Angela didn’t get her orange feather last summer. She got her red, green, and yellow feathers. But the orange one is the one she really wanted.
What is the Campcraft Club?
The Campcraft Club, a nature and wilderness club open to our youngest campers at Camp Jeanne d’Arc, is a way campers learn, fail, and grow.
Gaining all four feathers is something you have to work towards. Sure, Angela can identify the common plants and animals of the Adirondacks. And she’s got a basic understanding of safety in the woods. She can operate a compass and identify orienting astrological features. But the orange feather is most coveted – it’s the final step in completing the Campcraft Club requirements. Campers earn the orange feather by planning, provisioning, and preparing a complex meal for Camp leadership.
Last summer Angela fell just short. She missed a safety step in boiling the water for pasta (the hand towel was too close to the open flame). Was Angela disappointed? Absolutely. Will she now remember how to safely boil water? For the rest of her days!
Camp Jeanne d’Arc creates these moments every summer – moments of growth, moments of disappointment that lead to lifelong lessons, moments that build character.
A Path of Continuous Mastery
While the Campcraft Club is designed for our youngest campers, our older campers can earn entrance into our junior and senior clubs – Sailing, Mountaineering, Canoeing, and Riding. The early foundations of safety and preparation in the Campcraft Club lead to the high level of expertise, verbal testing, and leadership required for senior club membership. The concept of studying resources, practicing technique, and failing and trying again are concepts that begin with Campcraft but extend throughout the Camp Jeanne d’Arc experience.
It’s a Journey!
To some, an orange feather may just be a cheap craft store supply. But to young Jeanne d’Arcers on their journey to achieve membership in the Campcraft Club, its marker of accomplishment that they will take pride in forever! And as for Angela, she’s got next summer to get that last feather in her cap!