the green spot blog

Ooooooo - I love lists. Christmas time just screams lists, doesn't it? I'm sure with all that has been going on in your world - there's not a lot of time to make another one. So I went ahead and created it for you! Today marks only 15 days until Summer Camp Registration opens. If you haven't thought about Summer 2018 yet...you should really start (along with baking cookies, giant turkeys, wrapping gifts, and chasing the cat out of your Christmas tree). Camp is awesome. You know that - otherwise you probably wouldn't be here reading this blog. Or maybe you're a first timer...thinking about sending your son or daughter to camp and you are just trying to figure out if this "outdoorsy, crazy game-filled, Bible camp thing where my child is in the hands of complete strangers" is really the right thing to do... Let me help. I am what you call a camp veteran - a lifer . I'm not ashamed to admit that. I attended camp every year from when I was f...

I would never imagine myself complaining about the warm December weather. Yet here I am - concerned that it just hasn't been cold enough. Who would have ever thought?! A year ago last week - it was between -20 and -30...This year? Battling +10! There has been some pretty awesome results of that nice weather. The Fallen Timber Creek that flows through our land is amazing. This is a pretty rare occurrence. Typically the creek freezes bumpy and it's pretty difficult to get it smooth unless we get some long periods of warm weather...which we've had. Our Dish(rack)tion has been diligently clearing snow on the creek. And you know what? All that nice weather caused the creek to flow over top and smooth out the bumps. Once it froze again - it was magic. I often get asked if we're worried about ice and Pond Hockey and you know what, we're happy. With this being our ninth tournament, we have seen extremely cold weather, extremely warm weather and just about everythin...

It's certainly easy for me or anybody that works at camp to tell you why it is so awesome and why it is so important for kids to experience. I started attending camps when I was five years old and kept attending straight through graduation, when I turned into a seasonal staff member - working during the summers between university semesters. I still couldn't keep away - I then became a full-time director. You can see why it's easy for me to talk about the life-changing role that camp plays in one's life. It played that role in mine. Many people agree with me. The activities, games, and the outdoors obviously make camp so amazing. When we ask kids what they love about their week the normal, expected answers pop up. But would you believe me if I told you that one of the things that campers talk about when asked what they love about camp is that it's a break from their devices? Camp is a place unlike any other. Freedom from devices and technology, outdoor advent...

Have I mentioned that 2018 is going to be an awesome year? Camper mail hit Canada Post today...that means more than 1000 kids are going to be getting notes from their Cabin Leaders and our 2018 Camper Brochure. It's such an exciting time! It's also exciting because we have another brand new program to introduce to you. Wrangler Up! Wrangler Up joins our Pit Crew and Internship Program to help build our next generation of staff. If you guessed that our Wrangler Up program is about training up new Barn Staff - you are correct. It's designed for horse enthusiasts to refine their riding, saddling, and cleaning skills while forming friendships which last a lifetime. Something that we've known for a long time is that when a camper loves horses - they really love horses. We also really believe in training the next generation of staff. We love our Barn Staff and know that it's just as important to train the next generation of horse-loving staff as it is our Cabin Leade...

2018 is going to be full of awesome new things at Evergreen. We've added another Family Camp to our schedule ( registration for Winter Fest Family Camp is open right now ), we're making Charge 3 co-ed, and we're adding two brand new camps to our schedule (Adventure and Wrangler Up). This week and next week, we are going to break down what Adventure Camp and Wrangler Up are going to be like. As our camps continue to fill each year - we're challenged with the question of how to grow while maintaining what makes Evergreen awesome and unique. As we were putting together our 2018 Camp Schedule - we took a hard look at our Out-trips. The campers that absolutely LOVE our out-trips do not often cross over to our Base Camps. There's something really special that happens out at the Tipis and at Foothills Outfitters Camp (Charge and Trails Away) that just can't be ignored. Knowing that these campers are often "once an out-tripper, always an out-tripper...

This last week we started laying the ice down on our rinks. This is always a challenging process because temperature, water, and the surfaces we build one of the rinks on do not always play nice together. And sometimes it involves Rolf, Dylan, and Max to stand in freezing cold water repairing up to forty holes in the poly base. Oh the things we do for the love of Pond Hockey. We really do love it! Our staff are currently skating on Rink 2 to harden it up for more flooding. It's quite the process - while the rest of the province is groaning because the snow and cold weather has arrived...we are out first thing in the morning trying to take advantage of it so that we can get some good layers down on it. We're only about two months away from our Pond Hockey weekend. New this year? T-shirts...awesome, awesome t-shirts. We'll do a reveal when they arrive in December. We're taking team registrations until December 15th. Spots are starting to fill up so don't w...

