EAGLE’S NEST CAMP
THE EAGLE
THE OUTDOOR ACADEMY
HANTE ADVENTURES
The Eagle’s Nest Foundation Newsletter SPRING 2022
Climbing Higher
IN THIS ISSUE: Hante: Approaching 50 p. 2
Rebuilding ENF Gardens p.4
OA Alumni: Full Circle p. 6
Inclusion in Camp Kindreds p.8
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, PROMOTING THE NATURAL WORLD AND THE BETTERMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER
Hante: Almost Over That Hill By Andrew Nelson, Assistant Camp Director and Hante Coordinator, & Ed Haubenreiser, Hante and Outdoor Program Manager
Summer, 1972… Thirteen teenagers and one young instructor… Enlisting AT thru-hikers to help find a runaway camper… Thus unfolded the first day of the first Hante. Helen Waite, founder of what is now called Hante Adventures and leader of said trip, recalled this day with an irrepressible smile. “I think the biggest challenge, at first, was understanding how hard it would be,” she admitted. “I thought I would just take these kids out there and do it!” The seeming simplicity of the venture may be attributed to the program’s philosophical underpinnings. Raised on global expeditions with her paleontologist father, Helen remembers a time when Eagle’s Nest owned no backpacks or even a hatchet, leading her to launch the Explorers Club at Camp. She envisioned opportunities for youth to experience journeys that could be likened to a walkabout, in which simple living in the natural world could facilitate self discovery. Learning about a place while living in a small community would lay the groundwork for helping youth shape their trajectories in life. “The joy of place was a big aim,” said Helen, “and paleontology as a focus” helped to provide a lens of learning about that place’s history. Journeys into Pisgah National Forest and Shining Rock Wilderness with the Club soon illuminated the need for a program exclusively for teens. Well equipped with maturity acquired during this formative period in their lives, teens were well suited to tap into the potential of the Club’s philosophy. Outward Bound in North Carolina was providing logistically similar programming in the area, but from a perspective that embodied the more adventurous aspects of expeditions. Combining Outward Bound-type itineraries and protocols (and oftentimes sharing staff) with the walkabout philosophy rendered the infrastructure for the first Hante Adventure on the Appalachian Trail.
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“There was some arrogance,” Helen laughed. That first trip was greatly informative in realizing the need for co-leaders and in focusing on the socioemotional development of participants. Learning from experience and taking appropriate action, Helen began to build the program year by year. The educational element soon matured into a robust curriculum that was built around the Four Corners of Hante Adventures: Physical, Community, Sense of Self, and Expansion of Mind. Well before convening as a group, participants would receive a list of research topics related to the area of their trip. Each participant would study their chosen topic before the trip, explore and learn more while living in the place itself, and then present their findings to the group while on the course. “They were welcome to provide day-long presentations if they wanted, and hopefully each one would lead to bigger discussions around questions that would arise,” explained Helen. Leaders were tasked with providing a focused and safe learning environment: they modeled the importance of the process of finding answers, rather than the need to know everything. Thus, the aim was to develop a yearning to experience other cultures, communities, and places as a way of broadening self perspective and enhancing community engagement. Over time, Hante Adventures expanded beyond the Southern Appalachians and into the West, first to Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, and then to Mexico. Fifteen years visiting the same close-knit community provided a deeply rooted relationship between the program and a place. Teens were able to immerse themselves in the culture for three or four weeks, with the benefit of their leaders having knowledge of the local ways of living. “We didn’t want to be tourists,” said Helen. “When you stay in one place for your entire journey, you’re no longer a tourist.” Participants would work alongside members of the community in daily chores such as collecting food and water, repairing buildings, cooking meals, and cleaning. This integration into community life demonstrated another aspect of the Hante Adventure philosophy.
“We didn’t learn solely through reflection on these experiences. This was ‘soul work,’ which is difficult, interdisciplinary, active work,” said Helen.
