A camping we will go
Coastal Roots Camp teaches kids about Cape Breton’s history, success stories
Coastal Roots Camp teaches kids abut Cape Breton’s history, success stories
Coastal Roots Camp will have many of the traditional children’s summer camp activities like swimming, canoeing and campfire singalongs.
But it’s likely the only place where kids will play a version of a classic board game while learning about Cape Breton success stories.
“One of the things that I’m really excited about doing is we’re going to have a Guess
Who? game — a lawn-size Guess
Who? game — and we’re going to have faces of different people who’ve been successful in a variety of different ways,” explains Patti Sampson, Coastal Roots Camp founder and director. “One will be Frankie MacDonald’s face — he’s had success on YouTube — and one will be a business person, or somebody in the tech industry, and that sort of thing. And once they learn about these people, they’ll play this game by describing their accomplishments, and describing maybe the communities they come from, versus what they look like.”
Sampson said other prominent Cape Bretoners like Annette Verschueren, Senator Dan Christmas and Irving Schwartz will also be featured in the game.
It’s just one way Coastal Roots will differ from other overnight camps, says Sampson. The camp, which hosts its first group of seven-to-12-yearold boys and girls at Camp Breton Dean in Albert Bridge from Aug. 13-17, will focus on teaching campers about Cape Breton’s rich and diverse cultures and history.
While kids still get to enjoy the natural beauty of the 27acre site on the Mira River, there will be fun-yet-educational programming, all developed and delivered by members of the First Nations, Acadian, Gaelic and African Nova Scotian communities.
The 35-year-old New Waterford native, who’s worked in the camping industry for nearly 20 years as everything from camp counsellor to camp director, drew on her own childhood when she came up with the idea for Coastal Roots.
“I was moving back home to Cape Breton — I had lived away for about a decade and I was
running camps elsewhere — and I knew I wanted to start my own camp and I was trying to think about what I would have needed at that age,” she said.
“I realized that when I was growing up, I didn’t really know anyone from any of the other communities on the island, and I didn’t know anything about any of the other communities on the island. So, I kind of went with that.”
Sampson partnered with Camp Breton Dean to use their facility for a week in August in return for running a week of camp for them. In addition to its emphasis on cultural education, she said Coastal Roots offers non-religious families a different choice.
“I think it’s important to offer kids a secular summer camp,” she said. “Faith-based camps are so valuable — I’m running one for Camp Breton Dean right now — but it’s important for people to have an option where there’s no faith component because that’s not their thing.”
Sampson also made Coastal Roots as inclusive and accessible as possible for all kids. The camp fees are based on a threetier payment system. The first price — $450 — represents the true cost, but families that need a little extra support can pay $299 (a 33 per cent subsidy) or $150 (66 per cent subsidy).
Sampson said her ultimate goal is that campers leave with a sense of pride and optimism.
“My biggest hope is they’ll walk away having made a friend from another community, first of all, and that they’ll have a better understanding and respect for the different communities within Cape Breton, and that they’ll be excited about the future of Cape Breton.”
For more information, visit www.coastalrootscb.com, or email coastalrootscamp@ gmail.com.