EAGLE’S NEST CAMP
The Eagle
THE OUTDOOR ACADEMY
HANTE ADVENTURES
The Eagle’s Nest Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2016
VINTAGE EAGLE’S NEST Looking back at the original ‘Paleo Man Experiment’
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Environment Cornerstone p.4
Nesters Give College Advice p.8
The Camp Through The Musical Eyes of a Trustee p.10 p.11
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, PROMOTING THE NATURAL WORLD AND THE BETTERMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER
STEPPING BACK IN
TIME THE FIRST PALEO
“Hey you! Do what you can, you’re Paleo man!” The dark wind spat out as he tore through the tundra grass valley, lifting the tarps like paper kites, and whistling his delight through deer skull eyes. The little band of Paleos scrunched down low to protect the tiny fire, “she who must never go out”. They had brought a living fire coal from the village, 20 miles away, to the high Fir Tree Mountains. “She who must never go out” would sustain the 10 day fire; smoking meats, boiling stews, baking breads and tubers. No PB &J for this little group. This is the Paleo man Experiment, a program designed to recreate life of 50,000 years ago in non-camped, non-mapped, wild territory. 50,000 years ago? Lascaux paintings, shaman capes, spears, shields, meat and more meat, leather and bone tools, charcoal drawings in sacred caves, bear teeth necklaces
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Written with Paleo love from your Paleo Mama, Helen
and mastodon horns to blow, rawhide laces, and best of all a strange new language set the Paleo stage. At Valley of the Wind we post scouts in tall fir trees to warn of intruders. When strange human creatures hike by, we hide, and if they the see our smoke and spear mound, we speak out in “Paleo” causing “silly them” to run in terror. Or our shaman steps out in her cape and fire eyes; she snarls! It always works. We laugh and play hide and go seek in tall grasses, make our spears, capes and shields, trap rabbits, howl back at wolves at night, read our stories, and even once, one night, we watched a flying saucer dance from mountain to mountain top. We bead, hike, sometimes huddle together in freezing rain and wash our clothes in Bubbly Creek, hanging them to dry in sunny bushes.
So what does our daily schedule look like? Here goes: 6:30 the conch horn blows; 7:00 morning nature watch; 8:00 fire: cook; 8:30 breakfast; 9:30 shelter inspection: 9:45 projects: hikes, waterfalls, Bubbly Creek, wooden bowl making, moccasins, spears and shields, mapping, namings, traps, exploring; 12:00 lunch; 12:30 rest in hammocks, journals, art, stories; 2:30 baths in the creek and afternoon activity; 4:00 fire and meal prep; 6:00 supper followed by twilight games; 8:00 Sunset ceremony; 9:00 Bed. And Yes! We have our ever-faithful work teams: Water Bearers. Wood Gatherers, Cooks, and Dish Washers.
Who were the Australopithecus, Cro-Magnons, Hominoids, and Homo-Erectus? What did they believe in? How about their world, their birds, fish, rocks, herbs, tools, jewelry, designs, family life, fire keeping and stories? We committed to a project from the list. So now you will know how to live in a tribe which lives in special “myth time” - a tribe who already knows how to relate to all that is our fragile world, inside and outside of us. P.S. By the way, do you know what the Yggdrasil Tree is?
How did we get here in the first place? We applied and we promised to work at home, before coming, on projects like: A few of our favorite Paleo leaders: Beaver Goodling, Alex Waite, Rodrigo Vargas, Gary Daniel, Stephanie Hellert, Nathan Roark, Jessica Harris, Anne Reed, Ami Student, Lillian Gomez, Diane Daniel, Wendy Brasunas, Tom Rogers, Hannah Rogers, and Helen Waite
1987 NATIONAL 1st PLACE
FOR PROGRAM EXCELLENCE HONORING THE
PALEO MAN EXPERIMENT AT EAGLE’S NEST CAMP
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THE ENVIRONMENT CORNERSTONE AT THE OUTDOOR ACADEMY By Arrington McCoy, Dean of Students and Environmental Seminar Teacher The four cornerstones of The Outdoor Academy are: Environment, Intellect, Craft, and Community. Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum once stated, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” This quote beautifully captures the heart of our Environment Cornerstone. Love of the outdoors is born from lived experiences. Pictures are no substitute for the feelings of awe that OA students experience when taking in a sunrise on the Art Loeb Trail or paddling a rapid on the French Broad River. And it isn’t just the pretty moments that cultivate feelings of love. In fact, the hardship of bitter cold nights or days on end of rain, become threads that tie you to a piece of land even more strongly perhaps than the easy, beautiful moments. This is the mature and enduring kind of love—the kind of love that inspires us to take the long view with our common resources. I teach the Environmental Seminar course at OA, which I always describe to people outside of our program as an Environmental Ethics course. This framework of the course hangs on two fundamental questions for students: “What choices can I make?” and “What impact will these choices have?” We first ask these questions through the lens of food. Recently I asked my students to make a list of all the reasons people choose to eat different foods. Their list included: availability, convenience, taste, price, health reasons, medical restrictions, concern for animal welfare, environmental issues, hunger levels, family traditions, and cultural traditions.
