Camper to Instructor
We are so very fortunate this summer to have three staff members that spent significant time here as campers and/or teens. We love cultivating future instructors and hope to have many of our campers return time and again and eventually join us in making increadible Slide Ranch memories for future campers. Enjoy these excerpts from our former campers and teen leaders.
Throughout my childhood I treasured countless memories from my camp days at Slide Ranch – making rhubarb pie from the garden, milking the goats and making cheese, and exploring the spectacular spaces this unique place has to offer. I was thrilled about the opportunity to return this summer as a counselor.
I feel immensely lucky to teach kids what my counselors taught me 15 years ago – from what it means to honorably harvest and understand all that goes into the production of our food, to launching seeds from invasive English plantain and catching crabs in the tidepools.
Especially in our digital age, places like Slide Ranch are more vital than ever for kids to learn and play outdoors. I really believe spending time in nature is not only incredibly healthy for kids, but nurtures a sense of responsibility and care for the environment that can last a lifetime.
I have no doubt being at Slide as a kid planted seeds that shaped my life today - not only my decision to be a counselor this summer but to study environmental science and policy while at Duke, and devote my future career to sustainability and the environment. Slide Ranch’s mission is one I believe in deeply — and will continue to support for the rest of my life. I hope others will, too.
Elly (nature name Ladybug)
Slide Ranch has gifted me with many memories that I cherish. I learned of Slide Ranch through my friend when I was in high school. I joined the High School Internship program (formerly the Teen Fellowship) for around 2 years. I learned and tried new things, from milking goats to picking veggies in the garden to making stir-fry. I was overwhelmed with the beauty of this place. As a teen, Slide was a getaway from high school and a place I felt grounded and truly myself. My experiences here gave me a new perspective on community and farm life. My favorite memories during this time was having a barn yard sleepover with all the other Teen Fellows and laughing with the kiddos at camp in the tidepools.
To be here now as an adult is very surreal. I always had in the back of my mind how cool it would be to work here. Educating the community, especially kids about the behind the scenes on farming - how we get our food sustainably - is one of my passions. I am majoring in organic agriculture and environmental studies at The Evergreen State College with the dream to take my learnings to work with community and the earth in harmony with nature.
I am so lucky to have had Slide help pave the path of my growth as a human. Especially to be working here now and take what I learned as a camper into being a counselor!
Farah (nature name Fawn)
Growing up at Slide Ranch has truly shaped me into the person I am today. My earliest memory here was as a baby strapped to my mother’s back, hiking around after dropping my sisters at camp. I continued on from there to become a camper, CIT, ranch hand, and now outdoor instructor. I owe this place my love of agriculture which has now become one of the driving passions in my life.
My experiences at Slide Ranch inspired me to go on to study agroecology at UC Santa Cruz where I also work in a breathtaking three acre garden. Being able to come full circle and teach the kids I was once one of has been so incredibly fulfilling for me. I try each and every day to help pass on some of the Slide Ranch magic which forever and always will be with me.
Luke (nature name Lichen)
