Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 End of Season Report · Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 End of Season Report Introduction Summer 2016 marked the 94th summer season the City

BELC 2016 End of Season Report October 5, 2016

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Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 End of Season Report

Introduction

Summer 2016 marked the 94th summer season the City of Berkeley Echo Lake Camp has offered programs

for Berkeley residents in the beautiful Sierra Nevada. This summer, 2,185 campers visited Echo Lake

Camp, and enjoyed programs for families, youth, adults, and private group rentals. Although Echo Lake

Camp is best ‘experienced’, this report will summarize the programs, events, and activities offered at Camp

this summer, including the populations served, and provide an update on capital projects and facility

improvements.

General Information

Over the past three seasons, Echo Lake Camp programs have been modified to accommodate displaced

Tuolumne Family Campers following the August 2013 Rim Fire, which substantially destroyed Berkeley

Tuolumne Camp. Echo Lake Camp reduced the number of Youth Camp sessions offered from six (6) to

three (3), introduced a new five (5) week Family Camp program, and offered two (2) 50+ Camp sessions

along with several private group rentals. These changes have been well received, and in 2016 the Camp

experienced a continued increase in overall attendance and use.

Since 2013, several key facility and capital improvement projects have been completed, including a fall

2014 dining hall structural remediation project and recreation lodge deck remediation, the fall 2015

installation of new kitchen equipment, and the fall 2016 construction of three new cabins.

These continued facility and program improvements led to positive feedback from campers throughout the

summer. Campers noted improvements to the Food Service and dining hall experience, facility

maintenance (particularly bathrooms and showers), and the quality of programs offered.


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We look forward to continuing to offer the best possible programs for our campers, and to future

maintenance and facility improvements that will ensure campers will enjoy Berkeley Echo Lake Camp for

years to come.

Facility Improvements: Dining Hall & Kitchen:

Key health & safety and facility improvements have been completed over the past several years:

2014: Structural remediation of Roof Trusses and roof, walls, foundation, and winter supports.

2015: Installation of two (2) new gas convection ovens and a Type I Hood, as well as a new kitchen

make-up air unit.

2016: New Dining Hall Tables, refinished the Dining Hall Floor, Interior Paint.

Left: New dining hall tables are shown. These folding, American-Made, green certified tables are easy to use, and greatly improve the

safety, cleanliness, and maintenance of the building. Right: New screen doors improve pest control.

Left: Dining Hall floors test sand and coat. Middle: progression during sanding. Right: Finished floors!.


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Construction of three (3) new Tent Platforms - #6, #7, and #35:

Above: Tent Platform #35 at the tail end of construction. Below: Staff cabins #6 &#7 during construction. Construction

is scheduled for completion in late October, 2016

New Kitchen Equipment and Make-Up Air Unit:


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Left: New gas convection ovens, hood, and fire suppression system. Right: Duct-work spans the length of the Dining Hall for the new

kitchen make-up air unit.

Operation of Surface Water Treatment Facility: The Surface Water Treatment facility is now fully operational, permitted, and was utilized throughout the

summer 2016 season. This is a critical infrastructure improvement over previous years of operation.

During summer 2015, more than 40 water truck deliveries were required to meet the demand of the camp

operation. This new system eliminated the need for water deliveries, reducing operating expenditures and

reducing our environmental impact.

Above: Components of our new Surface Water Treatment facility. The Camp is treating water from Lower Echo Lake.


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General Camp Maintenance and Facility Improvements: In addition to the above projects, Camp staff have been able to complete several deferred maintenance

and facility improvement projects. These improvements have eliminated minor health & safety concerns,

improved facility operations, protected buildings and outlying structures, and will improve the overall

experience of our campers.

Camp Staff completed major and minor maintenance and repairs to eight tent platforms this season. Shown

above are major repairs on ridge tent cabin #10 (left) and staff tent #1 (right).

Left: weathered siding, shutters, and doors. Right: refinished exterior trim and new four-season doors and

shutters. These improvements will protect the structure from the harsh environment, and improve the

aesthetic appeal.


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Above left: Pool Bathhouse before maintenance. Above Right: Pool bathhouse following repairs. Camp

staff pressure washed and refinished the siding, installed new trim, and constructed a new all-season door.

Left: New canoe equipment storage cabinet and staging area, located behind the Pool.

Right: Plumbing upgrades and new shower controls were installed at the Ridge Shower.


