Transcription of Garth Altenburg for the show Camps #134
Dr. Lisa: Summer camp season is soon upon us and today, we have with us Garth Altenburg. Garth Altenburg is the Boys Camp Director at Camp Chewonki. He began at Camp Chewonki in 1988 when he was 15. After serving as counselor, trip leader, and assistant director, in 2005, he became the director. Garth served as the President of the Maine Summer Camps Board from 2009 to 2013.
He and his wife, Heather, have three children: William, Benjamin, and Phoebe. Will and Ben are currently Camp Chewonki campers, and from what I understand, Phoebe is going to be going to summer camp as well. Is that not true?
Garth: That is right. Her first summer this year. She’ll be eight. We’re very excited for her.
Dr. Lisa: Thanks for coming in and talking to us about summer camps, Garth.
Garth: Certainly. It’s a pleasure.
Dr. Lisa: Garth, you’ve been with Camp Chewonki for a very long time. What got you interested in the first place?
Garth: It’s sort of a roundabout story. The town I grew up in Cape Elizabeth sends their sixth grade to Chewonki for a week of environmental education each spring. They started that tradition in the sixth grade when I was in seventh grade, so I missed it by a year. I am certainly familiar with the Chewonki Program from my younger siblings who went, and there were some people in my neighborhood who were strong advocates for the program.
My summers were spent delivering newspapers, and mowing lawns, and earn a little extra money, and I was attending a two-week camp over in New Hampshire each year when I was 11, 12, and 13. I was familiar with camps and enjoyed the experience but didn’t necessarily loved it. Someone in my neighborhood ran the camp where my daughter will be going this summer, and they had a seven-week coed backpacking expedition on the Appalachian Trail which I did when I was 14.
It changed my world. It really did. It opened up the whole new experience for me. That journey from Mt. Katahdin to Mt. Washington over those seven weeks. To this day, it stands out as one of the most pivotal experiences in my life both for the journey itself, but also for the developmental growth that I experienced. I was about to enter high school. It was a coed trip, and it was just such a powerful experience to have that peers, my peer group on that trip be a coed group and the girls be just as strong friends for me as the boys in that group. We were all carrying heavy packs. We’re all hiking the same miles every day.
It’s just a really informative and powerful experience for me. I really, really enjoyed that and I went to the directors of the camp and said, “I’d like a similar experience. What else would you recommend?” They said, “How about Chewonki?” Again, I was familiar with Chewonki through the schools, through the Cape School Program, and ended up going on a five-week canoe expedition off to Northern Quebec when I was 15. We had a Cree American, Native American guide with us.
That was just, again, another fantastic journey. Both the adventure, sense of adventure in its own right was powerful. The sense of leaving my home community to go see the world and as to go see the world was powerful, and then the group dynamic. Again, people that I am still friends with to this day because of the journey we experienced in Northern Quebec now or 25 years ago.
That experience led me to work at Chewonki the next summer as a young junior counselor, as a 16-year-old, and it was through my work as a counselor through many, many summers where I realized I really enjoy working with children. That led me to become an education major in college. Right out of college, I taught middle school here in Maine for ten years, but all the time I stayed involved with camping.
Most summers returning to Chewonki in some leadership capacity and continued to grow that leadership over the years until in 2005, my predecessor stepped aside and I stepped in as the director. I just saw that as the opportunity of a lifetime, and that’s something that sure to my own parents, Chewonki has been probably the most significant developmental opportunity in my life. It just has really influenced who I am, and how I look at the world, and how I raise my own children. It’s just an honor to be working there today and carrying on the tradition.
Dr. Lisa: Tell me about some of the ways on which you’ve been shaped by Chewonki, the way that you look at the world and the way that you raise your children.
Garth: There is an inherent goodness in all of us, and I think camping really helps bring that out for each child. There are high expectations for camps today, and there are many, many, many competing opportunities for children and for their summertime. We have a large responsibility at a camp but when I raise my children, it’s with the goal in mind that they have a passion for life, that they develop or continually develop independence, and that’s a long progression through raising children, and that they are contributing members to society in some way.
I think of my parenting as being one pillar in that development for them. I think of their time at school as being another pillar in that development for them, but the real essential piece, I think, is the time at camp and the independence they have to be away from the watchful caring eyes of their parents so they can really make their own choices and experiences success and challenges away from the safety net of their parents, but that took a little while to develop and realize both as a parent but also as a teacher, as a camp counselor myself.
