Since graduating high school, I’ve been dedicating a week each summer (with a few exceptions) to staffing a session at Camp Bratton-Green. It’s an Episcopal Church Camp located just north of Canton, Mississippi.
This place holds a special place in my heart.
I first came to CBG as a camper when I was in the third grade. I remember being nervous about spending time away from my family. My older brother had been to camp before and assured me I had nothing to worry about.
Somewhere I have old pictures that my mom took before they left me there that first time. It was me and some of my cabin mates getting to know each other.
Kinda awkward.
I continued to go to camp every summer as a camper up until about sixth grade when I stopped going as a camper. I remember telling my mom I wanted to start going to soccer camps and take other trips. I had to choose and I regret missing out on my last few years of camp as a camper but have since made up for it by staffing each summer.
Camp Bratton-Green is THE BEST summer camp.
While some camps have an itinerary and force kids to go to certain activities, Camp Bratton-Green allows campers to choose their daily activities.
Waterfront: CBG has a beautiful lake with paddleboards, kayaks, and canoes to roam around in. There’s a floating dock and the lake boasts some great fishing. The camp also has a pool that is always fun to enjoy on the hot days of summer.
Nature: One of the coolest things about camp is that is out in the middle of nowhere. During nature activities, campers enjoy hiking, camping, games, star gazing, blackberry picking, and so much more. I have witnessed first-hand kids who have enjoyed nature at CBG go on to become doctors and scientists.
Arts and Crafts: The arts and crafts shack is hallowed ground at CBG and offers activities like making lanyards, painting, making bead necklaces or bracelets, and of course, tie-dying. Every year I take a boring ordinary white shirt to camp and give it splashes of color. Tie-dying at camp is one of the most popular activities at camp.
Music: Music activities are usually enjoyed in the Chapel at camp, so that means they’ve got the air conditioning. Music may also be a place to enjoy the space with fun games or a morning exercise.
The chapel is also home to a game that has totally dominated popularity at Bratton-Green for the past 15 plus years, Aerial Foursquare.
[While you may have heard of the boring old game of foursquare where people stand in a square and bounce a ball into each other’s squares, Aerial Foursquare takes it to another level. Nylon ropes are arranged in a way and hung from above to allow people to play the game overhead. It is almost like 4 people playing volleyball against each other. It gets crazy! Take your old boring foursquare and send it up to the heavens above.]
Ropes Course: Speaking of ascension, CBG has a ropes course that offers many different types of elements. You have lower elements that are like fun team building exercises and then you have the higher elements that include things like the Pirate’s Plank, The Circuit, and The Zipline. Strap on your harness and take the plunge! I’m going down the zipline this week. Count on it!
So, while the activities are always fun and enjoyable, so are the themes of the sessions. Each session’s director gives the week an underlying theme. I’ve been to some pretty interesting sessions that were based on movies (The Goonies and School of Rock), or books (Hunger Games and The Silver Chair). I’ve also been a part of sessions that were completely made up like Vikings vs. Zombies, A Musical Trip to the Mariana Trench, and A Time Travel Extravaganza.
Summer camp is where I have met amazing friends and can continue to grow spiritually. I am always getting to meet new people there. I love coming back and volunteering my time.
Maybe you didn’t go to summer camp when you were growing up or maybe you did, but it’s never too late to get involved. Camps are always looking for volunteers to help out.
Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp is always in need of people to help out.
So I encourage you to volunteer your time and efforts to these great camps.
Jamie Massengale is a Meridian native and a recent graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi.
