Teen Leadership Applications are due soon!

For those of you interested in applying to a Teen Leadership program this summer (CIT, OSI, Islander or Orkila International), the application deadline is fast approaching! Be sure to submit your application by November 1st. 

To learn more about our leadership programs or how to apply, follow these links.
http://orkilateenexpeditions.blogspot.com/
http://www.orkilaosi.org/
http://citorkila.blogspot.com/
http://orkilainternational.blogspot.com/

YRL Registration Closes This Friday!

Are you in King County? Have you signed your teen up for our Year Round Leadership program this year? Registration closes this Friday, October 17th, and the first gathering is Wednesday, October 22nd. Come join us for peer-to-peer leadership, community service adventures, and tons of camp magic!

http://orkilayrl.blogspot.com/

Zip Line

Have you gone on the Orkila zip line? Turtlebacks got the chance today and it was great!

Session 7 Arrival

Campers stepped off the bus on Saturday! Let the fun begin.

Session 6 Slideshow

It was a great week at camp! Rain could keep the fun away from session 6! Check out the fun we all had.

Session 6 Arrival

Campers are here and ready for a great week at Orkila!

Teen Leadership 2015 Applications

What are your plans for next summer? Applications are now available for our Teen Leadership programs for Summer 2015.

Programs you can apply for:

-Counselor In Training (CIT)

-Orkila International (OI)

-Islanders

-Orkila Summer Intern (OSI)

Application deadline is November 1st. APPLY HERE!

Fun in the Sun

This week was hot, so campers went to the pool and ocean to cool off and have some fun!

Session 5 Arrival

Session 5 campers arrived yesterday. Check out this weeks video to see how fun the day was!

Session 5 is Here!

Camp is half way over, but there is still so much fun to be had! Welcome to camp session 5!

 

Session 4 Slideshow

It was a great week here at camp! Thanks session 4, see you next year!

Session 4 Arrival

Session 4 campers are here and ready for a great week at camp!

Session 3 Slideshow

Check out the slideshow from an awesome week at camp. Thanks Session 3!

Magic at Camp

A local Orcas Island magician, Matthew Laslo, came to camp to amaze campers and staff. 

Session 2 Slideshow

Session 2 was awesome! Check out all the fun campers had.

Session 2 All Camp Event

Here is a short video of campers having a great time at All Camp Event last night.

Session 2 Arrival

Session 2 has begun! Here is this weeks arrival video. Check back for more photos and videos this week!

Session 1 Slideshow

Check out all the fun campers had during our first session at camp!

Session 1 Arrival Video

Session 1 is well on it's way! Here is the arrival video from the first day of summer 2014 at Orkila.

Teen Staff Getting to Work

Our 2014 expedition staff is getting ready for trips and for campers to get here. They spent the whole day yesterday in the water learning skills, safety protocol, and team bonding. 

Camp from the Air

A rainy morning at camp has turned out to be a beautiful day! 21 days until campers are here. 

Musical Open Rec!!!

Hi, Howdy and Hallelujah!

We've got some fun and exciting news from our Spring Outdoor Environmental Education program.
I'll give you a hint... it has to do with making sounds, so sweet and silly, trying your hand (or foot) at keeping a rhythm, and perhaps even giggling with glee.

Yup! You guessed it! (or maybe you didn't and that's okay too) We now have a Music Station at open rec time. Students are jamming out together with drums, tambourines, penny whistles, harmonicas, vocals, guitar, ukulele and whatever else they can think of. It is so great to watch because you can just see the fun and creativity flowing from these kids! When there are not so many folks around, some students get individualized guitar lessons.

 

We sure are excited about this new addition to our Open Rec time, allowing for more creative and collaborative activities in addition to our wily and active Open Rec stations.

I just have one question for you now... How will you inspire creativity and collaboration?

Fun Happenings in The Marine Salmon Center

Great things are happening in The Marine Salmon Center this spring season!!! What kinds of great things are happening?... you might be asking yourself... Are the instructors turning into Salmon? Are the hermit crabs crawling out of the touch tank and performing educational musicals for all of the students? 

Well... Not quite, but we now have a Marine Specialist, Brett Jensen who is working hard to make The Marine Salmon Center, and really all things to do with water and aquatic creatures at camp, AWESOME! 

First of all, after many of our salmon became a lipsmacking dinner for a hungry river otter this winter, we just restocked the salmon pond with a fresh batch of Coho and Chinook salmon frye. 

