The 60th summer of camps at Evans Lake is going to be unique, but not in the way its executive director Lauren Marghetti had envisioned.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed May 26 that overnight kids' camps will not be allowed this summer in B.C.
Most other provincial governments have made the same decision. Only PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland are planning to open up for overnight camping.
Squamish's Evans Lake Forest Education Society typically offers various summer camps for youth between the ages of eight and 16 years old. They also provide year-round outdoor education trip options and host events and weddings.
Evans Lake was one of the summer camps that, with the British Columbia Camps Association, took a 30-page proposal to Henry for what summer camps could look like, with overnight stays in the age of COVID-19, but that was ultimately not the way the provincial health officer went.
"While we support measures to combat this pandemic to keep children safe, we also know that hearts break with every closure, and with every reduction in programming. There will be missed first experiences, and missed first jobs. Young people won’t have the chance to connect with others, many of whom they haven’t seen since last summer," reads the association's website.
Evan's Lake camp has lost 36 group bookings due to COVID, leaving thousands of kids unable to attend overnight camp.
They also lost four wedding bookings.
Having to cancel overnight camps has been painful, Marghetti said.
Her history with Evans Lake camp began when she was a young camper.
She came with her school group when she was in Grade 4 and then continued going back, eventually becoming a member of the staff moving up in the ranks for a decade. She then left and got a business degree, travelled and took other jobs, but when the executive director role came up nine years ago, she jumped at it.
"Our baby is summer camp. That is what we all live for every year," she said. "I don't know summer without Evans Lake so switching on our 60th anniversary of doing camps to day camps is mind-blowing."
The celebrations planned for the anniversary have been put on hold, of course, due to the pandemic.
She stressed that she is excited about what they are going to be able to offer with day camps, even if it isn't the full under-the-stars camp experience.
"I am excited that we will still have opportunities to have kids onsite and our staff working with them and showing them everything that is really cool about camp."
They will still have campfires and go hiking, for example.
The day camps will have COVID-19 protocols in place such as keeping the kids to small pods, rather than big groups.
But Marghetti said she feels bad for the kids who live further away and who have come every year for the nightly camps, but won't be able to swing it this year.
And the order not to have overnight camps for kids doesn't have an expiry date.
"So we are just in a waiting game to see once schools open up or we move to Phase 3, or we move beyond that, what that means for the overnight world," she said.
The camp has survived with the help of the government wage subsidy and has applied for a loan.
"We are just pulling together all sorts of resources just to keep going," Marghetti said.
"Right now we are just looking at the next few months and then keep looking for funding sources."
Marghetti said that as part of the British Columbia Camps Association, she worries most about how other less-established camps are going to weather this COVID-19 storm.
She guesses that some of them may not make it.
"They all operate with really, really tight and small budgets. There's not a whole lot left over for anything else. It is going to be very, very challenging for many camps in B.C."
In terms of the Cheakamus Centre and its activities, Lisa Dalla Vecchia, communications manager for the North Vancouver School District, said that in light of COVID-19 and the orders in place limiting gatherings to less than 50 people and restricting overnight summer camps for youth or school-aged children, any external summer camp bookings with the Cheakamus Centre have been cancelled.
"At this time, all group rentals; events, such as overnight field trips and outdoor education lessons; and volunteering activities will remain suspended through the summer," she said.
The Cheakamus Centre does remain operational, with a reduced staff and restricted campus access.
"As we move forward and make decisions while adhering to the direction of the provincial health officer, the health and safety of our user group community, volunteers and staff continues to be our top priority," she added. "We continue to closely monitor the constantly changing dynamic brought about by COVID-19, and we will continue to provide updates on our website."
Camp Summit was unable to reply to The Chief's request for comment by press deadline, but its website states that it will be unable to offer camps this summer due to the COVID restrictions.
