Last week the National Conference for the Christian Camp & Conference Association invited me and Martha Snyder, of Idyllwild Pines Camp and Conference Center, to give a presentation Camp Master Planning. And get this, it’s in San Diego, California from December 3-6th. Yup, that’s right. This Portland girl’s 31st Birthday just might be sunny and warm for the first time in 31 years!
Martha, and I are very excited to share the story of Idyllwild Pines’ master planning makeover. Idyllwild has gone through a huge shift in the past three years and it shows in their mission, in their staff, in their programming, in their facilities, in their fund raising success… It shows all the way down to the reviews from returning campers. We love sharing this story and the lessons we learned along the way about dreaming big, creating a vision and then a plan and then taking action one little step at a time.
I am particularly excited because the National Conference has asked us to make our presentation interactive. There are so many lessons we could help camp leaders apply to their own camps in this session. The question is where to begin. What is the most important skill for managing your camp facilities and natural assets so that they best support your mission?
I think it’s getting a new set of designer eyes. Having the ability to step out of your camp bubble and see it from new angles allows you to understand the big picture of how your camp works by letting go of the daily details of running camp.
How do we teach people to see camp through the eyes of a designer? It may involve a lesson in drawing site assesment diagrams. It definitely involves a campfire skit!
Want to hear our story? Want some new designer eyes?
Come to to San Diego this December! And bring some Birthday Cake.
Jaime English is the founder of Kahoots. She has worked with GreenWorks, an award-winning firm in Portland, and The Atelier Dreiseitl in Germany.