Peace and Environment News* October 1992
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Peace and Environment News * October 1992 |
by Hazel Jack
 Preparing lunch in camp kitchen. Photo: Deborah Gahan |
"This is my fourth year. I love it!"
"We learn about the environment in a fun way."
"The overnight trips are awesome."
"I especially like the food!"
These are just some of the enthusiastic comments I heard during my recent visit to Camp Au Grand Bois, located on 565 acres of semi-wilderness near Ladysmith, Québec, in the Gatineau Hills seventy-five kilometres northwest of Ottawa.
The camp was started twelve years ago by Arleen and Lenny Prost to give their children and those of a few of their friends a camping experience which reflected their philosophy. Since then, it just sort of grew. The Prosts describe Au Grand Bois as an incorporated, non-profit organization which seeks to promote love and respect for all people and for the natural environment.
Goals of the camp include the development of a positive self-image and self-reliance, and learning to achieve through cooperation. They also stress the importance of fostering a sense of the joy and wonder of life and of developing healthy minds and bodies through recreational activities and natural vegetarian food.
I was invited to share in the noon meal, to which campers were summoned by Lenny's trumpet call. Everyone held hands in a silent thanksgiving before tucking into the delicious meal of nutburgers, bread, salad, and fruit. Everything was organic, some of it grown in their own garden. Even the mustard, ketchup, and salad dressings were made from scratch. As Arleen puts it: "We like to feed the children as we would feed our own."
From what I could see, everyone seemed to be really enjoying the meal. One camper wrote a letter after she got home saying, "I love your camp—it's the best—I especially like the food!"
A typical day at the camp begins with a wake-up trumpet call by Lenny at 7:30. Campers come to the main lodge for breakfast. Following breakfast, there is a choice of hiking, pottery, woodworking, arts and crafts, or some other activity often suggested by the campers. The morning I was there a group had converted the lounge of the main lodge into "the most comfortable room in the world" and were reading Keepers of the Earth to each other.
After a rest period following lunch, the campers may swim or take part in a nature scavenger hunt, drama, environmental games, cooperative games, or sports. There are two overnight canoe trips on nearby Otter Lake per session.
The emphasis at the camp is on cooperation rather than competition. As Lenny says, "We don't ask who won. We say 'did you have fun?' If you did then you won!"
A popular cooperative game is infinity volleyball. In this game the teams work together against gravity to see how long they can keep the ball up. Camp record is kept of the number of volleys.
In addition to the main building, the camp has a well equipped woodworking shop, a recreation hall, pottery room, solar showers, and a wonderful tree house built by campers. Campers sleep four to a cabin.
Bartering is often used to pay for camp sessions. Parents can exchange a session of cooking and kitchen work for a camping session for their child. Others have taught pottery and done carpentry and maintenance work.
The camp is quite small, with only fifty children per session. Its excellent camper-to-staff ratio allows staff to get to really know each child and his or her needs.
If you would like more information, you can call (819) 647-3522 or write to Lenny and Arleen Prost, Camp Au Grand Bois, Ladysmith, Quebec J0X 2A0.
Converted April 1, 2001 - Lg
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