing forward even when life seems wrong For the water never stops in its endless journey And so too will I find my way eventually And so I take the advice of this river so wise And I follow its lead with each step I take in stride For the water knows what the heart desires And I trust its guidance as I let my spirit soar higher

OA Student Crafts:

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students have been hard at work in craft class! Lately, we have been focusing craft classes around woodworking, fiber arts, and blacksmithing. Students have been able to create crafts that are not only beautiful, but useful in their everyday lives.

Stool made by OA student, Semester 52. Coat rack made

by OA student, Semester 53. Spoon made by OA student, Semester 54. Fleece made by OA student, Semester 55.

Digital submissions, songs, podcasts, etc: 8 | The Eagle Fall 2023

Click Here!

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Intellect Craft Enviroment Community Meet our New

Roger Herbert, PhD

Abigail Poe Akre, MA

In July 2015, Roger, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, joined Eagle’s Nest Foundation as Director of The Outdoor Academy. He very adeptly led our school until July 2018 when he moved on to become the General Robert T. Herres Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership at the Naval Academy.

Roger is now a writer and speaker living in Brevard, NC.

Eagle’s Nest Foundation Trustees Abigail joined Eagle’s Nest as a camper, an OA student (Semester 4), and on a Hante to Ghana – three experiences that were formative in her life. Abigail currently lives in Charlottesville, VA with her husband and three kids, where she works as a grant writer and fundraising consultant for various nonprofits.

What would you like to achieve for Eagle’s Nest?

“Eagle’s Nest has already achieved so much, that I can only hope to help Eagle’s Nest continue on its path to provide exceptional experiential education offerings through camp and The Outdoor Academy.

My experiences at camp, at OA, and in Ghana changed my life, and I am excited to play a part in ensuring Eagles’ Nest thrives as a safe place for children to have the opportunity to grow, find community and family, and expand their horizons.”

In what area(s) do you think that your skills can be best utilized for ENF? “During my command tours in the Navy, I learned (from awesome mentors and many personal mistakes) how to collaboratively set big goals, explain them to large and diverse groups, establisvh plans of action and milestones for achieving them, and working through inevitable setbacks until those goals are reached.”

Eagle’s Nest continues to work toward building a diverse and inclusive board of trustees representing all the communities we serve and strive to serve. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Noni Waite-Kucera at noni@enf.org.

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The Value of Joy Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director

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hat brings you joy? Think about it: what causes the corners of your lips to curl up into a big toothy smile, to make your eyes wide and twinkly, to lose yourself, embracing your childlike spirit? Ingrid Fetell Lee shares in her book Joyful, The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness that psychologists describe joy as the “intense, momentary experience of positive emotion.” Fettell Lee writes that joy is “skipping, jiving, twirling, giggling. It is a uniquely exuberant emotion.”

I’ve thought a lot about the joyful things I do to bring that heightened emotional state to my life and the lives around me. Singing at the top of my lungs while driving down a country road with the windows rolled down and great tunes cranking is just one of the many things that lights that spark. I also feel joy when I find critters in

the creek, coast down a hill on my bike, hear the uncontrollable laughter of a baby, or am surprised by beautiful, puffy white clouds on a bright blue September sky. These simple moments fill my heart and brighten my day. Over time, each of these little moments of joy build on each other to create sustained happiness.

Leading a life filled with joy leads to better health and wellbeing.

Our core values at Camp are community, confidence, compassion, nature, and joy. We aim to have an overwhelming sense of joy on top of all of our experiences at camp. We see the importance of nurturing a joyful community that inspires our campers and staff to carry happiness in their hearts long after they leave our campus. Everyone is worthy of little jolts of joy and a full heart.

Eagle’s Nest Camp is a joy theme park! Around each corner you can find a thrilling roller coaster, a bubbly water park, or rainbow swirl cotton candy…well, not really (yet) but this is a pretty spot-on metaphor.

Canoeing on a chilly river is our version of a roller coaster, splashing in the creek is our waterpark, and Ali’s bread…well, it’s even better than cotton candy (as witnessed by the number of times the bread baskets get filled at each meal). We are intentional about creating moments of joy and grateful that those moments lead to other unexpected ones.

In her book,The Atlas of the Heart, Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, Brene Brown describes joy as “the good mood of the soul.” I love considering joy in that way. Don’t we all want a soul that does a happy dance, and don’t we want that for everyone around us? How different would the world be if everyone was able to experience those little bursts that lightened our soul? Brown studied the work of researcher Matthew Kuan Johnson who shared that “while experiencing joy, we don’t lose ourselves, we become more truly ourselves” - our senses heightened by the rush of emotion that causes us to do spontaneous happy dances, jump up and down, and smile uncontrollably.

I asked my kids, lifelong campers and Outdoor Academy alums, for their thoughts on joy. My son Finn shared that he thinks of “laughter and music, especially music with other people…singing in large groups.” He learned

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to play guitar and write songs at Camp, and he performed in many Coffee Houses over the years. Posey added that “joy is feeling confident and independent - calm at the right moments and bubbling over when things are exciting… doing well at something you secretly cared a lot about.” They have both had opportunities to experience those kinds of joy at Camp. Those moments have influenced their lives. That joy has led to strengthening their wellbeing.

I hope that you’ve started making your joy list, or that you’re excited to refer back to one that you’ve already scribed.

If you’re struggling to find joy, here are a few of the things that we do at Camp to inspire joy: -

Practice Gratitude - for big things and little things. Appreciate people “to their face.”

Notice the world around you - a kid smiling at you from across the room, a tiny flower growing through the cracks in the sidewalk, the feeling of light rain or the smell of honeysuckles.

