ORKILA ALUM COMPETES IN OLYMPICS

Holly Brooks is currently at the Olympics! She competed in Cross Country Skiing, and you can see her Olympic page HERE.

Holly was an Assistant Director in our Teen Expedition Program at Camp Orkila back in 2004, and you can follow her experience at the Olympics via her BLOG.

Way to go Holly!

NEW ORCA CALF SPOTTED WITH "L POD"

A new calf has been born into L Pod, one of the three groups of orcas that frequent Puget Sound and the Salish Sea.

The young whale was spotted Sunday in Cordova Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, by Ken Balcomb and Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. The center maintains an ongoing census of the Southern Resident killer whale population.

The two researchers later confirmed that the newborn, designated L-114, is the offspring of L-77, a 22-year-old named Matia. This is her first known calf, though it is possible she has had one or more offspring that did not survive.

The mother and calf were traveling with another mother-calf pair, L-94, Calypso, and her calf, L-113, born last fall. Calypso is Matia's sister. The four whales are part of a portion of L pod that often travels together. They have become known as the L-12 subpod.

Balcomb and Ellifrit reported that they observed the newborn calf Sunday afternoon while the whales were headed south in Cordova Bay. At about 5 p.m., they reached the southern shore and headed east toward open water. They appeared to be hunting for fish, with "lots of taillobs, cartwheels and pec slaps," according to a report on the center's Web page.

This is the seventh orca calf born to the three Southern Resident pods in the past year or so. There have been no deaths during that time. This latest birth brings L Pod's population to 42 animals and the overall population to 89.

"This continues the streak," said Howard Garrett of Orca Network. "I am at a loss for an explanation. I am just celebrating."

"It's great news for the population," Balcomb said. "So far all of them are doing well."

Article by Christopher Dunagan at the Kitsap Sun.

SUN SUN SUN

Pullyou was up on Orcas during the recent spring-like-temperatures. The water shimmered with sunlight, as he rode the ferry to Orcas Island.

The Washington State Ferries operate year-round. Here's a pic as we pull up to the Orcas Island dock.

Speaking of docks, check out the view down the Orkila Dock. The water is calm. The sky is blue. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was late Spring or early Summer!

SUPPORT ORKILA

Our Partners With Youth Campaign is rapidly reaching an end, and we're really close to reaching our $350,000 total goal. These funds go to help campers and families experience Camp Orkila - and you can support the effort by following this LINK.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and for wanting others to share in the splendor of YMCA Camp Orkila!

OPTICAL ILLUSION!

Wacky!

PARTNERS WITH YOUTH PICTURES

Magill updates our extraordinary group of volunteers on the progress they made at the most recent Partners With Youth Call Night.

Pullyou has a personal challenge to make every Tuesday... "Tuesday Tie Day." On this specific night, Matthew and Adam also took on the challenge. Elliot wasn't wearing a tie, but he still snuck into the picture!


Can you tell that the table were arranged in a giant "$"? Well, they are. And Magill's excited.

This was taken at the recent Victory Celebration up at Camp Orkila. The Orcas Island-focused campaign took an evening to celebrate their hard work assocaited with raising funds to get kids to camp. Jenny (a past Orkila staffer) is super excited.

Again, Orcas Victory. Check out those decorations and flags - that support the Olympic theme!

The Camping Services Crew

It takes a gaggle of amazing and hard-working people to continually operate and make YMCA Camp Orkila and YMCA Camp Colman (our sister-camp) the awesome camps that they truly are. In the future months, you can look forward to staff bios that spotlight our tremendous team - and in the meantime, enjoy this group shot of the staff who keep both Camps chugging along. Go Team!

DO YOU SEE SOMETHING NEW?

See something new? Nope, it's not the McDade Campfire - that was added last year!

How about now? Can you see it?

There it is! That's right, the McDade Campfire has a brand new sign! And it is super cool!

SUMMER PREVIEW @ NORTHSHORE

Missing Camp? Want to have some fun in the city?

Have we got ANOTHER the event for you!

All campers entering grades 5 through 9 (in the Fall of 2010) are invited to share in an evening of campy activities at the Northshore YMCA in Bothell, WA. This will all take place from 7:15 pm to 9:00 pm on Saturday February 13th.

Activities to include: carnival games, hula hooping, s'more making, face painting, etc.

This event is for both non-registered and registered campers. Feel free to bring a friend and share with them your camp experience!

Due to space considerations we are asking that parents check their kids in, go eat dinner or go shopping, and then pick their child up at the end of the event. Of course, if you would like to stay and hang out in our Family Center you are welcome to do so!

A waiver must be completed for each child in attendance. Download, print out, sign, and bring this Release of Liability WAIVER with you to the event. This waiver must be signed by a parent or legal guardian in order for campers to participate.