Dr. Lisa: Many people start sending their children to camp when they’re very young, and I know you’re going to be sending your daughter to camp and she’s fairly young. In your case though, as you said, you were delivering papers and you were mowing lawns, and you were already developing a sense of independence. Is this something that your parents thought was important prior to you even beginning camp?
Garth: Yeah. I should ask them why they chose that for my siblings and I because we all went to camp. It necessarily wasn’t in my parents’ background that I am aware of but I think they did think broadly for us, and I think they had high goals for us. They were professionals. They were working hard all summer, and I think they saw it as a way for us to really gain some independence, to gain some friends with a different perspective from the cocoon of Southern Maine that we were living in, and just to have some really, really wonderful, powerful experiences with new friends, new places, and new skills.
They worked hard to make it happen, to sacrifice for that but I think again, they knew and this is what I share with our parents as well. It really is a gift that we can give our children that we can’t provide for them directly as parents in our day-to-day lives. Our children are going to react a certain way to us because we’re their parents, we’re always there for them.
I love being a fly in the wall and watching my boys at camp interact with their peers, interact with their counselors in a very different way than they do at home with us. Their confidence is growing daily. Their ability to cope and adjust is growing daily because they’re stepping out in their comfort zone. Something that is very familiar to them now but they are stepping out of their comfort zone.
Dr. Lisa: Tell me about Camp Chewonki. What is it about Camp Chewonki that is special and as you’ve eluded to, sending, getting people from all over the state, getting students from all over the state to be involved in environmental education programs at the middle school level?
Garth: One of the exciting things is that we have campers and students from all over the world. About 10% of our camp population is global. My son’s best friend is from Barcelona, Spain, and they are trading letters all winter long. That’s a neat little byproduct. He’s developing literacy and letter writing with his friend from Barcelona.
Having served as the Board and President of Maine Summer Camps, I get to see so many different camps and they all have their unique culture and element to it. I think, Chewonki has managed to stay special and really one of a kind simply because we’re very authentic in getting kids to make their own fun, they use their own hands to do what they can. We don’t bring in a lot of outside entertainment. We don’t bring in a lot of fabricated fun. We really are doing it in our own way.
Most camps are going to say that they are hoping children grow. They grow uniquely and individually while they are at camp because they are challenged, that they develop a sense of community and appreciation for that community, and that’s certainly what we’re striving for at Chewonki. I think that something that’s very different at Chewonki than most of the other camps is really our focus on the natural world and the outdoors, and getting kids really excited about that.
My children, despite my best efforts, are plugged in most of the year but they come to Chewonki and they leave those devices at home. They’re happy to because Chewonki is a huge community. It’s a huge playground for them. It’s a huge old-fashioned neighborhood where everybody comes out of their front door and is interacting with each other in a real community way. We have a fully organic farm that the kids get involve with, and every summer, I see a handful of boys just really gravitate towards this farm as their place where they are just so comfortable.
Often times, they are urban boys. They live in the city, and this is the piece up there, the quiet, and there is the stillness and the rhythms of the farm life I think really resonates in a unique way for them. They’re getting up early in the morning on their own accord to help with farm chores be it milking a cow, or weeding the gardens, or feeding the animals.
We also offer early morning bird walks. Boys are choosing to get out of bed, again, at the crack of dawn. They go out and look for birds with binoculars. Part of that is because we have really enthusiastic teachers but part of it is they know there is something bigger going on in the world around them. We’ve been closed off to it because we’ve built up a busy life with devices but they know in their hearts, there are some really cool things going on around them. The first sighting of an osprey diving for a fish just ignites something within them.
We have really good teachers getting kids excited about the outdoors in a real hands-on way. That’s what, I think, helps Chewonki distinguish itself from all the many, many fine camps that are out there. Getting kids in the outdoors, learning to do things in a hands-on way, developing a passion for the wilderness and the natural world through some really gifted teachers.
Because we operate 12 months out of the year, we are develop some expertise in these areas, expertise in our teachings at the farm. Expertise in our teachings about the natural world, expertise in how we live and travel throughout the wilderness, ways to be good to the wilderness while we travel, to leave no trace in our camping and in our travels, but at the same time, be really skilled and comfortable in the wilderness, and kids will come home from their time in the wilderness and share this with their families, and they are always impressed.
I think that’s another unique and distinguishing characteristic of what we do. Every child who is with us in the summertime goes on some type of wilderness journey or expedition. Even our very youngest campers, eight years old, with us for ten days, they are going to spend a night out in the tent in the woods cooking over a campfire and a tent that they set up with their peers, and a meal they help prepare with our counselors. They have some type of wilderness travel, some type of wilderness journey, backpacking out to their campsite or canoeing around the peninsula.
