In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story—why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them. In the Spring 2020 issue, we interviewed three counselors from Mass Audubon’s Wildwood Camp. You can also read Dustin and Jackson’s stories. If you have a story to share about your connection to Mass Audubon, email [email protected] to be considered for In Your Words in a future issue! 

Since my parents met as campers there, it was always a foregone conclusion that I would attend Wildwood for overnight camp as well. As soon as I was of age, I started spending part of every summer at Wildwood, eventually working my way up through the Leaders-in-Training and Junior Counselors programs and finally becoming a counselor myself.

My clearest memory from my childhood years at Wildwood was taking a walk down First Point Trail, learning about vernal pools from staff naturalist Johnathon Benson. It was so amazing to me that all these frogs and salamanders were completely dependent on these small, temporary pools to survive and procreate. Wildwood definitely instilled a fascination and love of nature in me. I remember being a Leader-in-Training (LIT) and asking for special permission to get up at 3:00 am to watch the Perseid meteor shower from the activity field. We laid in the grass and counted shooting stars and talked for hours—that was a really special memory.

Like most kids, I had a few mixed experiences as a camper, which is a natural part of the growing process. A few really great counselors helped me through the challenging times and made me feel like I mattered. Now, as a counselor myself, I want to be that person for other kids, and the culture at Wildwood fosters that kind of supportive environment. Wildwood is a kind of safe space where kids are encouraged to be themselves, to drop the “false personas” they may be holding at home or in school, and even to try out new ways of expressing or defining themselves as they figure out who they really are and want to be.

Now that I’m in college, I want to become a science teacher so I can impart the lessons that Wildwood has taught me and use the skills I’ve learned there. Even now, I find myself using my “counselor voice” to make sure my friends are staying hydrated and rested through finals!

It’s hard to communicate the power of camp to my “non-camp” friends and family. The skills I have developed through my years and experiences at camp—how to connect with kids, how to be patient, how to love nature, how to love yourself, how to appreciate what you have and what’s really important in life—most people outside the camp world don’t really “get it.” There’s something about going into the woods for a few weeks with no internet or cell phone that does something really profound to you. It’s being in a place you love with people you love. It’s so important.

Every day that I’m alive, I’m so glad that I went to and continue to be a part of Wildwood. It has given me the best friends I’ve ever had—and ever will have—for the rest of my life. I don’t know who I would be without it. In a literal sense, I wouldn’t be here without Wildwood; in a figurative sense, I wouldn’t be the person I am now, and for that, I am so thankful.

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Nina Swett is a first-year student at Mount Holyoke College, where they hope to pursue a career path toward becoming a teacher. They will return this summer for their 14th year at Wildwood and third as a counselor.

In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story—why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them. In the Spring 2020 issue, we interviewed three counselors from Mass Audubon’s Wildwood Camp. You can also read Nina and Jackson’s stories. If you have a story to share about your connection to Mass Audubon, email [email protected] to be considered for In Your Words in a future issue! 

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by nature. I’ve lived near conservation woodlands all my life, where I explored every nook and cranny as a kid. I caught frogs and snakes; tallied the hawks, warblers, and cardinals; and fed birdseed to baby Mallards. I read book after book about whales, dinosaurs, and penguins and devoured episodes of Planet Earth. As a Wildwood counselor, I found a place where that nature-loving child in me can return as I sing silly songs, canoe around the perimeter of the pond, bury myself in sand (long story), and search the camp for a stuffed toy raccoon (longer story).

This past summer, one of our mid-session overnight camping trips saw temperatures soar to a scorching 100°F. As a team, the staff proposed to the campers that we could avoid the heat by waking up at 3:00 am to climb the mountain and see the sunrise. We were all aware of the challenges involved in taking 50 13- and 14-year-olds up a mountain in the dark, but to my surprise, they were game! When the alarm rang in the early morning, my campers ran over, fully awake and ready to hike. We clambered up the mountain by moonlight and flashlight until a sliver of pink pierced the horizon as we ascended above the tree line. At the top, we were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise I’d ever seen. The mist blowing across the valley distorted the sunlight, and we found ourselves inside a giant rainbow. It was a magical moment, and we all felt accomplished.

We are in unbreakable connection with nature—we inhale what plants exhale, our food grows from the soil, and we’re constantly at the mercy of natural phenomena. Humans haven’t conquered nature as we like to believe: we are nature. At this critical time when the health of our planet is in our hands, camps like Wildwood, which foster that connection in children and teens, are exceedingly special places.

Since first coming to Wildwood for family camp in 2011, I’ve treasured this special place for its community, sanctuary, and opportunities. I’ve spent some of the best weeks of my life at Wildwood, whether as a camper, a trekker, a Leader-in-Training, or a staff member. I’ll be returning this summer for my third year as a counselor, which I see as a way to give back to a community that has given so much to me.

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Dustin Ledgard is studying Composition at Indiana University and will be returning for his 11th summer at Wildwood this year, his third as a counselor.