The Willsonball Pit Josh built for his youth group in Berlin Hannah S. getting hitched! I recently returned from a trip to Germany. As you might expect, it was amazing. I love history, architecture, coffee, and bread and there was a lot of all of those things. Jogee was a pretty happy bear! The reason for this trip was Hannah S' wedding. Hannah was part of our Generation One German volunteers from our partner organization in Germany. It was a great reason to finally make the trip across the pond to celebrate with Hannah and see the place that a good chunk of our staff come from. Our German Volunteers have become a integral part of our staff team. In so many ways - I can't imagine what it would be like to not have Germans on our team. Back in 2012, when Christoph, Jessica, and Hannah first arrived - we didn't know what it was going to be like. Even though we had had international staff in years past - this was going to be consistent. We knew that it would change o...

The staff dressed up for a carnival that we hosted in Sundre It's the time of year again that we want to say a big thank-you to our 2017 Fall Staff! The busy season is just winding down here at Camp Evergreen and we are ready for a much needed rest from the business. Our seasonal fall staff are the people who take on a lot of that business and boy are we grateful for the work they do. Each day they would start before breakfast preparing for the guest groups, facilitate activities and clean during the mornings and afternoons (while also fitting in time to serve meals), and finish off the day by leading evening programming for our groups. They do so much and without their hard work we could not run the quality program that we have right now. Although it is a lot of work out here at camp in the fall we do still manage to have a lot of fun. Our fall staff were on the crazier side and loved to have a lot of fun together. There was a lot of ball hockey that happened this year an...

So you've had a whole week now to build your team and draft your players. what you need now is strategy! Good thing for you this blog is all on strategy, tips and tricks from the experts that have played years of Jug and Jog.  "I rarely played jug and jog in summer, but when I did it was great!" -Becca Glavind Well Becca now the next time you play you will have all these wonderful tactics to use to elevate your game! Defence I start with defence because a good defence is key to winning. You want like 25% of your team playing defence these players should be watching the box at all times remember they only win when they get all the jugs. It doesn't matter how many people are in your box the only thing that matters is that your jugs don't leave your zone.  Your defence line should be spread out along the middle of your half try to cover zones of the field don't bunch up around the box, that's puppy guarding, and not effective. Always have ...

So​ ​ if​ ​ you​ ​ have​ ​ been​ ​ to​ ​ camp​ ​ you​ ​ have​ ​ probably​ ​ played​ ​ the​ ​ game​ ​ jug​ ​ and​ ​ jog. For​ ​ those​ ​ of​ ​ you​ ​ who​ ​ haven’t​ ​ been​ ​ here​ ​ to​ ​ experience​ ​ this​ ​ majestic​ ​ game​ ​ I ​ ​ highly recommend​ ​ coming​ ​ out​ ​ and​ ​ playing.​ ​ Here​ ​ is​ ​ a ​ ​ quick​ ​ overview​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ game:​ ​ There​ ​ are two​ ​ teams​ ​ each​ ​ team​ ​ has​ ​ a ​ square​ ​ marked​ ​ out​ ​ by​ milk​ ​crates​ ​inside​ ​ this​ ​ square​ ​ are​ ​ an assortment​ ​ of​ ​ jugs.​ ​ The​ ​goal​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game​ ​is​ ​to​ ​collect​ ​ all​ ​ the​ ​ jugs​ ​ from​ ​ the​ ​ other​ ​team's side​ ​ and​ ​place​ ​ them​ ​ in​ ​ your​ ​ box.​ ​ When​ ​ you​ ​ are​ ​ on​ ​ the​ ​ enemy​ ​ teams​ ​ side​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ field you​ ​ can​ ​ be​ ​ tagged​ ​ if​ ​ you’re​ ​ tagged​ ​ you​ ​ have​ ​ to​ ​ sit​ ​ down​ ​ where​ ​ you​ ​ were​ ​ tagged​ ​ and wait​ ​ for​ ​ a ​ ​ team-mate​ ​ to​ ​ rescue​ ​ you,​ ​ or​ ​ for​ ​ that​ ​ all​ ​ important​ ​ jail...

It hasn’t been hard to enjoy the fall season at camp this year. The colour change in the leaves was gradual and stunning. Even the snow wasn’t too bad...I can’t believe I’m even saying that. It can’t last for long though. This morning brought another skiff of snow and a bit of a winter wind. I’m guessing there won’t be much left of the fall colours after this week.  Winter means more than just snow and cold temperatures. It also means the new year and Summer Camp Registration. We started posting our summer camp dates on our website this last week and before we even got them all posted, we were getting phone calls from panicked parents who were not seeing their child’s favourite camp. We had a good chuckle at that.  At each Closing Chapel this summer, we talked about our growth over the year. It is exciting and challenging as we work to find ways to fit all of our campers into camps. We’re always trying to find ways to better engage our campers and meet them where th...