News & Events Canadian Camp Association

Remembering Bruce Hodgins (1931-2019)

Date: 2023-07-23 12:00 AM

by: Barb & Peter Gilbert
While we were sad to learn of the death of our friend and camping colleague, Bruce Hodgins, it was uplifting to read the obituaries with details of his many accomplishments. To his academic accomplishments and his leadership at Camp Wanapitei, we can add his significant contributions to camping in Ontario and indeed across Canada.

In the 60’s and leading up to the Centenary Journey in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s Centennial, Bruce was an extremely active member of the committee that organized campers in every province who paddled a section of a cross-Canada route, which the committee laid out from coast to coast. Bruce’s expertise in Canadian history and canoe routes was a key to the success of this project.

In 1989, Bruce was a founding member of a committee whose purpose was to develop an annual writing award program with the objective of attracting academic papers relevant to organized children’s camping in Canada to the Camping Collections at the Trent University Archives. The Society of Camp Directors Writing Awards Program attracted submissions in both English and French from across Canada and the United States. Bruce chaired this committee from 1996 to 2010. From 1996 to 2012, Bruce was also Chair of the OCA Archives Committee ensuring that camp records have a place in the Trent University Archives and can be accessed by researchers around the world.

From 2006-2009, Bruce chaired a committee that planned and executed the Ontario Journey to celebrate OCA’s 75th anniversary. As a culmination of the event, The Ontario Journey, which recorded the various historical trips (hiking, sailing, kayaking, canoeing) taken by campers from many camps across the province, was published in 2009.

Bruce played a key role in setting up in 2013 the annual Canadian Camping Association/association des camps du Canada Prize for Excellence in Research competition which honours, celebrates and promotes excellence in research that contributes significantly to the growing body of academic literature relevant to the organized children’s camping movement in Canada.

In recognition of his numerous contributions and leadership, Bruce received the Dorothy Walter Award of Excellence from OCA and the Jack Pearse Award of Honour from CCA in 2013.

Always thinking, always enjoying life to its fullest, remembering the past and looking to the future, a true believer in the value of children’s camping, Bruce will be remembered as a true camper and an example for us all.

Archived Events

Call for Papers – Research Award of Excellence

Call for Papers – Research Award of Excellence

The annual CCA Research Award of Excellence competition honours, celebrates and promotes research that contributes significantly to the growing body of academic literature relevant to the organized children’s camping movement in Canada.

It encourages graduate students and faculty to examine issues and/or practicalities that relate to child and youth development, enhancement of the quality of life, creating and enabling the experience, and the role of “camp” in its social, political and physical environment yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The submission deadline for the CCA Research Award is on November 30, 2019.

Camp Directors, Owners, and Boards – please forward this notice to your staff and alumni. Anyone, from senior undergraduates to PhD candidates, is welcome and encouraged to submit!
CCA Awards – Nominate Someone Today

CCA Awards – Nominate Someone Today

The CCA is proud to have a national awards recognition program that honours outstanding achievements and contributions by Canadian camp leaders, camps, associations and institutions.

The CCA Awards Program recognizes individuals, camps, agencies or corporations. Written online nominations, from any member of the CCA (including individuals) must be submitted by October 31, 2019, for consideration.

Once approved by the Committee/Board, the awards will be presented by a member of the CCA Board/PCA at a Provincial Camping Association’s annual meeting or other suitable gathering.

Just a reminder, nominations for a camp or an organization must come from an external source.
Newcomers Love Camp!

Newcomers Love Camp!

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a Syrian family of seven that arrived in Toronto in March 2017 after time spent in Iraq. In two short years, the father has secured full time work in his field as a cook. The mother attends English classes five days a week and her youngest daughter also attends daycare. She has learned to drive and has recently passed her license. The other four children attend school. As well as learning English (which at present they are speaking very well), they are also studying French, thereby adding two new languages to their current fluency in Arabic and Kurdish. I was impressed!

The four older children, ranging in age from five to fourteen, are anxious for winter to end. They are looking ahead excitedly to returning to day camp for a week at the end of August. They are not fond of the cold weather; Nihad told me that he liked camp because “ every day there was the sun.”

For the past two years, the children have experienced camp thanks to the generosity of Seneca: King Day Camp one of the eighty-day and overnight Ontario Accredited Camps that are making the experience available to newcomers to Canada at no cost.

The children eagerly talked about their summer experiences. For Shahid, canoeing was the best thing. She also described the excitement of rock climbing. “Going up was fun; I made it almost to the top, but I didn’t like going down.” Shahid is excited about the possibility of going to an overnight camp for a week with her school class next year.

Appreciative that the counsellor was responsible for putting the worm on the hook, the three older children went fishing. While the others were unsuccessful, Mohamednour mentioned that he caught three fish. However, he was not particularly excited because he doesn’t like to eat fish! Not a problem ̶ they were all released and thrown back into the lake.

Without a doubt, the best thing about camp for Nihad was soccer. He is an ardent Real Madrid fan. When I told him that my grandson’s favourite team was Arsenal, he grinned and replied, “ They are a weak team.”

The first summer, their camp was on a college campus with mostly indoor activities. Last summer they were in an outdoor setting with a lake and woods, which they liked much better. They loved being outdoors swimming in the lake almost every day. The camp has become an important part of a new life in Canada for these children contributing to their feeling of welcome and safety as well as introducing them to exciting new activities.