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Food is an intensely personal decision and the idea that there is one perfect diet in the world is a concept that is
inextricably bound to globalization and wealth and a good deal of pomposity. We live in the land where the options are bountiful and pocketbook-pending food choices are limitless. However, the end result of living in this cornucopia is not typically more measured and thoughtful, but rather mindless consumption. Our unit on food asks students to be mindful—to recognize that each time they eat they are making a choice and that choice is ultimately connected to the land and all that the land supports. Next, we examine these same questions “What choices can I make?” and “What impact will these choices have?” through the lens of energy consumption, water use, and material goods consumption. There are no easy answers to these questions. Except for maybe this: love is a key ingredient for lasting change. And love is born out of personal experiences. Planet Earth is perhaps the most staggeringly beautiful documentary series, but it isn’t enough. It is not nearly enough to show a student a movie about something beautiful that exists beyond their horizon.
The need for hands on, in-the-dirt, tactile experiences is what brings students into a state of heart and mind where they can take the long view and make a choice today that keeps tomorrow in mind. I’d be remiss in teaching a class about choices and impacts if I did not acknowledge the factors that influence sustained changes versus short-term changes. Compared to mainstream lifestyle choices in the United States, students at The Outdoor Academy live a lower impact lifestyle when in program. They share a communal living space that is
heated by a woodstove. Food is purchased in bulk, thereby reducing packaging waste. Most days they commute where they need to go by foot. And they live in a culture at OA that discourages new material acquisitions. Most of the students who come to The Outdoor Academy find real joy in this lifestyle. They find that what they gain by living in this way is sweeter than the privileges they give up by coming here. Then after four months, we tell them they have to leave. By the end of the semester, if not well before, they have ideas about choices they would like to make to lessen their environmental impact, but they return to societal systems that don’t support, and frequently work actively against these choices. Biking as part of a giant peloton down the highway might be fun; biking alone would be dangerous and scary. Change sticks when it happens as part of a supportive community. Change sticks when it isn’t martyrdom, but instead brings something joyful into your life. Ultimately, the biggest question I have for my Environmental Seminar students is not “how will you resist the Twinkie?” but rather, “how will you cultivate a community where resisting the Twinkie is celebrated and supported?”
NEW FACES AT THE NEST We are very excited to introduce three new members of our full-time team!
Ayana Brown brings years of Eagle’s Nest experience into her new role as Camp Program Manager. Her time at the Nest began many years ago as a camper in Cabin Library. She later returned to Library as a counselor and has spent the past four summers creating magical and meaningful experiences for a new generation of campers. After graduating from Valdosta State University in December, Ayana moved to Winston-Salem, NC to begin working in our winter office. Ayana joins our team with strong leadership, contagious enthusiasm, and a deep love for ENC.
Cara Varney spent the summer of 2015 leading the Eagle’s Nest whitewater canoeing program as the Paddling Director before moving into the role of full-time Annual Fund and Alumni Manager this winter. Not only is Cara a skilled paddling instructor, she’s a talented experiential educator and an avid outdoorswoman. She holds a BS in Recreation from Ohio University, has worked in the field of outdoor education for over ten years and thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2014. Cara spends her free time paddling, climbing, and hiking in western North Carolina, tending to her impressive garden and baking incredible treats for her colleagues.
Andrea Haulk began working with Eagle’s Nest in January as the Payroll & Human Resources Manager. She has over ten years of HR experience and brings a wealth of knowledge to her new position. Andrea earned a BS in Education from Baldwin-Wallace College and is a passionate advocate of experiential learning. In her free time, Andrea can be found hiking in Dupont State Forest, playing the flute at local events, or spending time with her husband and 12 year old daughter.
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Semester 42 circles up in the first snow on campus in 2016
EXPAND YOUR CLASSROOM
Applications are being accepted for the 2016/2017 school year on a rolling basis. Keep an eye out for our Open House events. For more info, please contact cary@enf.org with questions or to RSVP.
SPRING CLEANING? SEND US YOUR STUFF!