Loosen up, be silly, laugh or “fake it ‘til you make it” - wear bright colors, jump in a puddle, read a book that’s review is “laugh out loud funny.”

Start a Joy Club - invite friends to join you at the trampoline park, to go roller skating, or play putt putt while the only purpose is to laugh and spark joy.

After Camp, in an effort to keep joy bubbling in my life, I purchased a pair of glittery, silver sneakers with pink laces.

At the time I wondered how the glitter would stay on them. Last night, I realized that it didn’t. Even though the shoes are still just as sparkly, I’ve been finding shimmering bits of glitter in my rug, on my legs, when I pet my dog… and that just makes me even more joyful. I hope that you’re finding that sparkle in your life today, too.

Summer days should look like this Apply here 11

FALL 2023 NEST CHATTER OA Semester 1 Reunion on September 30, 2023

Adam Pendleton from OA Semester 10 along with 4 NYC artists who are preserving Nina Simone’s home in Tryon, NC

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McKinnley Sewell Cox (Camp & OA) and Ross Samuel Robinson were married May 13, 2023 in Asheville, NC. Luke Wofford (Camp & OA) & Kana Miller (Summer Staff) were married on August 19, 2023.

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Future Nester Eloise

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Natalie Weiner (OA Semester 52)

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Ryder Pond (Camp, OA Semester 51)

Siblings Zoe Mihalas (OA Semester 45) and Xan Mihalas (OA Semester 52)

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Camille Wick (Staff) & Chris Webb: Baby Henry Silas born May 5, 2023

Jamey Lowdermilk (Trustee, Camp, OA, Former Staff) & Sean Moffitt: Baby Mavis Francesca born April 20, 2023

Emily Brodkin Spiegel (Camp, OA, Former Staff) & Jonathan Spiegel: Baby Lyla Sylvie Spiegel born August 24, 2023 Nora Arkin (Camp & Former Staff): Baby Elowen June Arkin born August 30, 2023 Claire Wofford (Camp, OA, Former Staff) & Scott Rowe: Baby Hollis Rowe Wofford born September 2, 2023

Cecilia Kucera Schaaf (Camp, OA, Former Staff) & George Schaaf: Baby William Augustus “Gus” born April 25, 2023

Alex Masi (Camp & Former Staff) & Sammi Masi: Baby Leo Adam born on September 17, 2023

Nester Reunion- A gathering of friends Over the weekend of July 14-16, dozens of nesters from all over the world descended on Western North Carolina for a series of gatherings to reconnect, pick-up Session 2 kids, drop off Session 3 kids, share memories, and celebrate the life of Daniel Behn together. They circled up, sang Day is Done, went swimming, had a bonfire, ate at El Chapala, visited camp, and ate cho cho’s. It was magical!

The Goodlings and the Gambles meet up in Paris

Ari Nicholson, OA alum from Semester 35, has been working with the Augsburg Center for Global Education and Experience in Cuernavaca, Mexico for the past year and a half. They have been helping college age students create the same community they felt at The Outdoor Academy and has been diving deep into experiential education.

They also have recently started a project for Spanish education with their partner called ConnectEspañol. If you are looking to brush up on your Spanish skills and connect directly with a Spanish teacher in Latin America, check it out here:

ConnectEspañol

Passings: Bruce Nofsinger (Camp, beloved camp counselor) passed on June 4 2023 surrounded by family and friends.

Dan Behn (Camp, camp counselor) passed on July 16 2022, memorial gathering of friends and family summer 2023 (see above)

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Camp and Hante Adventures to others?

Be a Camp Influencer!

Update from the ENF DEI Committee Molly Herrmann, Camp Registrar, Foundation Administrator, and DEI Chairperson

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n 2018, Eagle’s Nest Foundation (ENF) launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.

This committee was tasked with underscoring and highlighting DEI initiatives and foci as related to foundation-wide and program-specific protocols, procedures, policies, and plans. With attention to DEI priorities in regard to the assessment and evaluation of projects within the organization, the committee has introduced several proposals; some have since been implemented and others are in the working stages of our process of analysis, planning, execution, and reflection.

The fruits of this labor are documented in our Foundation Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page on our website.

A core component in the process by which programs and initiatives are assessed by the DEI Committee is not only careful analysis plus visioning and planning, but also reflection in the critical assessment of the successes, areas of improvement, and potential adjustments. The DEI Committee continually revisits fully executed action items in order to determine the efficacy of measures implemented while also making

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Contact Paige at:

Paige@enf.org any necessary modifications. Through reflection and information gathering, the DEI Committee continues to review the Foundation Land Acknowledgement, Gender Inclusion, Cultural Appropriation, and Anti-Racism. While we evaluate these current DEI-related programs to suggest improvements, we also continue to undertake analyses and information gathering for new projects related to Disability and Accessibility in our programming, revisioning of our Hante Adventures program, and Demographic Data collection that we can utilize to inform DEI goal setting across the organization and its programming.

The ENF DEI Committee meets quarterly to review the actions of subcommittees that are devoted to the work of a specific area of DEI. Also, the DEI Committee hosts Discussion Groups whereby a member of the committee volunteers to provide a list of resources to all staff at ENF and then facilitates a discussion based on guideline questions. These discussion groups have been enormously beneficial and stimulating as we tackle overarching resources related to a topic and then drill these resources down to DEI application at ENF. A sampling of topics are: Black musicians in Appalachia, swimming and racism, misrepresentation of Asian Americans, land acknowledgements, and environmental justice.

Be on the lookout for more DEI projects on our ENF DEI web page and please reach out with any questions or ideas. Thank you for your support of our DEI work here at Eagle’s Nest Foundation.