YWCA CAMP CAVELL

Nature Yurt is UP!

Thanks to our "Camp Angels" our Nature Yurt is a reality!

We did it!  This September, with help from staff and volunteers our Yurt slowly became a reality.  Woody and his crew will tell you it was a challenge, but with a little ingenuity and lots of team work it all camp together.  The biggest challenge was getting the floor built!  Once that was finished the wall lattice work and the doors were set into place.  Next, the crew used a tree limb to haul up the ring that creates the center of the roof.  From there they attached the roof beams and set in the Plexiglas dome.  The limb was again pressed into service to haul up the sections of canvas that would become the outer walls and ceiling.   With a few more zips, hooks, and snaps she came all together! 

It was a big project, but thanks to our staff members; Woody, Kenna, Al and Lance, and
our many volunteers the YURT is up and looking good!

OUR YURT STORY:

In 1999 the building we hoped to be our nature center had to be torn down.  We looked for a new building and found it in the form of a 30 foot YURT.  A YURT is a portable structure once used by the Mongolian people as a portable shelter.  They are a circular building that can be lived in year round.  They are bright, solid, airy, and can be constructed using our own volunteers and staff.

The Yurt we purchased is from the Nesting Bird Yurt Company in Washington State. To learn more about Yurts visit site their site.

Through the generosity of many Camp Angels we raised $23,500 to purchase the Yurt! We are still in need of $2,300 to finish the electric and heat. Please let us know if there is any help that you can offer to make sure our nature center becomes a reality!

Our YURT arrived all the way from Washington State back in December!  It was exciting as we unloaded each beam and parcel.  The wood pieces are beautiful and the plastic center dome is much bigger than any of us pictured!  It was hard to put it in storage till spring!  There was some damage from shipping, but the company took care of it! 

We have set a goal to do more to focus our campers interest on their environment in a time when people seem to be living further away from nature. We serve children with many different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and cultures. Many of our campers come from situations where they have never had the experience of exploring the woods, digging for fossils or looking at bugs through a microscope!

 Many of our campers with Muscular Dystrophy do not have the ability to go into the woods at all. We hope to bring nature a little closer though our new nature center with kid created displays and lots of tools for exploring. We hope they will better learn to respect and care for the world around them. 

Over 4000 people a year come to Camp Cavell. Besides our Kid’s Summer Camp, and our Women’s and Me & My Mom Weekends, we also work with community groups such as Muscular Dystrophy, ARC, American Heart Association, Interim House Family Shelter, Rainbows Hospice, Peace Makers and City Year to name a few. We think everyone can benefit from this project! We hope you can help!

  Thank you to all our Camp Angels!