Lester-Niles led several Hante Adventures when she first joined the staff in the 1990’s before becoming the full-time Hante Adventures Director shortly thereafter. She fondly remembers leading her first trip with eight teens biking the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then moving such bike treks to trails. “We had bikes outfitted with heavy racks, suitable for the road, but when we took them down these rugged trails the racks would just break,” Paige explained. “We were constantly splinting them back together!” Implementation of outdoor technical skills have allowed participants to engage in the place-based learning of the first Hante Adventure from a unique perspective. Participants are now traveling to different places, living simply, gaining local knowledge, and learning about themselves by way of canoe, bike, rope, or feet. The learning and the practicing of these skills allowed participants to further connect to their surroundings while also challenging themselves intrapersonally and interpersonally. A bike trek from the mountains to the coast of California was an experience that particularly stood out to Paige, noting how the elevation changes on a fully packed bike moved participants far out of their comfort zones, but finishing a difficult day by sleeping outside under coastal redwoods put everything into perspective. “That encompassed the core of our philosophy,” said Paige, “challenging yourself, figuring out how to work together as a group, reflecting on lessons learned, and connecting to nature through all of it.” She also pointed to a moment when a girl from San Francisco saw lightning bugs for the first time while hiking on the Appalachian Trail, and a quieter participant sharing their botany knowledge with the group while backpacking on a trail. Moments like these reinforce the initial vision of Hante Adventures as an opportunity for teens to go through a process of self-discovery. “Then and today, it remains important for teens to have that challenging opportunity, to have a rite of passage,” said Paige. Whether it is living within a different culture of a small community, or navigating the uncertainty of a whitewater section of river, Hante Adventure participants have continued to be challenged in order to learn, develop, and broaden their perspective through place. As a result, many can attest that traveling away from the familiar with a new group of people, and learning lifelong skills along the way, has had a profound impact on senses of self and life trajectories.
The program continued to grow through the years, with new trips to other domestic and international locations. While these trips continued to fulfill the original Four Corners, they gradually incorporated outdoor skills to further enhance participant outcomes. Eagle’s Nest Camp Director Paige
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What Your Dollars Did: 2021 Rebuilding the ENF Gardens
Over 700 alumni, campers, students, parents, friends, and family gave back to 43 Hart Road in 2021. These gifts totaled $388,184 (including $41,585 to endowed funds and $36,659 to special projects).
Total raised: $388,184
By Richard Flunker, Garden Manager For as long as humans have known that putting seeds in the dirt gives us food, gardens have been a focal point of our lives. Even in our modern age, where so many of us have never even seen a farm, it is quite common to have a plant or two in our homes. The garden has always been more than just a workplace, but a livelihood, a gathering spot, and dare I say, a work of art. I have yet to know of anyone who has a garden to consider it as just a chore. Even when things don’t work out, we are proud of our work, and when weeds manage to overtake, for whatever reason, we make new plans to improve that plot of land we hold dear. I am happy to say that our plot at Eagle’s Nest is no different. I must admit that starting a garden in mid-October seemed like a hopeless challenge. Thankfully, our late fall weather was just what we needed to get everything going once again. We enjoyed warmer-than-usual weather in the last months of 2021, which allowed a late crop to establish itself before the real winter arrived. A small batch of broccoli, kale, spinach, and lettuce grow comfortably in the cold weather, beets and carrots grow in the greenhouse, and the garlic and onions have established themselves nicely and grow slowly, getting ready for the spring. Additionally, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are nearly ready for spring planting, having grown from seeds in the greenhouse. Most of the garden work has been cleaning and organizing the garden area as well as other sheds and storage areas. I have been getting familiar with the grounds as well as everyone that works and lives here. As spring is right around the corner, plans are underway to truly open up the entire garden to a wide variety of plants, flowers, and food. Part of the plans include a slew of native plants and flowers. There is a new weather station in the garden that will begin to track daily temperature, light readings, and rainfall that, years from now, could be a valuable tool. OA students have used work crew times to help build a large trellis in the garden, take down the growing tunnel that collapsed in the January snow, as well as many other small maintenance and cleaning projects. I am looking forward to an exciting year at Eagle’s Nest with coworkers, students, campers, and our plants!
Program Special Endowed Projects
7%
9%
11%
2021 CAMP FINANCIAL AID
Scholaships
21%
Unrestricted
52%
CHARITABLE GIVING BY STATE
# of Camp and Hante Scholarships: 91 $105,409 awarded in aid 2021 OA FINANCIAL AID # of OA Scholarships: 25 $430,813 awarded in aid Over $100,000 $10 ,000 - $50,000
40% Funded by donors
$1,000 - $9,999 $100 - $999 Less than $100
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Full Circle By Katie Rowlett, OA Admissions Manager Dozens of The Outdoor Academy’s alumni have returned over the years to work at Eagle’s Nest, whether as summer staff, Resident Wilderness Educators, or teaching faculty. For many, their life trajectories have had a pull back towards the 43 Hart Road campus. Others found themselves traveling the world and forging varied careers before their eventual return. For all, their OA semester was a formative experience, a compass guiding them on whichever paths they chose. Currently, four alumni work on staff at The Outdoor Academy. I interviewed two, our Environmental Science teacher, Emily, and our Craft Coordinator, Will, to learn about their journeys back to Hart Road.