Second, we are growing bull kelp nereocystis luetkeana in our jewel tanks to demonstrate different types of biomes present in the San Juan Archipelago. 

Lastly, some staff and students conducted a species biodiversity survey of our eelgrass ecosystem along the shores of Camp Orkila by wading through the water by our dock at low tide while dragging a seine net and through the eelgrass. One teacher from Christ the King School pronounced that she had been coming to Camp Orkila for several years and this was the coolest thing that she had ever seen! What an opportunity for students to get involved in science and exploration! 

 Photo taken by: Anna Mueller

What did they find??? 310 living creatures! Holy Smokes! Some of the abundant species include: tubesnout fish, pipe fish, three-point stickleback fish, saddleback, crescent, and penpoint gunnel fish, lion nudibranchs, grass shrimp and delicate kelp crabs.

Photo taken by: Anna Mueller

What do you notice about a lot of the animals in the tub above? One thing we noticed was that a lot of them are long, green or brown, and thin... but why? If you think about where they live (in the eelgrass - also long, thin and green/brown)... They are trying to camouflage! Nature sure is neato!

Can't wait to update y'all with some more fun happenings around Camp Orkila soon! 

Until then, if you want to keep yourself updated on the current events of the local marine world, take a peak at this article: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/mysterious-epidemic-devastates-starfish-population-pacific-coast/#.Uu0LB_C2M6A.facebook

If you take a trip to the beach, keep your eyes out for seastars. If you see any sick looking ones, you can take a picture and post it with #sickseastar or you can report it to the department of fish and wildlife at  (360) 902-2700.  

So long and happy beach walking!

Staff Sound-Off: Gianna

Check out what Gianna has to say about her Orkila experience!

 

Campfire in the City Saturday!

Missing camp yet? Have no fear, Campfire in the City is here! This Saturday from 3:30-5:30 at Magnuson Park Camps Colman and Orkila are joining forces with the University YMCA to put on a traditional campfire! We'll play games outside, roast marshmallows, and put on a real campfire! Prepare a skit or other campfire act, or just sit back and enjoy the show with friends and family! We hope to see you there! Adult supervision is required.

To RSVP for you and your family, click here!

Do you have books that you'd like to donate to camp? We're accepting donations so more kids can read while at camp! Please bring whatever you have to the campfire. We can't wait to see you there!

Directions: Join us behind The Brig at Warren G Magnuson Park. From Sandpoint Way NE, take the 74th St. entrance into the park. The Brig will be on the left, past Building #30. There is parking around the Brig and a large parking lot across 74th St.

YRL Movie Night!

Last night, our Year Round Leaders got together and watched the documentary Miss Representation. The documentary takes a critical look at how women are portrayed in the media and their lack of representation in influential positions in the US. With great snacks and great conversation, we had a GREAT evening! Thanks for coming, YRL's :)

Winter Camp: Season 2. "Camp Just isn't the same without you..."

The new season of Orkila: Winter Camp is starting now! Stay tuned to our blog for new episodes over the coming weeks! Camp just isn't the same without you.

YRL's are having a blast!

Why does a Year Round Leader do in the cold of winter? Have tons of fun, of course! Here's a little glimpse of what it's like to be a YRL:

 

 

1. They like to play games!

 

 

2. They like to show their creative side.

3. They like to "unlock" the door to new possibilites!

 

And coolest of all...

 

4. They love giving back to their community!

 

 (That white sheet of paper is a certificate that YRL's got for helping pack over 9,000 pounds of food and other items that will be donated to communites around Washington state!)

 

Want to learn more about Year Round Leaders? Check out our blog and like us on Facebook!

Share Your Story!

What's your expedition story? That's what we'd like to know! As the second part of the Share Your Story series we want you to share an experience you or someone you know had while on an expedition, whether it be a one day island trip or the month long Islanders adventure, let us know!

Head over to our Facebook page and tell us your story!



Share Your Story | Expeditions from Camp Orkila on Vimeo.

Staff Sound-Off: Julie

It rarely rains here at Camp Orkila, but can you still have fun if it does? Counselor Julie answers that and more in this Staff Sound-Off!

Staff Sound Off | Julie from Camp Orkila on Vimeo.

Call Night Training

It's January, which means we are getting ready for our Annual Campaign! Starting next week, we will be making calls and sharing our love of camp with the world. Before our kick-off, we wanted to share why we give to camp, and also get some good practice in for our beautiful phone voices.

 

"Called myself up on the phone, just to hear that golden tone..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can't wait for Kick-Off next week to send more kids to camp!

STAY TUNED!