The Gavin Lake Forest Education Society has now hosted more than 10,000 students since the inception of its school program in 1996.
This has been at no cost to the schools, students, or parents that have participated.
Camp manager and program director Mike Tudor was surprised to find they had reached this milestone while recently summarizing the fall 2011 program for the society.
The school program has become a regular part of the yearly lesson plan for many local Grade 6 teachers and truly provides a unique and valuable outdoor education experience for Cariboo kids.
“The Cariboo can be proud of what this program offers its students; a great experience that not many other kids have a chance to get,” says society chair John Stace-Smith.
During the three days the kids are in camp, they run through a series of six education modules that deal with forest ecosystems, forest practices, wildlife, water, outdoor recreation and conservation.
They also cycle through a set of six chores which surprisingly can be equally popular with the students.
In addition to celebrating their attendance milestone the Gavin Lake society recently became a registered charity.
The new status allows the society to issue tax receipts to donors and to apply for funding from organizations and foundations that only deal with charities.
This has already opened up some opportunities for new construction.
“We plan to begin building two new cabins this spring,” Tudor says.
“We’re not intending to expand the camp in general, but need to replace some of the existing buildings whose expiry date is long overdue.”
Pursuing registered charity status became a necessity when the society was informed of the need to pay property tax, at a commercial rate, on it’s Gavin Lake site.
Previously, the site, which has a “special use” permit to operate on Crown Land, had been tax exempt.
After two years in the application process, the society was made an official registered charity in September 2011.
Despite it’s new status the length of the application process obligated the society to pay a hefty tax bill for 2011, Tudor says.
Treasurer Jeff Mycock says the 2011 tax bill has created a significant deficit in the society’s operating budget.
Despite new access to funding previously unavailable to the society, Tudor notes that money for capital projects is much easier to come by than funding for ongoing operations.
“Our Grade 6 program is harder to fund than cabin construction,” Tudor says. “Most donor foundations want to help start up new projects rather than funding proven programs.”
Tudor says the society receives annual contributions from a wide variety of local service clubs and businesses in the Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House areas to fund the student education program and it is hoped that with the society’s new charitable status this support will continue to grow.
When asked about plans for the future both Stace-Smith and Tudor agree the Gavin Lake Forest Education Society will continue to do what they have been doing all along.
In addition to the student education program the Gavin Lake centre is rented at “below cost” rental rates for youth and non-profit groups.
Anywhere between 3,500 and 4,000 people will visit the camp annually and it seems to be a great experience for all.
For more information about the camp or to find out how you can help out, please contact Mike Tudor at 604-629-9859 or mtudor@xplornet.com. You can also check out the camp website by Googling Gavin Lake Camp.