Centennial Priorities Report Progress Overview Fall 2019- Winter 2022 Thank YOU for all you’ve helped us accomplish so far! In our Centennial Plan, finalized in 2014, we committed to achieving several priorities by our 100th-year birthday in 2027. Since our community planning discussions in 2013, where we gathered in cities around the country, through these last couple of years, YOU have helped ENF accomplish so much. We continue to fully live into our mission and to respond to changes in the world around us, thanks to you.
Empowering Our Community of Educators • Initiated discussions on task force to review board and administrative structure,
succession planning, and future growth needs • Established diversity, equity, inclusion committee • Reinitiated annual employee satisfaction survey • Wrote and adopted Land Acknowledgement Statement • Drafted Gender Inclusion Statement and instituted Gender and Housing Policy • Board of Trustees instituted standing Transcultural Responsiveness Committee • Introduced Kindred groups and retired tribal nomenclature following community discussions
Sharing Our Story
Emily Cava Northrop hails from the sunny beaches of Miami, where she grew up both on the water and learning about it. As a member of Semester 22 (Spring 2006), Emily said that OA imbued her with a new love of learning. “I went from anxious about getting A’s to being driven by my own curiosity. I was reading the textbook for fun because I loved it.” Back in Florida, she joined her school’s newspaper and became captain of the National Ocean Science Bowl team. After high school, Emily studied Marine Science and Geology at the University of Miami before getting her master’s in Coastal Zone Management. “My life motto is ‘walk through any open door.’” Unsurprisingly, just like with attending OA, she went for it. She initially worked in Florida as an environmental consultant before moving across the world to be a Coastal Planner in the Mariana Islands. While she enjoyed the many challenges that came with the work, her favorite aspect of the job was working with interns. “I put my heart and soul into them, and I knew I wanted to become a teacher.” Then, a teaching position opened up just as she was searching for her next destination. “The timing was cosmic. I always wanted to come back. Now I feel like I need to make a new life goal!” As OA’s second ever science teacher, Emily has truly come full circle. “I tell the kids to take notes in class simply because you never know when you’re going to need them again. I use my notes from Ted’s class every semester!”
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Will Burney has also called many communities home in between his OA semester and returning to OA as a Craft teacher. A member of Semester 25 (Fall 2007), Will was strongly impacted by OA’s focus on personal growth and individuality. “My ideas were truly valued by the faculty, and the experience gave me a lot of new ways to test myself and build both confidences and humilities.” He also received his first structured lessons in wood carving. Now an accomplished woodworker, Will’s return to OA was the result of a gradual return to crafting in his twenties. He spent five years living on farms from Georgia to California, learning how to grow food while living in small, intentional communities. However, he wanted to find a way to both live intentionally and also pay the bills. “OA really opened my eyes to how you can live an intentional life. One of the reasons I do craft is that the tools are simple; I can find the wood I use in the forest, and then I sell at a market 10 miles away. It’s not going to make you a lot of money, but it’s honest, and it’s clean.” A friend connected him with master carver and green woodworker Drew Langsner. Will spent a summer learning and taking his skills to a new level under Langsner’s renowned tutelage. When Will returned to Pisgah, Ted approached him with an offer to teach craft classes at OA. What started out as a once-a-semester intro to whittling led to a full teaching position. “And here I am now as the Craft Coordinator. Full circle.”