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Left: Refinished four-season doors on the Ennis Bathhouse. Right: Pressure washing the south bath-house.

Above: Many of the facility improvements will go unseen to campers, but will improve facility operations and the camper

experience. Left: Camp staff working on drainage behind the pool pump house. Right: New water heaters were installed

at the Ridge showers, and men’s and women’s ridge restrooms.


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Summer 2016 Echo Lake Camp Programs and

Program Attendance

Echo Lake Camp provided several unique types

of programming in summer 2016, serving a total

of 2,185 campers.

Program Review

Overall, each of our programs were very

successful, and very well received. There were

several factors that contributed to the success,

including a positive, enthusiastic summer staff

and excellent support from City of Berkeley

administrative support staff.

Summer 2016 saw the return of many popular

programs, and attendance was strong. The

overall camp capacity was increased for several

programs, allowing more opportunities to attend

camp.

Below are several comments Campers gave on

camper satisfaction surveys at the end of their stay:

“We love this camp and so appreciate everyone’s commitment to the camp, and we appreciate all the improvements from last year”.

“Food was greatly improved over last year. Every meal was good”.

“Appreciate that the bathrooms and showers were improved”.

“The Kitchen staff did an excellent job dealing with the serious dietary needs we had for our boys. This is one of very few places we can come and relax about food. The whole kitchen staff was on board and worked hard to make sure our needs were met”.

“Staff is awesome and the energy and enthusiasm is exceptional”.


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Program Attendance

Summer 2016 program attendance is shown below. Our Family Camp program reached 96.5% capacity,

averaging 117 campers per night (120 max), while our Youth Camp and Teen Weekend programs reached

100% capacity.

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 Attendance By Program

Program Youth (age 0-14)

Adult (age 15+) Total Campers

Work Weekend 0 17 17 Fish Camp 32 13 45

Family Camp (includes AIR) 536 722 1258 Youth Camp 292 - 292

Counselor In Training (CIT) 46 - 46 Teen Weekend 66 20 86 Pre-K Weekend 30 40 70

50+ Camp - 128 128 Runner's Workshop 27 63 90

Blues Weekend 30 53 83 FOBTC Labor Day Weekend 11 59 70

Totals 1070 1115 2,185


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Staff and Community Engagement

For summer 2016, Echo Lake Camp was managed on-site by Craig Veramay, Recreation Program

Supervisor, and supported administratively by a variety of City of Berkeley Recreation Division staff,

including Denise Brown, Recreation and Youth Services Manager. The city employed a total of 42

seasonal camp staff, including

Camp Maintenance

Mechanics, Camp Medical

Staff, Cabin Counselors and

Recreation Staff, Food Service

Staff, and Administrative office

staff, 28 of whom lived on-site

throughout the summer

season. The staff community

was very positive throughout

the summer, in large part due

to an excellent group of

returning staff, highly energetic

and capable new staff, several

key facility improvements, and

increased experience running

programs at Echo Lake Camp.

Some notable Summer 2016 accomplishments include:

Maintenance of a positive, healthy relationship with key community service agencies, partners, and

neighbors.

Maintained an excellent staff retention rate while introducing several new staff to the requirements,

traditions, and community of working at Echo Lake Camp.

Reinforced or re-established several important Echo Lake Camp traditions, including the Pinecone

Ceremony, daily youth camp cabin inspections, dining hall songs and chants, and several important staff

celebrations.

Reinforced strong connections with nature through the Echo Lake Pioneer program, artist-in-residence

programs, and guest speakers.

Continued the very popular ‘Guest Chef’ program during our Family Camp season. “Bake Sale Betty’ led

the production of two wonderful dinners for campers.

Hosted sessions informing and educating campers about the status of the Tuolumne Camp rebuild process.

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Staff enjoyed a staff celebration dinner at the

West Shore Café, in Homewood, CA, following a successful summer 2016

season.


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Summer 2017 Program Goals

For Summer 2017, the City of Berkeley will offer a wide variety of program offerings at Echo Lake Camp

for families, youth, and private group rentals. We will strive to achieve the following goals for our summer

2017 program season:

Offer recreation, education, and fellowship opportunities for City of Berkeley residents and non-residents,

providing opportunities for diverse audiences to appreciate outdoor environments.

Increase opportunities for underserved youth and families to attend camp programs.

Improve Counselor-In-Training (CIT) attendance rates.