Again, it’s that sense of they’re part of a larger world and they can interact with it, and hopefully develop a sense of appreciation and stewardship for this world. That is something that we need to be cultivating in our present generation for the future. I think that is something we’re doing really well at Chewonki.
Dr. Lisa: Define stewardship for me. This is a word that I am familiar with but I am not sure if everybody who is listening might know.
Garth: We have one planet. We have one earth, and we need to take care of it. Stewardship really is, if not outright preserving the land, thinking about the best ways to treat it, care for it, and be thoughtful about your impact upon the land. Sometimes, it might be through direct conservation means. Other times, it might be through education, just about how to be good owners and caretakers, stewards of our planet if you will, or own community. Really developing a sense of we have one planet and let’s do our part to take good care of it whether it’s immediately in our own backyard or through larger conservation and education movements.
Dr. Lisa: You chose to be a middle school teacher. What was your subject?
Garth: I taught seventh grade Pre-Algebra and eighth grade American History. Partly through the approach that middle school teachers need to be able to jump into a couple of different disciplines that sort of fit with the middle school model and that was really fun to be able to teach two very different disciplines.
The middle school model was really to connect with the whole child at that point and their development over time, and that really entice closely in the camp, as well as you’re really interested in not having the child specialize in one specific activity although if they are interested in woodworking, or want to become an exceptional sailor, or really want to develop their archery skills, yes, we want that to happen with quality instruction but at camp, we want our campers to experience so many things from technical activities, skill, and growth, and accomplishment.
Again, becoming a strong sailor is a lifetime skill and passion that can be learned at camp but we also want the character development to be there, and the ability to interact with a wide range, wide variety of people, to develop independence and confidence. Those similar goals that most middle schools have for their students are very similar to the goals we have at camp.
The difference being is most of our campers aren’t going home at the end of day of camp. They’re living and interacting with camp peers all day long. They really need to function as a team. You can’t close the door to their bedroom and shut off the world outside. They really need to function together and interact with a sense of respect for one another, and fellowship, and camaraderie, and support.
Dr. Lisa: The goal of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour is to help make connections between the health of the individual and the health of the community. The goal of ted Carter Inspired Landscape is to deepen our appreciation for the natural world. Here to speak with us today is Ted Carter.
Ted: I’ve had the good fortune of working to some degree with the Lakota Indians, and I am always amazed of the Native American teachings and the power of intention. I did a ceremony with them, a Yuwipi Ceremony actually, and we all had to bring 500 prayer ties to the ceremony. As we did, each prayer ties stuffed with tobacco. We would say Tunkashila Mitakuye Oyasin. Tunkashila means creator and Mitakuye Oyasin means all my relations.
What I find striking about the Native American teaching is that all is one, it’s very first chakra. It’s very much about connection and connection to each other. In their teachings, they feel that the creator is the creator or the God force, and the grandmother is the earth. We all have the same father and we all have the same mother.
I think that is something very important to realize that we are all connected, and when tragedy strikes or when something happens, sometimes, we can feel that and we know something is up we can’t quite put our hand on it but knowing this and understanding how the earth works with these subtle energies and this form of connection between the great creator and the mother makes us feel like we’re not so all alone in the world, and at times when we’re despondent or having trouble, it’s important that we honor the earth and move out into nature, and her speak to us. She will comfort us and take good care of us.
I am Ted Carter. If you’d like to contact me, I can be reached at TedCarterDesign.com.
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Dr. Lisa: It’s interesting to me that relationships end up being such a critical part of being human, and yet, it’s something we don’t get a lot of instruction in and has been changed, it has been altered in some way by our connectivity. I am not saying in a bad way. We have social media now so we’re connected in some ways but another ways, we’re less connected, but still the value of teaching relationships is something that I am not sure everybody recognizes.
Garth: Yeah, and camp really provides the opportunities for those relationships to develop deeply and significantly. Most of our campers at Chewonki are coming for three weeks, and over that course of the three weeks, the intensity that they’ll have with their cabin group, their peers, the eight other boys who are sharing their cabin with them and their two counselors is significant.
They are traveling on a wilderness journey together so they’re in a group every day. They are preparing meals. They are setting up camp. They are setting up a tent site. They really need to function closely and intensely as a team, and then there is nothing like sitting around a campfire at the end of the day for opening up and for reflecting and for sharing. What might be a highlight of the day for one boy might be a challenge for another boy. The thrilling ascend of the peak could be the highlight of the day for one boy and could be the great fear-inducing challenge for another boy who had to work really hard to overcome.
