After a successful summer in 2024 of running boys and girls camp simultaneously, we decided to do it again with joint lake time, meals, and camp wide games. We also made sure to include ample time for individual programs to bond during out trips, skill building, beach day, hiking, and much more! Our many other programs, including our new 20s/30s camp brought great joy. Continue reading for a summary of our 2025 summer.
At the Work Party we had many wonderful volunteers including a handful that were new to camp. Highlights include building benches in the Wash House shower area, assembling two new Adirondack chairs, and prepping wood for 2 new picnic tables – which were quite handy by the lake all summer long. Not to mention all the cleaning and dusting that takes place each year. Thank you to everyone’s efforts!
For Women’s Weekend we added an extra day for the weekend’s activities. With 18 participants, we made journals, went e-biking , sea-kayaking, and had inspiring conversations led by our Christian Science Practitioner and Nurse for the weekend.
During staff training, the counsellors worked hard to develop a strong team and leadership skills while learning the ropes of camp activities – practicing camp song leading, duties, camper bedtime routines, waterfront safety, backpacking etiquette and more.. The staff also volunteered a few hours for two non-profits on Bowen Island.
This year, youth programming was defined by our ocean based out trips. The Juniors and Senior campers had the opportunity to canoe or kayak to a beach campground. We joined a multitude of ocean life on these trips – including sea cucumbers, rock fish, sea stars, kelp crabs, jellyfish, playful porpoises, and breaching humpback whales. It was wonderful to take advantage of the beautiful ocean in our backyard.
Junior boys were split into tents 2 and 3 for an adventurous two weeks. With experienced staff and great campers – this session was awesome. One highlight was a low ropes adventure led by aliens who had borrowed the rocket launcher to get back to space. Another was our beach time on the out trip – the boys absolutely loved the unstructured exploration time! The Junior boys also loved having the girls present for extra fun lake time activities like rock the raft and playing volleyball non-stop.
Junior girls split into tents 4, 5, and 6, and formed a sisterly-bond that took them on amazing adventures through Bowen Island’s forest, lakes and the ocean. The girls showed great leadership and collaboration when they were given the opportunity to plan the morning activity for the women’s staff. The junior girls chose to put on a game of clue and dressed up as characters while the staff who were the campers ran around to figure out who stole Vanessa’s crocs! The girls loved this and other theme days our staff planned for them. They also enjoyed playing evening games with the boys and sharing meals together.
The Senior Girls were the first to go on the out trip, paddling to a scenic ocean-side campsite at Sechelt inlet. The girls persevered through rough waters while praying and burst-out singing hymns and Disney songs. Some of the girls dove for sea-cucumbers to bring back to our campsite and enjoy them fried with some lemon (they were delicious). This trip and additional adventures on Bowen gave Senior Girls many opportunities to challenge themselves, have meaningful conversations, and connect their study of Christian Science to daily life.
For Senior Boys, this was the largest Senior Boys session since 2019. The Out trip was all time with a great campsite, good weather, and fun food foraging. Many of the boys dove in the ocean to collect sea cucumbers and others went fishing for rock fish, both which we enjoyed with our dinner. Another highlight of the session was the leap of faith, a high ropes element where the climber leaps off of a platform for a suspended trapeze bar. It was wonderful to see the camper’s progress. Some that had only climbed part way up earlier in the session scrambled to the top, and with encouragement from campers and staff, made the leap! Playing camp wide games with girls camp was also a highlight.
Skills Week campers had the choice between mountain biking, or a combination of rock climbing and canyoning. Canyoning is a new program offering for us, and all had a wonderful time getting outside of their comfort zones to complete the pool jumps and waterfall rappels. Mountain bikers had a fantastic time and it was marvellous to see their improvement. One trail that took the campers all day on the first day of riding was completed in a few hours on the last day in the afternoon. There were also lots of delicious thimble berries to eat trail-side!
In both June and August Family Camps, it was wonderful to welcome back several alumni who brought their spouses and children to camp for the first time. At Family Camp I we hosted 18 people for a tight knit program spent at the lake, the ropes course, beach, and on trails. We loved having several small children around who were experiencing camp magic for the first time.
At Family Camp 2, we used all of our accommodations and had additional camping tents to host our 42 guests. We had a wide array of ages and a third of them who were new to Camp Bow-Isle. Ultimate frisbee and kayak polo were full every morning before breakfast and to accommodate this many guests, we had two lesson studies each day. One of our favourite moments from the week was cramming everyone into the extension on the last morning to share gratitude from the week.
Our new 20s/30s Camp, designed to connect with our alumni and to offer a camp option for this age-group was so memorable. With 12 participants, two staff, a Christian Science Nurse, a Christian Science Practitioner and both directors, we headed out on an out-trip in Squamish. Everyone laughed a lot, pushed themselves physically, grew spiritually, and had the adventure of a lifetime. This was a big hike, but one that everyone was grateful to have done with the group that was there.
Men’s Weekend included a spiritual talk followed by some M cubed time (which stands for manly meditation moments – simply time spent in quiet prayer and contemplation). We also e-biked, played ultimate frisbee, sang songs at the camp fire, and took a sausage making course with a local butcher. Next year men’s weekend will take place at the end of August and will include an extra day of programming – similar to Women’s Weekend.
We really couldn’t run all of our programs without so much support from the board, Guild members, cooks, merlins, camper parents and grandparents, branch churches, donors, and camp counsellors. We had an incredible staff this year. They give a lot and we love them for it. One of our counsellors shared – “I have had the Summer of my life, filled with joy, spiritual growth, fun, and giving. The love I have felt here at camp is unlike any I have felt before at other camps.”
