MAPLETON – The township’s first youth day camp wrapped up Aug. 27 following a summer filled with daily crafts, games and activities.
“We were really excited about it,” said Mapleton recreation manager Amy Grose.
“We had about 235 campers come through camp. So for our first year we really felt that that was a success,” Grose added.
The inaugural camp was held in Moorefield at the Maryborough Community Centre (MCC), a location that proved ideal.
Youth camp – Mapleton’s first summer youth day camp wrapped up Aug. 27. The camp provided a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities for about 235 local youngsters.
Submitted photos
“The venue was perfect. We have the accessibility of the MCC … and we also had then the ball diamonds and the forest and the parks and some green space,” said Grose.
“We did a combination of both indoor and outdoor exploration with an emphasis on outdoor exploration,” she explained.
“It was summer and the weather was great but, with COVID restrictions as well, it was just nice to have the kids outside; we were able to do obviously a little bit more social distancing that way, with smaller groups,” she observed
Grose noted the township may consider expanding the program in the future.
“Obviously our hope is that it will grow and be an even larger program next year. We are definitely not shying away from considering other locations, in time, throughout the municipality,” she said.
The camp employed six staff members, in addition to Grose, who was often on hand as well.
While the summer camp is over, Grose said the township is looking at offering programs for school PD days and March Break over the coming year.
The municipality is also set to operate its first after-school program, which will be offered at Drayton Heights Public School beginning this fall.