There is a real opportunity for depth in those relationships. It’s just not superficial because you’re living so closely and you’re living in such an intense setting. You have to be pretty true to yourself and I can’t think of many other situations that really require that full authenticity all the time. You really have to be willing to be your true self and accept others for their true selves, and then work with that. You have to. That is just the dynamic of camp. Great things can happen with that, great bonding and great closeness can develop.
It’s really fun having been in this role for a while. Now, I am getting invited to former campers’ weddings and just to see who is involved still in their life, it’s all their camp friends, and I think that says something pretty powerful about the experience.
Dr. Lisa: Were you called be fully authentic in a way that maybe you hadn’t needed to be in other adult roles?
Garth: Yeah, I really have to be both for the campers, a large part of my work from September to June is building trust and relationships with our camp families. They are counting on me to be there for their children, and the campers are counting on me to be there for them in June, July, and August. I need to be very present. I can’t be thinking about back office, camp business-related issues. I need to be there for them. I need to be in tune who is missing home or who is struggling and adjusting.
I think the development of that skill to be a camp director, and also to be a teacher, and to be a parent just came through years of living it at camp in my adolescence both as a camper and then as a counselor myself. You just have to who you are. If you have people who are encouraging you to be yourself and welcoming of that, it’s easier to be yourself. It emerges more.
At camp, you can step out of who people think you may be at home and who they think they know you as, and you can come and really be yourself. That’s very powerful for kids to feel that comfort and acceptance, and all the while having just a ton of fun. Yeah, it really requires full presence and authenticity.
Dr. Lisa: Where do you see Chewonki going in the future? I am sure that it’s had to evolve over the years and as with anything as probably seen some changes and we’ll see some changes. Where would Chewonki go?
Garth: It’s funny. I think the gap between life at home and life at Chewonki has widened over the past 20 years significantly. Not because Chewonki has changed tremendously but I think life at home for our children has really changed tremendously. We need to continue to evolve and make sure the world knows of our value. I actually think the value of what we’re doing at Chewonki is more significant than ever because of the changes in home life, because our children, our campers are not interacting with each other in the natural world as much as they used to in a real authentic way.
There are so many wonderful benefits to life today. I think kids get some really fantastic opportunities but I also think more than ever, they really need what we have to offer. That is going to be our challenge. In 2015, we’ll be celebrating our Centennial. A 100 years of Chewonki. As we look forward to the next 100 years, the world will need strong leaders who can interact with a lot of variety of individuals, who have an appreciation for the natural world. I think that is absolutely critical. They are going to learn that through Chewonki.
I think we’re well positioned. I think we’re very well positioned to provide for the youth for the next 100 years. I can’t think of a professional setting as an adult where you can exist without some significant team player skills. Every company, every corporation, every small business needs team-oriented problem-solving people and that’s what we’re cultivating at camp, but again, this world needs good stewards. People who are really being thoughtful about taking care of it.
Chewonki inspires a passion for the world. It helps open up doors for people. It helps people see the world as a really lively, vibrant place that needs our true interaction with it, our true caring for all inhabitants of the world, and all species, and each other. Our mission is vibrant and strong. I think we’re ready to serve the world for the next 100 years and beyond. It’s an exciting time.
Dr. Lisa: Garth, how do people find out about Camp Chewonki?
Garth: Sure. Perhaps the easiest way is visiting us on the internet and we view that as a portal to a great experience. Our website, our web address is Chewonki.org. Then, of course, just word of mouth referral. It’s really fun talking to people who know of Chewonki and have some experience. Ask your neighbor, ask your colleague, ask your friends. There is probably someone out there who knows us, and speaks highly of us. There are alumni and our friends are such a treasured resource for us as well.
Dr. Lisa: We’ve been speaking with Garth Altenburg who is a Camp Director at Camp Chewonki. We appreciate your spending time with us today, talking about Camp Chewonki, and also, I really appreciate the work you’re doing with bringing high quality people into the world.
Garth: Thanks so much. It’s been a pleasure. I can’t wait for summer.
Dr. Lisa: You’ve been listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, show number 134, Summer Camps. Our guests have included Richard Deering and Garth Alternburg. For more information on our guests and extended interviews, visit DoctorLisa.org. The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is downloadable for free on iTunes. For a preview of this week’s show, sign up for our e-newsletter and like our Dr. Lisa Facebook page. Follow me on Twitter and as bountiful one on Instagram.
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