the green spot blog

Wow! Pond Hockey was amazing! Our Ninth year was one for the record books, for sure. The weather was about as perfect as one could ask for and we had twelve teams sign up for an incredible day of hockey, raising funds for camp programs, and a great time with family.  It really is magical when the sun breaks over the trees in the morning. Teams came from all over Alberta to play: Edmonton, Gem, Linden, and Calgary. It really was a team effort! We raised over $32,000 for camp! How amazing is that?! Someone from Gem even pledged to donate $100/goal - we're pretty happy that Gem scored a lot of goals! Year after year, it's just amazing to see all of the support. Spectators, players, staff, and volunteers come together to make Pond Hockey one of the most amazing one day events that we hold here at Evergreen. In nine years, would you believe that we've raised $204,640 for camp? Yes - you really should read that again... $204,640.00 for ...

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...

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...

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...

  Thanks for your patience this last week! We seem to need a couple days to rest once Impact wraps up before getting our Blog summary up. We always get to it but it does take some time to recover from this... IMPACT! This is our oldest camp of the summer. One of the reasons why we leave it to the end is because we typically empty our tanks for this one. Evening programming after chapel every night keeps up until midnight, sleep in breakfasts, giant wide games, and more give Impact a different kind of flavour. We played a night game, had a late-night cookie ice cream bar down at the field, played our experiential game - Bible Smugglers where campers got a very, very small taste of what it's like to be a Christian working to shine God's light in a closed country, a night of extended worship, and finally - Homemade Jam. We laughed a lot, played tons of games, and had amazing conversations. I think what makes Impact different than a lot of camps - other ...

As I write this, we have checked our half way point. Our fourth camp is finishing up and we only have four to go. It's always amazing to us here how it seems like summer camp will never arrive for 10 months of the year and then all of a sudden we're halfway done and we don't know where the time has gone. We had our second of our largest weeks of the summer with Charge 2, Roughin' It Girls 2, Trail Blazers 2, Pit Crew 2, and Internships all being full. 163 campers in total were here! That's crazy!! The week blew in with a start - quite literally actually. We had a really big wind storm on Sunday evening which caused us to pull our two out-trips in just to be careful. They were chopping at the bit to get back out to the bush next morning doing their out-trip thing. Those Out-trip kids are just not made for civilization. :) We played Jug 'n' Jog, Ketchup to the Flag, Captain Sonar, Collector's Choice...sometimes I wonder how we fit everything in. ...

What a week! It was such an amazing week with our Trail Blazer 1 campers, Roughin' It Girls 1, Charge 1, Pit Crew 1, and Interns. The weather was  pretty wet in the beginning but that made it's own fun. By Wednesday, the sun was out and we were playing Jug 'n' Jog, Captain Sonar, and all the fun outdoor games we could get our hands on. Chapel this week was amazing. These kids were crazy good singers. One of the things that gave me shivers was the unexpected singing of Oh Canada during our last lunch, started by Crestwood. That rendition was good enough to be on any Stampede Grandstand show. I definitely got the shivers.  J Janzen, from Abbotsford, BC, was our speaker during the week and shared a lot of stories from his childhood and from the Bible. He taught us that we are created with super powers, that we have the power to serve, and that Jesus is the ultimate superhero and we can join his team by saying yes. Campers had a ton of...

There you have it! Our first week of summer camp is in the books! We've been waiting forty-four weeks for this moment! All the planning, hiring, colouring, designing, training, and dreaming has been for these next 8 weeks. What better way than to start with one of our brand new camps: Jr. Explorers. I like to call these campers our Little by Mighty campers. They often come in shy and timid of the strange camp environment but so many gain courage and energy (is that even possible?) throughout the week. They're enthusiastic about the food, the games, the activities, and sometimes they're even enthusiastic about napping. These campers played a tonne of Willsonball, Jug 'n' Jog, a life-sized game of Clue, Ketchup to the Flag, and more! Most of these games were filled with Superhero costumes and ridiculously. This week - our Speakers: Chip and Roundup taught us about how Jesus is a Superhero and that sin makes God sad. We learned that Jesus came and not only sa...