Tag Archives: Camping

Camp Olave Adventures!

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It is hard to believe that it is already the end of another Guiding year! To celebrate, the 1st Sparks recently went to one of our favourite camps, Camp Olave!

The group stayed at the waterfront cabin, Brock. It was the first camp for every single Spark who attended, and they all did great! The camp was an “Under the Sea” theme. The Sparks mentioned that their highlights included the beach time and low ropes. There was a campfire ban so they couldn’t have a campfire, but they did make oven s’mores. They also travelled with fellow Burnaby Mountain group, the 47th Sparks/Embers and spent some time with them on Saturday night. 

They also did crafts, including making a wind chime. They got to take advantage of all of the fun attractions that Camp Olave has to offer, including the blind trail, the fitness circuit, and the enchanted forest. They enjoyed exploring the nature house. 

The Sparks got really lucky with the weather since the forecast had a high chance of rain. It was dry all weekend, if mostly overcast, but magically the couple of hours of nice sunshine happened while they were at the beach! 

We are so glad that we are able to go to Camp Olave again! Have a wonderful summer, everyone!

Camp SPARKLE

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This fall, Guiding in Burnaby Mountain has been in full swing, with Units and members across the District participating in fun adventures and new activities.

Our members are very excited about the fact that we can go camping again! Recently, Spark members in the District had the opportunity to get ready to go camping and practice their camping skills at a District-wide SPARKLE event, held at Robert Burnaby Park this October.

SPARKLE was a Province-wide event held for our BC Sparks! Organized by the BC Camping Committee, members from across the Province had the chance to sign up for a SPARKLE camp kit. Our older youth members, Rangers, developed their leadership skills by helping to plan the activities and run stations. The kits were full of fun activities for Spark members to learn all about camping. Spark members across the Province participated in the same activities throughout the weekend – how cool is that?

At SPARKLE, our Burnaby Mountain Sparks had the chance to learn how to put up a tent (shaped like a unicorn, of course!), practice their First Aid skills, and discuss the hiking essentials that they should bring outdoors. They also learned about Hug a Tree, and what they should do if they are lost in the woods.

All of our Units are planning exciting activities throughout the year. Some of our Units still have spaces for members to join! If you would like to join our adventures, find us on the Girl Guide Unit finder at https://register.girlguides.ca/web/en/unit-search and register now!

Wonderful Winter Camp

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Guides from Burnaby Mountain district recently braved the snowy weather for an amazing winter camp experience at Guiding’s own Hollyburn chalet.

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This is a camp that takes lots of preparation. From planning on having the right supplies, knowing what to pack, making sure you have appropriate food… it is a big undertaking and it was fun getting the girls involved in the planning process.

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Hiking into Hollyburn is not an easy trek. But these girls did a great job! It was so exciting to be at camp with friends, especially with SO MUCH snow. Still, it was nice to relax inside with a cozy woodstove fire to keep warm.

The group took advantage of the snowy opportunities with activities like tobogganing, snowball fights, and snowshoe hiking. They also enjoyed camp cooking and skills and adapted camp traditions like making oohy gooey indoor s’mores.

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Winter camping is an experience like no other and a great memory for these girls of their time in Guides. These are experiences that last a lifetime!

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In a few short months camp will involve swimsuits and the beach… it’s funny how different our camps can be here on the wild west coast. One constant though is the company of fantastic friends.

Brownie Fairies, Unicorns & Rainbows Camp

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Our 54th Brownies, plus Brownies from the 27th Guiding unit, recently enjoyed a weekend at lovely Camp Olave, staying at the Nawilak site. The girls took the lead choosing the theme for camp and collaboratively agreed on Fairies, Unicorns & Rainbows — this is a theme sure to be magical and colourful!

The Brownies unleashed their creativity with crafts related to the theme like personalized place mats and adorable fairy houses.

The girls were especially proud of the fairy houses. They each got to bring home their own wind chime, excited to hear it tinkling with fairy magic in the window at home.

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It was a beautiful weekend for outdoor activities as well! Girls had a great time swimming, doing low ropes, blind trail, and more. Camp Olave’s waterfront is amazing!

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The girls got to join some of Burnaby Mountain’s Guides for campfire as they were camping there that same weekend. Camp is one of the best parts of the year and these Brownies celebrated all their excellent memories together.

 

Guide Camp with Tie Dye!

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Last weekend the 24th Burnaby Mountain Guides went to camp at beautiful Camp Olave, staying at the Kutawa site. A lot of fun was had by all, and one of the highlights of camp was getting the chance to make groovy tie dye t-shirts!

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The girls got to be creative, tying and dying their shirts according to their own imaginations. Some used lots of the colour, others took a more minimalist approach. All of the results were gorgeous! This crafty group also did some beaded crafts as well. Camp is a great time get creative.

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In addition to these activities, the girls did some classic camp things like swimming and campfire. Check out the girls sporting their freshly dyed shirts at archery and beach combing!

Other fun moments were during an Iron Chef-style cooking competition and a wonderful campfire. It sounds like such a nice weekend and a great way to wrap up the Guiding year. Other Burnaby Mountain units were camping the same weekend, so stay tuned as we may feature posts from their June camping adventures as well.

