the green spot blog

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...

There are a few things that can be heard at the barn on any given day. These include calling the horses in, Prince meowing at you becuase he wants his food, or Puzzles, the donkey braying at you because you clearly forgot to give him the rest of the hay bale. Something else you can often hear at the barn is something that sounds like this...”No, you’re okay. It’s just a tarp, it won’t eat you, I promise. You can walk past it, it’s okay.” If you’ve ever worked with horses before, you very quickly realized that they can be scared of the strangest things. From a squirrel jumping in the trees, to a tarp blowing in the wind, the yoga ball in the catch pen, and even their own shadow following them. While we see all of those things and know that they are not scary, when a horse sees them they think that they are a scary monster that will jump out and eat them. It takes a lot of encouragement and patience from th...

  It was four in the morning when the new foal arrived today. The Wranglers have been diligently checking Delilah these last days to make sure that the foal and momma were healthy. Lane was out at 3am when he realized it was time. Mikaela, Katherina, and Lane were all present to watch our new colt meet the world. Delilah has been a wonderful and protective momma and the baby is doing just great! And now he needs a name! If you remember the guidelines to the contest, we took hundreds of name submissions and then the Wranglers narrowed that list down to three filly names and three colt names. The next step was up to nature (which is a very unbiased factor of the contest). And much to our delight, though we would have been delighted with either, it ended up being a colt. Now to the last part of the contest - we are down to THREE names and you have to vote! So you can vote here, Facebook, Instagram (either our Barn Instagram or the main Instagram) or email me at courtney@c...

That's quite the headline, hey? Or should I say hay? Because really, it's Delilah the horse, that's pregnant - not one of us humans. ;) Some of you knew that it was a possibility and close to the end of summer it was confirmed - Delilah was, indeed, pregnant. Calamity Jane was only about 1.5ft tall! Expecting is always a fun thing around here. I've been working here long enough to remember Smoke, Sasha, Elmer, and Calamity Jane (our miniature horse) were a few that were born here. Having a foal here is SOOO exciting. They have so much energy and love bouncing around. It really adds something to the atmosphere down at the barn. Delilah's foal is due April 20th and we're taking good care of her until then. The reason that we tell you this now is probably the next most exciting thing. WE'RE HAVING A FOAL NAMING CONTEST!!! Say what?!? Ruby's foal, Elmer! Foals are awesome! Yes - we're (probably) letting you, our loving world of Eve...

For many of you who have come to camp with guest groups or as a camper in summer, you've no doubt come on a trail ride. As you've probably experienced you walk down to the barn on a bright sunny day (or maybe rainy, or snowy depending on when you come), sit through a very informative pre-ride, grab a helmet (gotta protect those noggins, am I right?), wait eagerly as horses get assigned, finally get to mount your horse, and then you're off! What you may not know is all of the behind the scenes action that goes on before you even get to the barn and after you leave. We would love to invite you to walk through a day in the life of a wrangler! The day usually starts with the ever unpleasant ringing of your alarm in the wee hours of the morning (sometimes as early as 6am...geh), rolling out of bed and then out the door to walk down to the barn – this often requires walking through...

This fall the Evergreen Barn has been as busy as ever! Not only are we loving and caring for our main herd consisting of 36 saddle horses, but we are also training our Clydesdale team to pull a wagon for hay rides! On an average day in our slower season (starting in November), we as a barn crew are working together to exercise the trail ponies, complete any medical care needed, and work on any barn maintanc(y) things that need getting done. This fall, however, is special because on top of all that other necessary work we love, the barn is allotting a fair amount of time to training our team of Clydesdale. Don't worry though, we still make sure we have time for the saddle horses so that they get adequate exercise and more than enough love. Let us introduce you to our big girls. On the left side of the wagon we drive Irish, and on the right there is April. These two are a mother daughter team that we have been blessed with by donation. Left side is Irish - Right s...

Most people don't get excited about Annual General Meetings, but here at Camp Evergreen we like to think of them as our Awesome General Meeting and combined with our Open House in the afternoon is one of our favourite days of the year! Highlights of this years AGM include:  - a great skit led by our German volunteers.  Watch out for that squirrel!    - three board members sharing a short testimony and being re-elected for a three year term.  - a great (and entertaining) financial report - thanks Kevin!  (who knew financial reports could be entertaining?)  - the launch of our Reaching Higher campaign.  - free 2016 camps given away.  - record number of 54 members present!   Each member present received a backpack with a special members pen and pin.  Courtney was also handing out an alumni pin that we were encouraged to proudly wear throughout the day.  Its never too early to start thinking about becoming a ...

Over the past few months we have received three new horses: The Team - April and Irish: We were blessed to have a mother/daughter team of Clydesdale horses donated to us by Bob and Marianne Thiessen and Elvin and Jan Kopp.  Ernie and Linda Wiens donated room and board to the team as they adjusted to our Alberta winter. April is nine and pulls on the right, Irish is five and pulls on the left.  Since their arrival at camp we have been working on the solidification of their training.  They came from working in a team of six, so they are still adjusting to the partnership.  April, being older and the mother, is often more calm and level headed.  However she is pregnant and tends to slack on actually doing much of the work when pulling the wagon.  Irish on the other hand is more like a giant puppy than a horse.  She loves attention, has a ton of energy and does 80% of the work when pulling the wagon! Diesel: Diesel came to camp from horse brok...

I'm excited to say that things are beginning to move here at Camp Evergreen after a long winter.  It was starting to feel like spring would never arrive as we were frozen solid by the cold winter.  It is a little ironic that "they" are calling for snow again this week!  Oh well, we will survive.  What kind of things are moving you ask?  Let me be the first to tell you. We'll start with Courtney our Program Director.  Courtney has moved 240 feet (yes I measured) or 75.152 metres from her house (which isn't her house anymore) into the brown trailer (most recently Beth Anna's trailer, which was Kerry's trailer, which was...etc.)  We did a bit of sprucing up and with the help of our strong and talented staff moved her in just before the weekend.   When asked how her new place is, Courtney commented on how far it is from her bedroom to the living room.  For those of you who have been in both her homes you know what we're talking ...