A summer camping experience gives kids an opportunity to explore the outdoors, learn new skills, make life-long friendships and life-long memories, surrounded by nature.
The owners-directors of The Hollows summer camp in Bradford West Gwillimbury are optimistic that the COVID-19 pandemic won’t deprive kids of that unique opportunity this summer.
The Hollows has a 39-year history of providing recreation for kids, but its roots go back much farther than 1981.
Veronica Fine, daughter of founders Dr. Stephen and Janet Fine, notes that it was her grandfather, William “Bill” Fine who first bought the 87-acre property on Line 13 of BWG that now houses The Hollows. He bred race horses on the rolling acres, and used the farm as a home-base for his farming operations in the Holland Marsh.
Stephen and Janet transformed the family property into The Hollows, “a day and overnight recreational summer camp for youth,” says Veronica. “My father was an avid outdoorsman,” who enjoyed hiking and canoeing on the property’s lake.
Her mother Janet not only enjoyed the out-of-doors, but had a strong background in theatre and the arts.
Together, “they had this vision, to create an incredible outdoor space for outdoor recreation,” Veronica says. “It’s a very, very beautiful space. Something as special as this space needed to be shared.”
Veronica herself has been involved in The Hollows since she was 15, as a Counsellor-in-Training.
“I sort of moved up, as a camp counsellor,” she said, and after a break for studies and work, she returned to work full-time as a director of programming.
Now she and husband Logan Pinney are camp directors, working with her parents to provide recreational opportunities to the community every summer.
“It’s a joy to work with them in such a beautiful setting, and give back to the community – and work with youth, in such an incredible space!” she says.
But this year, there are questions. What will the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic be on the operation of the camp? Will it be ‘business as usual’? Will there even be a season?
Normally, The Hollows is open for programs that include day and overnight camps for kids between the ages of seven and 15, adult summer camp, camp-themed wedding receptions and team-building get-aways for businesses, from June to September, with the first session of children’s camp set to begin at the end of June.
At the moment, The Hollows is holding to that camp schedule. “As of Friday, April 3, we are still scheduled to open for our first session, which is June 28,” Veronica says.
“We continue to try and spread optimism,” she adds, hoping that the actions being taken to halt the spread of the virus will be successful in bringing the pandemic under control and make it possible to open for the season - although she acknowledges, “Things are changing day to day.”
The Hollows Camp is an accredited member of Ontario Camps Association (OCA), and follows all of the health recommendations and standards set by OCA, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, and the province.
All 450-plus summer camps belonging to the OCA have now launched an Instagram campaign, #StayHomeToComeHome – urging families to practice social distancing and self-isolation, to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and make it possible for the camping season to go ahead as planned.
For many campers, summer camp “really is a second home,” Fine explains, with children coming back, year after year. The hope behind the campaign is that by following best practices, the pandemic will end, and the restrictions on gatherings will be eased by July.
The Hollows does have a certain amount of flexibility, should the closures and bans extend into the summer months.
The family is already considering options that could include extending camp sessions into September, or offering recreational programs on weekends, to give kids a chance to experience nature and interact with other children “in a safe environment,” Veronica says.
Not that The Hollows is a big operation. The camp has the capacity to handle a maximum of only 50 campers per week, and with more than ten activities available, groups are always small.
“We really try to have a small camper-to-staff ratio,” Veronica says.
Not only do the small numbers and large grounds give campers a chance “to really feel like they have space around them,” the smaller numbers also help make it “more of a family environment at camp,” she notes.
It leads to closer friendships, more one-on-one time with counsellors, and in the face of COVID-19 concerns, the ability to avoid large gatherings.
The Fine family is waiting, fingers crossed, to see if the season can go ahead as planned, but so are others in the BWG Community. The camp, over the decades, has developed ties with many local businesses that provide supplies, services and support. The Hollows also employs between 10 and 20 staff members, many of them young people.
“We have lots of opportunities for local youth to work with us in a variety of capacities,” Fine notes – in administration, landscaping, construction and maintenance, as well as traditional camp counsellor positions.
The loss of a season would have a ripple effect on local businesses and jobs – but also on the many local families who have sent their kids to summer camp, some of them through the ‘Kids In Camp’ charity.
“We work with Kids in Camp. It’s an incredible charity,” explains Fine – providing subsidies to overcome the financial barriers that might keep kids from enjoying a summer camping experience. Kids in Camp has helped to send over 2,400 youngsters, from all backgrounds, to more than 120 OCA-accredited summer camps across Ontario, so they can “gain memories that will last a lifetime… learn about themselves and others.”
The Hollows is one of those camps.
For now, The Hollows Camp is staying hopeful, busy preparing for the 2020 summer season.
“For us, we’ve been in business for 39 years. We’ve seen the development in Bradford, the changes in the community. We’re very well established,” says Veronica. “We’re definitely going to look at all the ‘what ifs’ and plan head, but definitely work together and try to be optimistic.”
She adds, “It’s difficult to stay positive, but it really is the best. Take it one day at a time.”
As it says in a heartfelt comment on The Hollows' Facebook page, "Together we will make this the best summer of The Hollows Camp yet!"
For more information on The Hollows Camp, click here or check out The Hollows on Facebook or Instagram.