Also, here's a Google Map of Northshore YMCA's location.

If you plan on attending, please have your parents RSVP you by Wednesday February 10th. We're looking forward to seeing you!

To RSVP or for more information, call or email our Seattle Camping Services Office at 206-382-5009 or colmanorkilainfo@seattleymca.org

Note: To see pics from our last event (at the Dale Turner YMCA) go HERE.

MARINE LECTURE SERIES @ ORKILA CONTINUES!

Tracker Dogs' NW Mission: Saving Killer Whales

Contributed by the SeaDoc Society

We all can picture tracker dogs saving earthquake victims in Haiti, but saving killer whales? Get real!
On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. Katherine Ayres, a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology will explain how and why she is using tracker dogs to save endangered southern resident killer whales. Ayres will speak as part of the 2010 Marine Science Lecture Series at Camp Orkila
Ayres uses whale scat to measure the health of individual whales and to ultimately assess the health of the overall population. But finding whale poop in the wild is not easy. That’s where a trained scat detection dog can be a big help.

Just like tracker dogs that can be trained to detect live people under rubble or cocaine packed inside of a can of gasoline; they too can be trained to detect killer whale feces floating on the water at great distances. Ayers will talk about how detection dogs are being used and what valuable information can be gained from the scat, which unlike blubber biopsies, is collected without impacting already endangered animals.

The Marine Science Lecture Series was created to inspire the general public and to highlight the amazing fish and wildlife of our region. Lectures are free. Please park in the upper parking lot at Camp Orkila. Shuttle service from the parking lot to the talk is available before and after the lecture.

The 2009/10 Marine Science Lecture Series is presented by program partners The SeaDoc Society and YMCA Camp Orkila. It is made possible through generous sponsorship by Tom Averna of Deer Harbor Charters, and The Gould Family Foundation and co-sponsorship by Barbara Brown, Eclipse Charters, The Kingfish Inn, Shearwater Sea Kayak Tours, West Sound Marina and Jim and Kathy Youngren.

Article from Bull Wings: Orcas Issues, Views, and News

YMCA & THE FIRST LADY TACKLE OBESITY

Recently Neil Nicoll (President and CEO, YMCA of the USA) joined forces with Michelle Obama to tackle the issue of Childhood Obesity. Neil is a passionate supporter of YMCA Camp Orkila - and we proudly support the hard work he's putting into this effort.

CLICK HERE for the YouTube video documenting the kick-off of the campaign. Note: The video is 45 minutes long.

ORKILA ALUM @ STATE OF THE UNION

This past Wednesday (Jan 27th) Jared Axelrod had the honor of being in the House of Representatives during President Obama's recent State of the Union Address. Not only was he there, but he was also prominently visible in a cool panorama picture taken by the New York Times. You can view the image (a panorama picture is comprised of a series of photographs taken over a short period of time) and explore it here.

Jared was a camper and staff member at Orkila, and he had this to say about his experiences - both at the State of the Union and at Camp:

Last week, I got to see something that I have only seen on TV before. And you know when it's on TV, because it is on every channel. Yes, I got to attend President Obama's State of the Union before a joint session of Congress. As a Legislative Aide to Senator Patty Murray (who often goes home to nearby Whidbey Island), and after winning the office lottery, I found myself directly facing the President as he gave his speech (OK, so I was in the balcony, but I was still looking straight on.) Although I have been working on Capitol Hill for about a year and a half, Orkila is my home away from home, and I'm looking to get back soon. So a word of advice: you can, and should, go anywhere you want in the world, including the State of the Union, but be sure to make it back to Orkila at some point. ~ Jared Axelrod

This is a freeze frame from the panorama photograph, and you can see Jared. He's the one circled. Lucky guy!

DALE TURNER EVENT PICS

The recent "Taste of Summer" event at the Dale Turner Branch was a huge success. Below there are pics from last Saturday. But don't worry, we'll be having more events soon at the Northshore, Coal Creek, and West Seattle Branches too!

Climbing wall good times!

Jeremiah (also known as "Vortex" at Camp) got his face painted. You can see Pullyou in the mirror taking the pic.

DanJ helped to run a "Extinguish the Candle" game with water pistols. Looks like someone decided to aim for him as opposed to the candles!

Julie, Allison, and campers listen intently as Lena (YMCA Camp Colman Summer Director) talks about how to make the perfect s'more. Oh yeah, that's right. We made indoor s'mores!

Porsche loves pandas. She had one painted on to her face!

Katie hula hoops. And gives the camera a thumbs up.

Alice ran a booth where campers could design t-shirts with colored pencils. Later in the Spring we'll have a contest where one will be chosen to be made into a shirt for the Summer!