• Launched new website including the ability to translate into Spanish • Initiated targeted marketing • Hosted virtual OA 25 Year Reunion • Hosted virtual alumni gatherings • Hosted programmatic discussion groups for Camp • Developed in-person, pandemic–conscientious programming for OA and Camp
Cultivating & Celebrating Our Place
• Sustainability Plan: Institutionalized goals for food sourcing, garden to table, and green cleaning creating a sense of place around sustenance • Initiated energy use and source analysis • Built new housing and offices building: Mo’s Hillside • Prioritized investments in year-round staff housing including new home builds • Closed Winston-Salem physical office – 3 employees working remotely • Built CIRCLES, Bridge curriculum at OA • Camp Kindred system maintains tradition of reflection, belonging, and recognition within community
Building Financial Resiliency • Met and exceeded fundraising goals; community overwhelming in gratitude & support • Continual study of financial capacity within context of COVID-19 pandemic and related impacts • Revamped budgeting and reporting systems • Awarded two paycheck protection program loans allowing ENF to maintain all employees throughout the pandemic • Reconfiguring ENF Financial Resiliency Plan for a post-pandemic economy
For more information on ENF’s Centennial Priorities please visit www.enf.org/enf-centennial-updates/
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2022 Hante Adventures
Inclusion in Eagle’s Nest Camp Kindreds By Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director Eagle’s Nest Camp has always strived to be an organization that values community and to be a place where all people can belong. When I ask campers, counselors, and alums to share one word that Eagle’s Nest means to them, “community” or “home” are most frequently shared. Throughout our long history, the Kindreds* (Eagle, Buffalo, Mouse, and Bear) at Eagle’s Nest have served as an intentional way that we can connect with each other, build community, play together, engage in some healthy competition, and rejoice in each other’s accomplishments. Since their inception, our Kindreds have always been gendered: two male Kindreds and two female Kindreds. As Eagle’s Nest continues to strive to be a more inclusive and safe space for all of our participants, we have closely examined the value, challenges, and perceived need for our Kindreds to be gendered. After deep discussions over the years with alums, campers, and staff, we have decided to degender the Kindreds this summer. This evolution comes in support of our transgender and non-binary campers and staff who have previously felt uncomfortable, unseen, and, in some cases, hurt by being placed in a gendered group where they felt they didn’t belong. In examining these groups, we are also trying to move away from unintentional gender stereotypes that might hinder our campers. As a female-identifying person, and a graduate of a historically women’s college, I have always found solace while sitting with my Mouse Kindred in a field of tall grass, or sneaking through the woods together during capture the flag. I see value in bringing together groups of people who share a “sameness”; however, as I have grown and learned more, I can recognize that putting people into groups of “sameness,” whether it be gender, race, economic status, religious belief, etc., eliminates the opportunity to be enriched by the great diversity of the world. It can also leave some people without a group, with the message that they do not belong. Creating a place where a diverse group of people belong is paramount for Eagle’s Nest Camp and Foundation.
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Integrity
Curiousity
Working at Camp Prepares Counselors for Life By Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director
Jodi John Pippin holds the new Mouse Kindred plaque that she lovingly recreated. Jodi created new, meaningful plaques for each of the Kindreds.
Of course, we also value and recognize the power and importance of having times and places for groups of people who feel “sameness” to be together for support, inspiration, mentorship, and affirmation. We will work to create those spaces and opportunities in a way that builds community and is not exclusionary. As we know, all change can be challenging. We recognize that, for some of you, this will feel very different at first. We also know that some of you will read this and your heart will expand. We are here for all of you - that’s what an inclusive community is all about. *The Kindreds at camp were formerly known as “Tribes.” In recent years, we have reimagined this community building system, retaining the intention with which they were established, but moving away from practices that are appropriative of other cultures.
Compassion
Gratitude
I started working at Eagle’s Nest the summer after my sophomore year in college. At the time, I was studying education with plans to become an elementary school teacher. I loved the outdoors, had fond memories of my times as a camper at another camp, and I thought that working at Camp would not only be fun, but it would also help me learn more about teaching and caring for children. I applied, interviewed with Helen Waite, and several months later I was packing my trunk to go to Camp and teach soccer and musical theater. Thirty two years later, I’m still at the Nest and have found a career that fills my heart and helps me make a positive impact on the lives of children. Most counselors do not continue to work in camp jobs like I have; however, they all gain professional skills that will help them be successful in their future jobs. It makes sense that future educators work at Camp so they can gain experience teaching, and it also makes sense that future CEOs, social workers, business owners, naturalists, actors, and health care professionals can gain valuable professional job experience while working at summer camp. With the multitude and variety of tasks that they need to accomplish in a day, counselors develop time management, self care, and organizational skills, as well as an outstanding work ethic. They are able to hone their communication and empathy skills while working through a coworker conflict or caring for a homesick camper. They practice creativity while planning an event for the entire camp, and then flexibility and resilience when an afternoon rainstorm puts a damper on their plans. There are so many important skills that can be gained from working at Camp, not the least of which are finding joy and gratitude in all situations. There aren’t many places that teach these skills. Of course, working at Camp is also FUN! If you’d like to build your resume by working at Eagle’s Nest Camp or Hante Adventures this summer, or if you know of someone who would be a great counselor, please visit our website at www.enf.org/camp/staff or email me at paige@enf.org.
Explore our trips offered this summer and start your advernture!
GET STARTED HERE
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NEST CHATTER Babies:
Bryce Koukopoulos (Camp) & Gabriel Rogers (Camp & OA):Baby Arion born November 2021. Jenny Gay (Camp, OA) & Bradford Mess (Former Staff): Baby Louis Arthur Mess born on 12/7/21.
Sharon Nouwens (Former Staff) & Trevor Price: Baby Ryker Russell Price born 5/4/21.
Gabrielle Flynn (OA) & Kenny Flynn: Baby Rowhenna “Whenna” Isolde Flynn born on 2/5/22.
