Aga siiski, tänu kooliõpetaja Lisa Ross’i ettevaatlikule ettevalmistamisele (koos laagri kasvatajatega) said lapsed siiski nautida huvitavat tegevust. Sõlmede tegemine, puunikerdamine, toidu- ja seenteotsimine metsast ja vähipüümine Grand jõest andis lastele võimaluse õppida metsaelu. Ka said nad õppida kuidas tuld teha. Suured lapsed said nautida loomaliha praadi, tänu vabatahtlikule abilisele Lia Hessile. Laagri lapsed said ka jõel täispuhutavate ujukitega sõitu teha. Viimasel päeval said lapsed mängida “Amazing Race” teemalist mängu. Ka said laagrikasvandikud kasutada Seedrioru lasketiiru – see oli eriti põnev lastele, kes said esmakordselt seda teha. Seedrioru tänab Toronto Eesti Püssi- ja Püstolikubi liikmeid ja vabatahtlikuid, kes korraldasid turvalist laskmisõpetust lastele. Laagri kasvandikud ootavad põnevusega järgmise aasta laagrit, et saaksid seda jälle teha. Suur tänu TEPP abilistele laagri kolmandal nädalal: Markus Alliksaar, Margus Jukkum, Maarika Kull, Mati Raudsepp, Trevor Crossman, Burton Naylor, Toomas Merilo, Mark Merilo ja Toomas Aasa.
Viimasel laagripäeval tänati laagriabilisi. Kadri Munro ja Katti Otsa sõitsid iga päev Mississaugast kööki abiks. Ka aitasid köögis: Helga Del Castillo, Aleksa Del Castillo, Laine Nõmmik, Katriina Nõmmik-Sesztak ja Karen Must.
Seedrioru ka tänab meie laagri kasvatajaid. Täname meie vetelpäästjat, Marja-Leena Kiiki, kelle valve all oli ujumine ohutu. Mudilaste kasvatajad (Kaili Hilkawich, Tiiu Nõmmik, Carmen Poolakese ja Kaili West ja vabatahtlikud Hendrik Nõmmik ja Leikki Revesz) ---Seedrioru tänab teid meie noorimate kasvandikkude nimel. Mudilased nautisid laagrit väga; minu 4-aastane lapselaps teatas pärast esimest päeva, et tema kavatseb jääma Seedriorule elama! Eestist kasvataja Kristina Ojaperv korraldas väikeste laste gruppi; tema sai tuua Eestist mänge ja tegevust juurde meie laagrisse. Väikeste laste abikasvatajad Johanna Kiik ja Lexi Ross tõid energiliselt lastele toredaid mänge. Suurte laste kasvataja Häli Puust ja abi-kasvataja Sten Puust andsid suurtele lastele aktiivset tegevust, millest nemad ka ise osa said võtta. Seedrioru ka avaldas tänu laagrijuhatusele, kelle suurepärasel korraldusel sai koroonaviiruse ajal siiski päevalaagrit korraldada, samuti Eesti Sihtkapitalile Kanadas nende jätkuva toetuse eest. Kui tänud olid avaldatud, liikus kogu laagripere lipuväljakule, kuhu meie tulevik sammus rivis, turvalise omavahelise kaugusega. Kuigi koroonaviirus on ikka olemas, saime siiski tulla kohale, mängida ja sõpradega koos olla. Leian sõpru hulgana!
Mis tundus olema võimatu jaanuaris kui hakkasin laagriks ettevalmistusi tegema, oli ikkagi võimalik. Miks? Sest meie laagripere tuli kokku ja toetas meie laste laagritegevust. Südamlik tänu teile kõigile! Teie koostööga saime suure ettevõtte läbi viia.
Järgmise aastani, armas laagripere!
Karen Must
We came, we played… we survived SURVIVOR week!
Our usual survival week with the whole curriculum of living and surviving outdoors also had to be curtailed due to Covid19.
Axe throwing, building a fort and sleeping in it outside was not to be nor gazing at the constellations in the night sky.
But with the careful planning of teacher Lisa Ross and her amazing counsellors, they were able to provide fantastic outdoor activities. Everything from learning how to tie knots, whittling carrots and eventually wood, learning about the edible treats in the forests that are all around Seedrioru and don’t forget about the mushrooms! Even fishing for crayfish was on the agenda in case you ever lose your way and have to fend for yourself in the forest. They are now prepared!This was followed with each camper learning how to safely make a fire , make s’mores and the older children had an extra treat courtesy of volunteer Leila Hess, who treated them to a fabulous steak.
The whole camp also enjoyed a lazy tube down the Grand River the day after a spectacular thunderstorm and sailed down the river, and the next day using our built in “gravity” were able to do an epic slip and slide down the hill at the main hall!
The final day was packed full of activities like “The great amazing race challenge”, kayaking in the pool obstacle course and navigating the clues to find the treasure!!
And let us not of course forget shooting! For some campers it was their first time shooting and they were so excited! One camper got up extra early and told their parents that this was going to be the best day ever!
We want to thank the TEPP gun club and their volunteers for their excellent teaching of gun safety and skills to our campers.
It was an activity very much enjoyed by the campers and can’t wait to come back and shoot next year!
Many thanks to our TEPP volunteers for Week 3: Markus Alliksaar, Margus Jukkum, Maarika Kull, Mati Raudsepp, Trevor Crossman, Burton Naylork,Toomas Merilo, Mark Merilo, and Toomas Aasa.
At the end of the last day the whole camp came together to thank and be thankful.
Our thanks to Kadri Munro, Katti Otsa who went above and beyond and drove in every day from Mississauga to bring her expertise in camp cuisine and boy did we step up our game! Also thanks to Helga Del Castillo, Aleksa Del Castillo, Laine Nommik,
Katriina Nommik-Sesztak and Karen Must who came in through the week to help out!
We are so thankful and grateful to our excellent team of counsellors. They were so enthusiastic and their creativity and musicality was nothing short of amazing! Estonian youth rock!
Marja-Leena Kiik – our lifeguard: thank you so much for being so vigilant and keeping us all safe and aware in and around the pool!
Toddler group counsellors: we can’t thank you ;enough of making it work for our youngest campers: Kaili Hilkawich, Tiiu Nommik, Carmen Poolakese and Kaili West, and volunteers Hendrik Nommik and Leikki Revesz- you were amazing! A good time was had by all and my 4 year old grandson Sander his first time at camp -after day 1 of camp announced that he was staying here forever and was going to live at Seedrioru!
Kristina Ojaperv, counsellor of the younger children’s group (from Estonia) brought Estonian games and activities from her childhood to our roster of activities. Her ever talented artistic team of assistant counsellors Johanna Kiik and Lexi Ross were treasure troves of activities and creativity! Their enthusiasm was heartwarming and made every activity seem so fun and achievable!
Finally the older children’s counsellor, Hali Puust and assistant counsellor Sten Puust kept the older children involved and moving from activity to activity and were there to keep them on track and motivated, modeling and doing the activities themselves! Great leadership skills!!! Special thanks went to Estonian Foundation of Canada for their continued support.
After all the thanks were delivered including the hardest working board of directors around we as a community went to the flagpole for the final lowering of the flag.
We walked down to the flagpole, and a few tears were shed seeing the row of children single file, socially distanced… the future.
Despite Covid19 we were here. We came, we played, we found our friends again.
Leian sõpru hulgana!
When what seemed impossible when I started to plan camp in January 2021… was possible.
WHY? Because the village came, showed up, and supported the camp for the children. Our kids. My heartfelt thanks to you all!
We do great things when we do them together. Until next year village!!!
Karen Must
