A special program for young people with an interest in acquiring leadership skills, helping others, and contributing to a strong team!

   The NEST Program is for families with ninth and tenth grade young people who are interested in becoming camp counselors or exploring personal growth and leadership experiences.
   NEST is a two-year, progressive experiential education course designed to help young people develop their awareness and basic skills of camp leadership. NEST--Nurturing Experiences for Staff Trainees--was primarily created to produce well-rounded, thoughtful, caring and competent staff members with a broad range of human relation skills, outdoor education techniques, sports, games and camp programming ideas. It is also designed to be a benefit to young people regardless of their interest in camp counseling. 
   The issues raised throughout the course and the experiences encountered relate to a young person's life in the world at large, as well as in the microcosm of our camp community. 
   While not a prerequisite or a promise, most of our current staff members are graduates of this course.

The Eagle Phase is for campers entering ninth grade in the fall after camp. It is a four week program taken in either sessions 1&2 or sessions 3&4. The Junior Counselor Phase is the second summer of the program and is open to graduates of the Eagle Phase who are entering tenth grade in the fall. Junior Counselor candidates apply for a limited number of positions and attend at a special camp fee. 

The Eagle Phase
   Anyone entering ninth grade in the fall after camp (with some exceptions) may enroll in the four-week--two consecutive sessions--group experience in either the first or second half of our summer season.  The course has several components led by our Camp Director, Aquatics Director, Ropes Course facilitators and other key people from our regular camp staff.  These experiences are tied together by a specially trained counselor who acts as the Group Leader of the EAGLES. Enrollment is limited and done on a first-come, first-served basis by registering with the standard summer camp registration form.
   If taken in the first half of the summer, successful participants may return for one or two more sessions as Junior Staff Trainees (JSTs).  These young people are placed with camper groups to gain experience alongside the regular staff.  If the Eagle Phase of the program is taken in the second half of the summer, campers may attend our regular camp program as Hawks (our oldest camper group) for all or part of the first two sessions.

The Junior Counselor Phase
   The second year of the N.E.S.T. program is the Junior Counselor Phase.  EAGLE graduates who are entering tenth grade in the fall may register as Junior Counselors. Junior Counselors enroll for any number of sessions with a special Junior Counselor Application and Registration Packet and camp fee.  JCs attend certain pre-camp meetings in Mid-June along with our regular staff (dates TBA) and are rotated among different camper groups and specialty areas throughout the summer for a variety of experiences with different aged campers and activities.  JCs receive additional in-service training, evaluation and mentoring throughout the summer from their special advisor and others in our camp leadership.

Eagle Phase enrollees need to complete only the regular Summer Camp Registration Form, below.

Junior Counselor enrollees need to complete both the Junior Counselor Application and the Summer Camp Registration Forms, below.