Offer a Family Camp program as an option for displaced Tuolumne Family Campers to maintain important

family traditions.

Continue to respond to and address the changing financial landscape in the Camps Fund after the loss of

Tuolumne Camp.

Continue to build enthusiasm and investment in the Echo Lake Camp community.

Address several key facility maintenance projects.

View of the Tahoe Basin from Echo Lake Camp


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Looking Ahead

Our summer 2017 program calendar has been finalized, and includes the following program dates and

information:

Family Camp & Fish Camp | ALL AGES

Registration: Berkeley Resident priority registration begins Monday, December 5, 2016.

Non-Berkeley resident (open) registration begins Friday, December 9, 2016.

Fish Camp Program Dates: Thursday, Jun 15 (L)–Sat, Jun 17 (B)

Family Camp Program Dates: Saturday, Jun 17 (L) – Sunday, Jul 16 (B) and

Friday, Jul 21 (D) – Sunday, Jul 30 (L)

Youth Camp | AGES 7-14

Online Registration will begin in early 2017.

Youth Camp Session Dates:

Session #1: Jul 31 - Aug 4 Session #2: Aug 7 -11 Session #3: Aug 14-18

Counselor-In-Training (CIT) | AGES 15-16

Online Registration will begin in early 2017, TBD.

CIT Session Dates:

Session #1 (Family): Jun 17–24 Session #2 (Family): Jun 24-Jul 1

Session #3 (Family): Jul 1–8 Session #4 (Family): Jul 8-15

Session #5 (Family): Jul 22-29 Session #6 (Youth): Jul 31 – Aug 4

Session #7 (Youth): Aug 7-11 Session #8 (Youth): Aug 14-18 (Transportation provided for sessions 6, 7, 8 only).

Work Weekend | AGES 13+ (w/Adult Supervision)

Dates: Jun 9-11 & Sept. 8-10, 2017

We will begin accepting registration forms for these FREE weekend programs on Monday, Oct. 4, 2016.

Artist-In-Residence (AIR) and Guest Chef Programs | AGES 18+

Applications will be accepted for these free volunteer programs starting on Monday, October 4, 2016.

50+ Camp | AGES 50+

Registration begins Monday, December 19, 2016.

Session #1: Aug 19 (L)–22 (B) Session #2: Aug 22 (L)–25 (B)


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Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Association (BELCA)

The Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Association (BELCA) has graciously offered financial support to the City of

Berkeley to support Echo Lake Camp programs. For summer 2016, the City gratefully accepted assistance

from BELCA to provide Teen Weekend and Youth Camp scholarships, as well as support the provision of

bus transportation for our Teen Weekend and Pre-k programs. This assistance allowed teens, youth, and

families with young children to enjoy camp experiences this summer. The City appreciates the continued

generosity of BELCA, and is thankful for their support of the Echo Lake Camp experience.

Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp (FOBTC)

The City gratefully accepted assistance from FOBTC supporting the program and operations of the Family

Camp and Labor Day programs, including financial assistance that supported the purchase of materials

and supplies for camp, and an end of season staff celebration dinner. We appreciate the generosity of

FOBTC as they helped make our Family Camp program a success in its second year.

Conclusion

Echo Lake Camp had a successful summer season. The return of seasoned camp staff, addition of new

programs and activities, and improved youth camp program have all been supported by major facility

improvements over the past year. Looking ahead to summer 2017, our focus on youth and family

programming will remain strong.

The loss of Tuolumne Camp continues to present unique challenges to the Camps Fund, and Echo Lake

Camp will need to remain nimble in coming years to adapt to this changing landscape. We will continue to

seek ways to cut costs and increase revenue while offering a diverse array of program options for our

Campers.

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp is continuing to improve in its facility, programs, staff, and hospitality. The

increase in organization and expansion of program offerings in 2016 will be our model for moving into the

summer of 2017. The continued advancement of camp will be evidenced by facility improvements, further

enrichment of the staff and camp culture, and a strong commitment to providing memorable, fun

experiences for all of our campers.

We look forward to many future seasons of success, continuing Echo Lake Camp’s 94 year tradition of

offering incredible outdoor recreation in a beautiful, alpine setting. Thank you for a great summer season!

Craig Veramay

City of Berkeley Recreation Division

Recreation Program Supervisor - Camps

Documents

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 End of Season Report · Berkeley Echo Lake Camp Summer 2016 End of Season Report Introduction Summer 2016 marked the 94th summer season the City