A few days into the second session, I stopped by a cabin where none of the girls knew each other before camp started. One camper was teaching another how to finger knit. The two of them were just sitting on their bunks, quietly hanging out. Then the counselor pulled up a seat and asked if she could learn too. Then another camper joined. Then another.
Within a few minutes, the whole cabin was tangled up in yarn, making the funniest creations and laughing so hard I could hear them from outside.
Nobody assigned that. Nobody scheduled it.
By the time I walked away, I had a feeling that the cabin was going to be tied together for the rest of the summer. (Pun intended)
That moment wasn’t planned. But the dynamics in the cabin that made it possible wasn’t an accident. A group of girls who feel comfortable enough to be silly together doesn’t just happen. It gets built, one small moment at a time.
That’s what I’ve found myself thinking about as we’ve settled into second session: how much belonging at Birch Trail is built deliberately.
That deliberateness comes out in the way counselors learn a camper’s name and something she cares about before she even arrives, so her first interaction here is personal. It’s in cabin conversations designed to help girls get to know one another and for us to notice who’s still looking for her people. It’s in how we respond to homesickness. We don’t rush to make the feeling disappear. We stay close, encourage her, and help her discover she’s capable of getting through it.
None of that happens by just hoping it will. Our staff is trained to create belonging. We talk about it throughout the summer, and we regularly check in on the campers who may still be searching for where they fit. Belonging isn’t something we assume will happen on its own. It’s something we intentionally work to build with every cabin and every camper.
And when it takes hold, so much becomes possible.
A camper who knows she belongs is more willing to try something she’s never done before, like heading to the climbing wall because the instructors remembers and welcomes her, or following her counselor to fishing because she has already become a role model. A camper who knows she belongs is more willing to introduce herself to someone new, have a hard conversation after a disagreement, or stick with a difficult day instead of deciding the whole summer is ruined. Belonging doesn’t mean everything works out perfectly. It means a camper knows there are friends and counselors who are genuinely glad she’s here. That kind of community gives girls the confidence to take healthy risks, recover from setbacks, and discover they’re capable of more than they imagined.
A week into the session, we’re already seeing it. The friendships are growing. Campers who arrived a few days ago as strangers are now friends. Cabins are beginning to sound different. The laughter is louder. The inside jokes are starting. Camp is beginning to feel like home.
We don’t know exactly what the rest of the session will bring. There will be incredible moments, and there will be hard ones too. That’s part of camp. But we do know what we’re working toward: making sure every camper leaves knowing this is a place where she belongs.
Happy Trails,
Todd
