Eagles Nest Camp Blog
by Paige Lester-Niles, Camp Director
I’ve just returned for celebrating 30 semesters of learning, laughter and growth at The Outdoor Academy 15 year reunion. It was so much fun to watch each person rush on to campus, filled with excitement and pure joy to be in a place that is so significantly important to their lives and development. I’ve always been a big supporter of OA and the premium academic, outdoor and social experience that it provides to 10 grade students; after a day of talking, laughing and catching up with the alums, my enthusiasm for OA has grown…click title above to read more.
by Noni Waite-Kucera, Executive Director
I have just returned from a trip to visit my parents Helen and Mo Waite at their home on the “downeast” coast of Maine. This is such a wild and beautiful part of our country, a place of inspiration and a place where life is linked closely with the land and sea. While on a walk out to a piece of land they recently sold to a conservation organization, we spoke of how much work is being done in the area to preserve the wild places and the shorelines that hold such delicate ecosystems. As we walked and talked we spied...click the title above to read more
Re-connecting with camp throughout the year
Summer camp is awesome. There’s no denying it. Whether you’re 6 or 26, you are sure to find magic at camp. My first summer at Eagle’s Nest was no exception. From eating each delicious meal with my table family to exploring local waterfalls with wide-eyed campers, I had an amazing experience. Now that summer is over and I am back home, life hasn’t seemed nearly as exciting. It is wonderful in its own way, but I miss the cool North Carolina mountain mornings, the smell of the woods around camp, and the sound of laughter resonating from each corner of the Nest. When I start to feel this way, I take a mental fieldtrip back to specific experiences I had at Eagle’s Nest this summer. There are a few that really stand out in my mind, and my first game of Capture the Flag is one of them…Click the title above to read more.
One of the great things about spending the summer at camp is being able to spend the majority of my day outside. At camp, we stay in rustic open air cabins. Their extra large screens let the breezes flow through freely. There are no barriers to the natural world, the sounds of the night, and the bright morning light. When we’re not in our cabins (which is most of the day) we’re exploring the creeks and woods that make up our 180+ acres, or swimming in our mountain stream fed lake, or whittling spoons out of downed tulip poplar wood found on our property. I love the joy of finding an owl feather in my path or hearing a hawk call before I notice it circle above me. But more than that, there’s just something very reassuring about the constant order and structure in nature (like the cycle of the phases of the moon) that seems to keep me grounded. From my experiences at camp, I think that it brings security and meaning to kids too. Click the title above to read more...
Everyday that I’m at Eagle’s Nest Camp I find myself amazed and inspired by the creativity of our campers and staff. Click the title above to read more.
Savoring Every Minute of Summer Camp
Sure – camp is fun and gives children a chance to take a break from the world and experience the joys of just being a kid, but it’s also so much more than that. After watching my own kids (and thousands of others) grow up at Eagle’s Nest, I know that their experiences at camp are a significant part of their lives in a critical time in their development. At camp they learn to be independent, to be kind, to help others, to take on challenges, to build skills, to try new foods, to be outside, and to learn about the world around them and the people and critters in it. What a gift. Click title above to read more...
Session 4 is flying by much more quickly than we would like. This session has been PACKED with activity as the counselors are eager to make it the “Best of the Best” session. Click the title above to read more.
There are so many things that I love about Eagle’s Nest, and so many reasons why I’m thankful to be able to spend my summers in the mountains at camp. I love the sounds of camp – laughter echoing out of cabins, songs and music floating from the Dining Hall, a nightly symphony of spring peepers, bullfrogs and cicadas lulling us to sleep at the end of each busy day. I love being able to be so close to nature that I recognize subtle changes around me – like the phases of the moon, or when Indian Pipe springs up, or when the red efts leave the lake to explore our woods. I love all of the magic at camp – seeing campers light up when the crowd cheers for them at Coffee House, finding a feather in the path, seeing a Final Banquet come together with paper and paint and creativity and hard work. But most of all, I love all of the wonderful people, campers and counselors alike, who really make camp special. Click the headline above to read more.
we're looking forward to a great week
Session 4 is up and running and we are so excited! This is our last session of the summer and we’ve been waiting all summer for it to get here. Since it’s the last session, the counselors have lots of exciting plans to have this session be filled with “The Best of the Best” of everything. It’ll be a quick week, so the days will be jam packed with activity. Click on the headline above to read more...
