2025 Eco Stewardship Service-Learning
Camp Ondessonk is proud to highlight the contributions of our Lodge Campers during their Summer 2025 Eco Stewardship Service-Learning experience and the ways they supported Camp Ondessonk’s 10-Year Forest Management Plan (FMP). This experience offered authentic, place-based learning, profoundly connecting campers to Camp Ondessonk’s unique natural spaces through meaningful service and structured reflection.
Lodge Campers actively participated in direct engagement with Camp’s landscape through two key projects. For Glade Restoration, they performed “swamping” – the manual clearing of felled woody invasive species, such as Eastern Red Cedars and Winged Elms, in an overgrown historic remnant glade between Durbin’s Barn and Kane Lake. This critical work allowed sunlight to once again reach the ground, enhancing habitat for unique plants and wildlife, including the rare Eastern Small-footed Myotis (a tiny, adorable bat that may once have called the area home). Concurrently, campers undertook Japanese Stiltgrass Management along Camp’s popular hiking and mountain bike trails, meticulously hand-pulling this aggressive invasive plant to prevent its overwhelming impact on native species and ecosystem functions.
These Lodge Campers’ hands-on efforts directly contributed to Camp Ondessonk’s land management initiatives, which aim to restore ecosystem balance, enhance biodiversity, promote forest health, and ensure long-term sustainability by combating invasive species and supporting native habitats.
Beyond the ecological impact, their experiences fostered significant character development. Campers expressed empowerment from “pitching in and actually making a difference” as well as realizing “just how satisfying hard work is.” They cultivated resilience despite the physical demands, recognizing that “no matter the blood, sweat, tears, and cactus prickles, whatever happens, it’s all worth it in the end.” The importance of teamwork was clear, with reflections noting how “many hands will make light work” and the need to “lean on the people around you.” Most powerfully, their direct connection to Camp’s natural environments cultivated a strong sense of purpose and legacy. These campers expressed envisioning a future where “tiny bats get a new home,” and shared “I hope that when I’m a unit leader, I can take my unit here, and we can enjoy the Glade together as it was 300 years ago.” This authentic service experience cultivated personal growth and a deeper connection to Camp’s environmental mission.