With the arrival of warmer weather, it’s time to clean out the house! We are always in need of new or gently used items. Have something you think we need? Visit our website for a complete list. Please contact Cara@enf.org with questions or to arrange a donation.
FOR THE “BETTERMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER”
FROM YOUR GARDEN TO OURS
• Natural fiber yarns (wools,
• Garden tools in good
• Paraffin wax for candle
• • • •
cottons, no acrylic) making
• Fabric scraps, embroidery floss
• Pottery wheel(s)
condition Large planting Containers Bathroom scale Nails and screws Tarps
AROUND CAMPUS • • • •
Bricks for building a Kiln Weather Radio System Computer Speakers Office Chairs
As always your gift is tax deductible and greatly contributes to the programs at Eagle’s Nest and The Outdoor Academy.
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LONG-TIME NESTERS ADVISE ON THE
COLLEGE SEARCH by Katie Harris, OA Dean of Academics
I began at The Outdoor Academy in the fall of 2012, and am now witnessing the Semester 35 and 36 groups travel to farflung continents or complete the freshman year of college this spring. As part of the Eagle’s Nest family, ENC campers and OA students become part of an extensive network of those who have navigated the tenuous years after high school, sometimes a period fraught with indecision. The ENF community is a wealth of resource, and it is with that perspective in mind that I contacted Clare Ende and Ethan Gould, long-time Eagle’s Nest campers, participants on Hante, and Semester 36 alumni of The Outdoor Academy. I asked them to briefly share about their recent college search and decisions, including advice to those still in high school. Clare and Ethan are both finishing their first year of college at Colorado College and Elon University, respectively.
Do you think a semester at OA affected your later college search? If yes, in what ways? Clare: Yes, my OA semester definitely affected my college search. OA helped me find what I was passionate about and helped me to discover certain things that really mattered to me in my life (ie. strong communities, music, being outside, and exploring nature). With that newfound self-awareness, I began my college search looking for colleges that would reflect those values and lessons that I learned at OA. Ethan: OA most definitely affected my college search. I loved how OA is a close-knit community where you know everybody and everybody else knows you. It made me want to attend a small university but where it is large enough
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where I see new people everyday to meet. I also realized how much I loved outdoors where I could roam and I wanted to have a school with some wilderness options. Do you see any parallels between OA and your current school? Clare: Absolutely. I am at Colorado College, and I love it. CC is similar to OA in that there is a strong community of outdoor lovers and enthusiasts, and I have found that the people here are genuine and caring, just like at OA. As for academics, both CC and OA have a big focus on discussion-based learning and experiential learning. Most of my classes here are small, discussion-based, and have students that are very eager to learn and participate.
Ethan: I don’t see any parallels between my school and OA, but I love my school. It is a great fit for me, and Elon fits all the needs and wants that I wanted. In what ways do you believe a semester at OA prepared you for college? Clare: I think that OA prepared me for college both socially and academically. Socially, OA taught me how to create meaningful relationships with both my fellow students and my teachers. I loved everyone in my OA semester, even though we were all so different, but that’s actually what made those friendships even greater. OA helped me to be more open-minded, and I have definitely brought that with me to college. Academically, OA prepared me for handling big workloads, dense and long reading assignments, and how to write at a higher level. It also taught me how to approach my education with interest and passion, which I think is especially important in college, when students need to be self-motivated and hardworking. Ethan: OA helped prepare me for college because it helped me experience how to be independent and plan my day thoroughly. It also helps me meet people on my own because at OA, all the guys in “Cabin Men” had a special relationship, and currently, I have a great relationship will all seven of my suite-mates like I did at OA.
What tips would you give to younger ENC and OA alumni about the college search? Clare: To younger OA alumni searching for colleges, don’t stress. There are so many colleges out there, and you will probably find so many that will appeal to you. College is what you make it! Also, make sure you talk to your OA staff about what they think. Teachers at OA are very intelligent and have lots of valuable life experience that you can learn from. I actually heard about CC from Susan Tinsley Daily (who taught Environmental Seminar at OA during my semester), and then I continued to talk to her throughout my whole college application process. Being able to talk to someone that I loved and trusted was so very helpful. So, find someone important to you and talk through all of your interests/options with them. And don’t worry; everything works out in the end. Ethan: For your college search, I honestly have one piece of advice: listen to your parents. My mom was actually the one who told me about Elon, and at first, I was very uninterested because I already liked my list of colleges, and I had never even heard of the college before. But I decided to tour it and get it out of the way, and immediately fell in love at the tour. So if your parents know how much you will love OA or Camp or Hante, your parents may also know a college that will be a perfect fit for you.