Camp Blankets

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Recently, the 49th Guiders decided to use some of the girls’ hard earned cookie money to get camp blankets for each girl as a year end gift. This was just on time for the girls to bring their new blankets to camp.59533105_362280671160807_7263286084086267904_n.jpg

Camp blankets are a fun Girl Guide tradition that allows girls to sew their various crests onto the blanket as a momento. These blankets are great to stay warm around a campfire or as an extra bit of warmth while sleeping at camp. Many girls have blankets they’ve been working on for years filled with memories of their different Guiding camps, challenges, and adventures.

The 49th Guides got crests with the first letter of each girl’s name and sewed them on for them. This means there’s no way for them to get confused with who’s blanket is who’s! Together, they practiced sewing on some badges! Practicing their hand sewing skills fit into the “how to” badge, which is a cool way to incorporate program.

What a great idea! These girls all now have a camp blanket that they can keep working on for the rest of their time in Guiding — many adult Guiders even keep up the camp blanket tradition!

Sparks Fairy Camp

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Last month the 1st and 2nd Sparks in Burnaby Mountain District went to camp together at beautiful Camp Olave on the sunshine coast. Their two-night camp used the theme “Fairies and Friends” and the girls had a magical, friendly time!

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Some of the best parts of camp were taking advantage of the wonderful camp facilities at Olave. The girls loved the teamwork exercises at the low ropes course. They challenged themselves to swing, balance, and more with the support of their friends. There was much laughter and fun.

The blind trail is also a favourite for the Sparks. They take turns guiding a partner through the tail. The partner can choose to close their eyes or find another creative way to become blind — some girls even put on their jackets backwards and hid their faces behind their hoods!

Fairy activities included some awesome crafts. These girls love to make things! The Sparks made little fairy houses to put into the enchanted forest. They also made fairy lamps. They all looked great.

They really lucked out with decent weather on a weekend that was not forecast in their favour. Even though it was too early in the season to swim in the ocean, it was still great to take a walk on the beach. It was a very fun weekend.

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The girls are really excited to come back to camp next year.

Pathfinders at Lighthouse Park

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This January, the 14th Pathfinders went camping at Lighthouse Park. The Phyl Munday nature house is operated by Girl Guides in West Vancouver and is an optimal place for Friday night sleepovers, close to the city but steeped in nature.

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The girls planned everything from meals of rainbow pancakes to exciting nature activities and it was a great success! These all-weather girls enjoyed a crisp cool January weekend, exploring the forest and sea side with great enthusiasm.

They had a great time exploring the beautiful surroundings on night hikes, day treks, and geocaching. There are lots of geocaches in the area, making it a great activity for girls interested in trying out that exciting world of technology assisted community scavenger hunting.

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What a weekend! In addition to all this fun, it was a great chance for girls to practice camping in cooler weather — although they slept indoors, the old army hut that the nature house has been converted from does get very chilly in the winter months. They spent most of their time outdoors and having a great time together.

District Spark/Brownie Sleepover

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This past weekend, girls from all five Spark and Brownie units in Burnaby Mountain District gathered at Camp Capilano in North Vancouver for a really fun sleepover.

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One highlight of the sleepover was the special guests for the Vancouver Aquarium. Staff from their mobile outreach program turned Camp Capilano into an AquaZone, including live inter-tidal animals and other interactive display items.

The aquarium staff were super engaging and the girls learned a lot about marine life. They also chatted with the girls about the importance of protecting our oceans and some things we can all do to help keep our waters safe and clean for aquatic life.

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The mobile outreach program was a great way to let our girls learn about the ocean in a program specifically designed to work well for them. Older girls in the district can look forward to having their own way to connect with the Vancouver Aquarium later this year — stay tuned!

Sparks and Brownies also got the chance to tap into their artistic side by decorating masks. The leaders were really impressed by their efforts! Girls did such a great job using the paints, jewels, feathers, and other decorations to create awesome masks. They turned out so well.

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Masks are fun at all time of year, but especially with Halloween coming up it seemed like a great time to embrace pretend play.

A sleepover is a great way to start introducing camp skills, and these girls loved the chance to have a real campfire (with s’mores!) outside. Camp food was also a big hit.

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Also very impressive is how well all of the girls did at this sleepover. There were no tears, and no problems getting to bed or packing up in the morning. You’d never have guessed that this was the very first sleepover for many of these girls. Great job!

Thank you to all the adults who made this happen, especially the amazing Vancouver Aquarium staff!

Fall Guide Camp

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Last weekend some of our Guide units enjoyed beautiful autumn weather at fun-filled fall camps. The 22nd Guides had a great time at Camp McLanlin in Abbotsford.

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The girls combined the themes of camp skills and holidays, and managed to complete the BC Girl Guides Fall Camping Challenge.

Each patrol decorated their hut to suit the assigned holiday: Easter, Christmas, or Halloween. Other holiday activities included a trick (dare) or treat game, a flashlight Easter egg hunt, and a Christmasey singalong with chocolate mint s’mores.

Other more traditional camp activities included making bird feeders and camp pillows, lighting a fire three ways, and archery.

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Girls also got to do a lot of camp cooking, including assembling pizzas for dinner, cooking pancakes for breakfast.

The weather was beautiful — even if it was pretty cold in the morning! What a great way to kick off fall and learn camp skills and while having silly fun with friends.