Marriages:
Sarah Jordan Welch (Camp, OA) got married in February 2021.
Lanier Olsson (Camp) started her first year at UNC Medical School in Chapel Hill in 2021. Maja Olsson (Camp, OA) is pursuing a Master’s in Art Education at VCU. Sarah Jordan Welch (Camp, OA) gave a Ted Talk in 2019, “Welcome to the Trauma Club,” about her work with survivors of sexual assault. Noah LeFevre (Camp) graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in December 2021, majoring in Economics and Political Science. Emma Presberg (Camp, OA) is in her second year teaching high school science and was named the Georgia Science Teachers Association Teacher of Promise at the high school level in the 2021/22 school year. Judy Scoville (OA) completed her Tennessee State Naturalist certification in 2021 and continues to bring OA’s inspirations to her teaching with elementary students in the woods of Nashville, Tennessee. Anna Benzel (Camp, OA) is in her first year at University of California, Berkeley studying Environmental Economics (and loving every minute of it).
Liam Searles-Bohs (OA) and Drew DiFrancesco (OA) were bunkmates during Semester 39 and began a lasting friendship. They have seen each other on the Ultimate Frisbee fields through high school and into college, always with tender hearts from their time together at OA. At the end of 2021, they led their teams through the College National Championship tournament in California playing for UNC-Chapel Hill and University of Georgia, respectively. In the finals, they competed against each other for the national title.
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Liam Searles-Bohs (left) and Drew DiFrancesco (right).
NEW FACES AT THE NEST
In Liam’s OA application essay, he wrote at length about his love of Ultimate and his desire to play at a high level in the future. He also said that he had heard that the students had never beaten the faculty in the annual student vs. faculty game. His essay closed with a challenge that he wanted to be the semester that broke that streak. “Game on!” he said. With Drew and the other students, they did become the first student victors. Liam’s adult club team (Raleigh Ring of Fire) won the Club Championships in the fall of 2021, and he has represented the US twice, winning gold at the 2016 and 2019 World Championships.
Ed Haubenreiser joined the Camp team in January as our
new Hante and Outdoor Program Manager. Ed has recently completed a Master’s degree in Outdoor Adventure and Expedition Leadership from Southern Oregon University. Prior to starting his master’s degree, Ed taught biology and environmental science, and was a coach and dorm resident at Saint James School in Maryland. Ed has also been a trip leader and counselor at a few camps in Maine. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder, Lifeguard, Level 1 Canoe Instructor, and Maine State Trip Leader. Among other things, Ed brings a great sense of adventure, strong logistic and planning skills, and an extremely positive attitude to the team. He is excited to facilitate new experiences for participants so that they can learn and grow from the challenges they encounter.
Ian Moore will be joining Eagle’s Nest in early May as our
new Assistant Camp Director. Ian studied Adventure Education at Prescott College and brings with him many years of experience in outdoor experiential education. He has served as a Field Instructor for four years, leading students on multi-week expeditions all over the country and throughout Central America. During the summers, Ian served as a Course Director managing adventure courses across Western North Carolina. For the past two years, Ian has served as the Director of GAP Year at SOAR in rural Wyoming at a yearlong Wild West adventure program preparing students with ADHD/LDs for the next step in their lives. Ian, an Asheville native, has been adventuring for himself his entire life. He is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, class V raft guide, and Eagle Scout. He enjoys spending as much time as he can on his mountain bike and is excited to return to Western North Carolina to join the Nest and continue teaching and showing others why the great outdoors is the best possible classroom to learn and grow! .
Have you considered adding Eagle’s Nest to your Estate plans? At Eagle’s Nest, our Sustainers are those who have elected to include Eagle’s Nest Foundation in their estate plans through bequests, gifts of life insurance and retirement plans, and other contributions made through their estate. These honored friends have found inspiration at Eagle’s Nest Camp, Hante Adventures, and The Outdoor Academy. The benefits of planned giving are numerous to both you and future generations of campers, students, and adventurers at Eagle’s Nest and The Outdoor Academy. If you would like to learn more about becoming a Sustainer, Eagle’s Nest Foundation’s development office is ready to assist with: General information about planned gift vehicles that Eagle’s Nest may accept. Information about fund and endowment options to suit your philanthropic goals. Additional resources to help you make decisions. Contact Information: Cara Varney, Development Director Pisgah Forest Office cara@enf.org • (828) 877-4349
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P M A C T S E N S ’ E EAGL 2 2 0 2 R
E M M SU
t s e b e h rt o f s u n er! v Joi e r e summ ERE
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