ROME — On the shore of North Pond, Pine Tree Camp is looking to provide accessible recreation for the whole family with retooled programming for disabled people that’s mindful of the pandemic.
The camp, for Maine people with disabilities and their families in Rome, has been serving the community for more than 80 years.
Since Pine Tree is unable to hold overnight camp stays this year due to COVID, leadership wanted to expand on its Adventure Day Pass options. Though many members of the Pine Tree Society community are at-risk individuals, staff wanted to find ways for campers and their families to still be able to have a camp experience this summer.
However, staffing has proved to be a problem for the camp, like it has been for many businesses and organizations. But while other camps have seen food shortages, Pine Tree Camp has largely been unaffected by this problem because it provides food primarily to just staff while overnight stays have been halted.
“I’m sure we’ll look at doing family recreation weekends in the fall and winter,” said Dawn Willard-Robinson, the camp’s director. “Our goal was to work toward having year-round programming. I think that’s the silver-lining COVID’s given us.”
Counselors at Pine Tree Camp in Rome prepare Friday for the arrival of campers. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
In addition to the Family Recreation Weekends, Pine Tree Camp is also offering Adventure Day Passes and Pine Tree Camp to You.
Adventure Day Passes allow guests to come to the camp for the day and participate in any of the activities it offers, including swimming, kayaking/canoeing, barn animals, tie-dying, and adaptive biking. Pine Tree Camp to You brings camp to the comfort of your home. Offered for six weeks, each week of Pine Tree Camp to You is different. A box with different activities will be sent to campers’ doors. Some of the offerings include cooking, grab bags, arts and crafts, and music and drama.
For their Family Recreation Weekend stays, Pine Tree Camp will be requiring those who have not been vaccinated to receive a rapid-COVID test upon arrival. Since they are not requiring vaccination to attend, campers will be expected to fill out a pre-screening form, have their temperature taken and follow health and safety guidelines the camp has set.
Additionally, masks will be required when indoors and not eating. The same is true if a 6-foot distance cannot be guaranteed between groups of campers.
The cost of the stay is $125 per camper, plus a $20 fee per person. Included in those costs are meals, cabin, equipment, staffing, and necessary supplies during the stay. Campers will be able to participate in swimming, boating, kayaking/canoeing, adaptive biking, archery, crafts in the treehouses, tie-dying, playing on the playground and more.
This summer the Family Recreation Weekend stays are being offered on July 16-18, July 30-Aug. 1, Aug. 9-11, Aug. 27-29 with the potential of additional weekends being added. Those interested in registering to stay at Pine Tree Camp can visit its website, www.pinetreesociety.org.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.