the green spot blog

It's been an amazing week! Yes, yes - we say that every week but seriously - it's been a super week. And this week we had to enlarge our Fort Firering again . Isn't that awesome? Read about this really unique challenge we have here on our Reaching Higher Blog . Weather has been just perfect. No rain, not too smokey, and warm enough for our Creek Party and Field BBQ. Could you ask for anything more? Well - there was also horseback riding, ziplining, climbing, paintball, artsy awesomeness, and wide games galore! Jug 'n' Jog, Ketchup to the Flag, Human Sized Clue, Pandemic just to name a few. We had one last chance this morning to go on some wagon rides, play on the Balance Beam, Leap of Faith, and Climbing Wall. Brennan, our speaker for the week, from Dalhousie Church in Calgary shared stories from his own life and also about Moses throughout the week. Testimonies from this week were especially cool. Here are something of the things that were shared in th...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Evergreeners out there! We had a quiet weekend here on site - the first weekend since mid-January where we had no guest groups or camp events running on the weekend. It was a little eerie to step out of my home on Saturday and Sunday morning and hear no meal bells, no Willsonball, no activity on site. There are a lot things that we're very, very thankful for as we look into the coming months. As winter begins, we officially close out our very busy 2016 season and start preparing to launch dates, registration, and our 2017 season. We saw some pretty amazing things happen this summer. Here are some pretty cool numbers from this last summer: We charged into summer with 45 staff. 33 additional volunteers joined us for at least one week of the summer, helping in the kitchen, on maintenance, or on Program. We can't do what we do without all of these staff and volunteers. 1,055 campers came through our summer camp programs in July and August. 20...

This last weekend was our Father and Son Retreat! And wow - it nearly knocked our socks off even before it happened! More than 80 Fathers and Sons joined us for the weekend. I have a feeling that next year there will be space issues. Want to help us solve that? Go to www.reachinghigher.ca to find out! Our speaker, Chris Ney, spoke to our Fathers and Sons about Identity: where they find their identity, who people see them as, and how we are to be reflecting God. It was an incredible weekend in our sessions, activities, and in the Dining Hall...oh boy, the food was unbelievable! Rather than try and describe the retreat - let's just show it to you in pictures. I think you'll quickly understand why Father and Son is where it's at! Well - that's a wrap! As you can tell - it was an amazing weekend with our Dad's and Sons. I hope you can join us next year...and in 10 days (June 25th)...when our AGM and Open House happens!! Registe...

  What an amazing couple of weeks it's been here at camp. Last week we welcomed our Spring Staff onto site for training. It's always a crazy week full of a tons of information, games, and learning how to teach Outdoor Education in a short amount of time. Next week we will devote the whole blog about what it takes to be a staff here when it's not summer. Today...today we just want to say thank you. THANK YOU! Our Dinner and a Laugh Fundraiser was a huge success but more than that - it was just a wonderful evening. Start to finish, we just really loved connecting with and visiting with supporters of Evergreen - people who personally experienced the life-changing power of camp themselves or through a loved on and are invested in the future of Camp Evergreen. It's such an encouragement to US to hear the stories of change and support from our constituents. It all began with an explanation of our Reaching Higher project. If you don't know what Reaching Higher is - c...

Hello, I am writing this letter to the current generation, both young and old, those who have been positively impacted in some way by the ministry of Camp Evergreen. My name is Andrew Baerg and I am currently chair of the board at Camp Evergreen. Camp Evergreen was founded in 1963 by a generation who saw a need - to raise up disciples of Jesus among our youth across Alberta. It was expanded in the 1980s by a generation who wanted to see the camp reach even more Alberta children with the Gospel of Christ. It is now our turn, this current generation, to ensure Camp Evergreen thrives at making disciples of Jesus among our youth, now and for the next generation, and to expand the ministry once again. I am inviting anyone who wants to learn more about the vision, or has a desire to see our generation step up and own this responsibility, to attend a meet-up in Calgary next Wednesday, May 18, at 8pm. Location TBA. Please RSVP to andrew.baerg@gmail.com so tha...

  While we're not Apollo 13, we do have a problem here at Camp Evergreen.  Our 2016 Family Camp filled up in just three days.  Our summer camp registrations are significantly ahead of last year and we're on track to turn over 200 campers away this year, simply because we have no room.  Guest groups have grown steadily over the past six years and we're turning guest group after guest group away. I'm thankful for our problem.  It tells me that we are doing a good job portraying and representing Jesus Christ to our lost world.  It tells me that we have a strong community of "Camp Evergreeners" surrounding, supporting and uplifting us.  It also tells me that we have a great staff who love God and love our guests and campers.  And here's the good news... we have a solution to that problem!  Our Reaching Higher campaign addresses our need for space and will allow us to continue changing individual lives for the next 50 years. Reachin...

As many of you may know - we embarked on an exciting journey last June to build a new lodge to fit our growing needs. Get it? Growing needs? It's funny because we're growing...fast. If it helps - last year we filled our summer camps by mid-May, which was pretty fantastic. We were extremely delighted by that. If you need a refresher on Reaching Higher, take a look here: Reaching Higher from Camp Evergreen on Vimeo . This year? Family Camp filled within 3 days of opening registration and we're 250 registrations AHEAD of where we were last year on February 10th. Can we just take a moment to reread that sentence? I can barely believe it. We're trying to be creative about how to fit more campers and do our camps better. Then there's rentals - we can't book any groups until November! These are very exciting facts which make it important to keep talking about Reaching Higher and what it will mean for Evergreen. As we made our way around to our member churches...

In the past few months, you may have heard about a new campaign at camp called Reaching Higher.  Maybe you've seen it in an email, or heard me talk about it at Closing Program throughout the summer.  Perhaps you stopped by to look at the plans (and eat the cookies) at the Welcome Centre during Registration or Closing in July and August.  We're very excited about how the camp is moving forward and we want to share it with everyone because you're all part of it. As you know, Evergreen is focused on changing the lives of everyone who visits.  Through our loving staff, amazing facilities, and the beautiful wilderness around us, we share God's love, sacrifice, and the excitement of a journey with Christ.  During the summer we're able to reach hundreds of children and youth with the Good News of the Gospel.  In the winter, we are able to reach even more, by hosting school groups and retreats, with people of all ages and walks of life.  Check this out...