NEST CHATTER
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER!
• Lia Messersmith (camp) was NC’s leading scorer in field
hockey this fall. She served as her team’s captain in 2014 and 2015, and just signed to play for Mount Holyoke in the fall. • Clay Pittman (Camp & OA) is engaged to long time girlfriend and friend to many camp staff, Sarah Parker. • Mike Ashworth and Mike Gugino from the Steep Canyon Rangers joined Semester 42 for a little performance during Community Meeting, where the Semester 42 band got to perform for them.
BIRTHS • Selma Miele Hedin born to Ben Hedin and Kathryn Miele in late November, 2015. Quinn Gregory Connor was born on 12-28-15 to Brendan (Camp & OA) and Marilyn Connor. • Andrew Nikolayevski born to Caitlin (Smith) and Jake Nikolayevski on 11-30-15 (OA and Hante).
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PASSAGES Gray Russell, passed away on January 18, 2016 (Camp). Gray was a camper at the Eagle’s Nest Camp for Children with Diabetes and went on to become a Junior Counselor. He was a friend to many. Doris Hulse, beloved mother of Jane Davidowski and motherin-law of Ted Wesemann, passed away on Feb 24, just shy of her 100th birthday.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone on April 9th. Tickets are still available, please check our reunion webpage for registration, a day-of schedule, carpool information, and more! If you have any questions please contact reunion@enf.org.
The making of the Session II
by Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director Dressing up to go see the Camp musical each summer is one of my favorite camp events and has been since my early years as a counselor when I helped direct shows such as “Annie”, “Oklahoma”, “Oliver”, “Bye-Bye Birdie”, and “Peter Pan.” I love watching all ages of campers – from Cabin 9 boys to Cabin 5 girls – gather their courage, take the stage, and sing their hearts out on the night of the show. The campers’ smiles, songs, and dance moves entertain and delight me and all other campers and staff who fill the New Lodge for the performance. More than that, I find myself filled with joy when the first musical number ends and the audience erupts in wild applause. Watching the Camp musical reminds me of how successful we are at creating a nurturing, supportive community at the Nest. Producing the Camp musical is a community event. In addition to having a musical class for the cast, we also have a set design class for campers interested in designing and building the sets. The set design class reads the script, imagines the set that they would like to create, and spends the next couple of weeks building, painting, and hanging the set. Counselors are involved with helping to hang the lights and lend a hand finishing off the sets. I’ve seen some pretty elaborate sets over the years. One of my favorites was the stage for “Carousel.” The set design class decided that they wanted to make the stage resemble an actual carousel. They built a round stage, drilled a hole in the New
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Lodge floor, and then dropped a pole through the floor to the Arts Arena below. At a particularly poignant part of the show, a group of Cabin Tree Tops campers took hold of the pole and walked in circles to make the stage revolve. It was pretty spectacular! We also have a costuming class for campers interested in creating the costumes for the show. The campers in the costuming class search the depths of our costume closets, and sometimes take trips to the second hand stores to find costumes that can be up-dated for the show. They learn to use sewing machines and some also help the actors with makeup. For the show “The Jungle Book” they created plaster masks for each of the animals in the show. By the time the curtain goes up, about 30% of our campers have played some part in making the musical a success. Of course, all of the campers involved enjoy seeing the fruits of their hard work and creativity (not to mention the cake and ice cream at the cast party). We’ve already been dreaming about this summer’s show. Austin, who directed “Hairspray” last summer, will be back to direct the show again this summer. He’s been reading about shows and listening to scores. He’s very excited about bringing “James and the Giant Peach” to the Eagle’s Nest stage this summer. I can’t wait to see what he and the campers create. I’m sure it’ll be fantastical!
