Typically, the installation of a new washroom in an old business is a low-key event.
But when you’re planning an influx of 2,500 to 3,000 guest for a Jamboree weekend for one full week in July, 2015, it’s a flush worth highlighting.
When asked if Camp Barnard is ready for this influx, Grace Seabrook who is serving as the Chair of the Camp Barnard Committee laughs.
“Well, not at the moment we’re not, not until we get another washroom.”
The Sooke Rotary presented the camp with a cheque for $10,000 to assist with this project, set to complete a month before the massive influx.
The last time Camp Barnard hosted a Jamboree was in 1987. In addition to the Camp Barnard committee, there is also a Jamboree specific committee.
“It includes local people who are part of that province-wide group. They are doing things like preparing the campsites. Current sites are being expanded, making room for new tents, and adding pipelines for auxiliary water sources. We are fortunate to have volunteers who are engineers, architects and plumbers,” said Seabrook.
The 2015 Jamboree will be for Scouts aged between 11 and 14. Venture aged children (11 to 17) will run many of the programs. Programs include activities both inside the camp and outside, and the outside activities will see the children and youth come to both Sooke and Victoria.
“Activities at camp will include hiking, swimming, canoeing, and some crafts like building a miniature robot, or making a leather craft.”
Scouts Canada is the country’s leading youth organization available to girls and boys. According to their website, (scouts.ca), “For more than 100 years, we have brought a world of adventure, outdoor experience and friendship to 17 million Canadian youth.” The Jamboree happens once every four years in a different location, and in 2015, it’s Camp Barnard’s turn.