TREASURING THE NATURAL WORLD AROUND US by Cormac Connor, ENF Trustee
Turning off of the paved highway and into Eagle’s Nest always comes as something of a relief to me, a soothing nostalgia, like stepping into the family home of an old friend. As my car tires roll off the asphalt road and into the dirt, they crackle on the gravel welcome mat. I roll down the windows, turn off the radio. Above me the sun is shining, but just ahead is the cathedral opening of tall trees that shroud the road leading uphill. In the shade, the forest comes into focus: the smell of the pine trees above, the cool dampness in the air, ten-thousand shades of green. Moving slowly up the road, the simple wood-frame cabins, where I spent so many formative summers, seem hidden, almost camouflaged, built not to push back the tangled undergrowth, but to be embraced and enveloped by it. Returning to Eagle’s Nest feels different now than it did as a child, perhaps because the responsibilities and pressures of life among the grown-ups weigh heavier and are greater in number. But as I slow my car to a stop, get out, and take another long draw of the air that actually tastes as good as it smells, I am back. Peace. In this place, I quickly lose the forest for looking at the trees. Without noticing, I next lose the trees for marveling at the forest. In this place, as the sun goes down, the cadence of the cicadas and tree frogs blends with the sleepy drone of falling rain. These things are not unique to Eagle’s Nest. But, Eagle’s Nest is unique in the way it weaves natural surroundings into the experience. Cabins ringed by screens instead of walls or glass. Cuisine made rich by its simplicity and homegrown ingredients. Classes that draw inspiration from the natural world and teach children that they are essential parts and stewards of the environments in which they live. Nature is inseparable from Eagle’s Nest. Indeed, it is one of our Foundation’s core values. It is the common thread that ties all of us to the forested hills that rise up from the gravel entrance at 43 Hart Road. It is the leafy, fragrant classroom in which we first learned for ourselves and then taught Eagle’s Nest campers and Outdoor Academy students to treasure the natural world around them, wherever that may be. Editor’s Note: Cormac was a camper and counselor and joined the Board of Trustees in 2014. His daughter’s Jaya and Riley now attend camp. If you are interested in learning more about being an ENF Trustee please contact noni@enf.org.
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DONOR SPOTLIGHT Tiffany Miller, Monthly Recurring Donor since 2011 Eagle’s Nest Camp Alumna, Parent to future Nester
Tell us about how you first got involved in with Eagle’s Nest and where you are now. I first attended camp at Eagle’s Nest during the summer of 1988 when I was 9 years old. I continued to attend camp every summer until my last year of high school. For me personally, the three weeks I spent at Eagle’s Nest each summer were the happiest of every year. I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am married and have a year old baby. I work as an Associate Director of Clinical Project Management at a clinical research organization that manages clinical trials for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. Why do you think Eagle’s Nest is important? Eagle’s Nest is the most amazing place for children to spend their time. Seeing someone do something on a screen or reading about something is no match to having experiences yourself. I want my daughter to have the opportunity to create her own special memories in the great outdoors. I want everyone to have that opportunity. I think that having outdoor experiential education makes people better stewards of the environment, better problem solvers, less stressed, and happier. You’ve been a recurring donor since 2011—why do you give to Eagle’s Nest? I give to Eagle’s Nest because I strongly believe in Eagle’s Nest’s mission and I want as many children as possible to have the opportunity to experience the special, amazing, unbelievable wonder that is attending camp at Eagle’s Nest. I also am a recurring donor because I trust Eagle’s Nest and I know that my money will be put to good use. I had considered donating to Eagle’s Nest for a long time before I actually did. What always stopped me was feeling like I didn’t have enough money to make a “good donation”. I started giving $10 per month. That just meant going to the movies one less time per month. It was easy. Although my monthly donation is not huge by any measure, it adds up over the course of a year and with my company’s matching donation, I feel good at the end of year knowing that I did what I could to support Eagle’s Nest’s mission. Visit enf.org/givenow to set up automatic recurring payments to your credit card, or contact development@enf.org for other giving options.
WHAT YOUR DOLLARS DID
of our 586 campers and Hante adventurers received financial assistance
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OA students were provided with scholarships
children felt the powerful inclusivity that financial assistance brings.
ENF’S CENTENNIAL PRIORITIES by Noni Waite-Kucera, Executive Director
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id you know that according to the NC Natural Heritage Program (NCNHP) there are 5 rare vertebrate animals, 11 rare invertebrate animals, and 3 rare vascular plants living within 2.5 miles of the portion of Eagle’s Nest property that will soon be under conservation easement? Of those there are 3 that have just the right habitat on our campus, the Eastern Spotted Skunk, the Prickly Ground-pine and the French Broad Heartleaf. These are just a few of the tidbits we have been learning as we go through the process of protecting in perpetuity this beautiful and ancient land.
Can you ID this plant in our area on the NCNHP Watch List?
The Baseline Studies for the easement areas are just one part of an overarching Campus Sustainability Plan that is being written for Eagle’s Nest. We are well underway in with the drafting but we would love help from anyone with land planning, energy, green building, or environmental education experience to join our team. Just e-mail noni@enf.org for more information or if you can lend a hand.
Photo by BioDivLibrary on Flickr(cc)
MAGIC AWAITS! There’s still time to register for Camp and Hante. Space is limited – register today!
EAGLE’S NEST CAMP
HANTE ADVENTURES 13 13
Eagle’s Nest Foundation P.O. Box 5127 Winston-Salem, NC 27113 336-761-1040
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