Hey everyone, Adler here!
As a member of the Camp Kintail staff, we have the incredible opportunity to have a unique, one-of- a-kind camp name that we refer to as being our Nature Name. Why is it called a Nature Name, instead of a Camp Name you ask? Let me explain!
At Camp Kintail, we all abide by our GROW Philosophy. The ‘O’ in GROW stands for respecting and enjoying the Outdoors. Being in God’s creation here at camp is an incredible experience for anyone on our site. From the lush cedar forests, to the dunes on the beach, all of it is nature, and we highly value it here.
As part of our commitment to loving nature, we take on a nature name that reflects us and is our identifier at Camp Kintail. Usually, a staff member gets their camp name during their Leader in Training (LIT) month. However, some staff members, such as myself, came to Kintail with previous camp experience and never took the LIT program. In this case, we chose our name upon arrival to camp. Before any camp name is approved, it must pass a few qualifiers.
1) Must have a theme in nature
2) It must never have been taken by another staff member
3) If it was an LIT name that never returned to camp, they must not be on site for a period of 5 years before the name becomes available again.
4) It must be appropriate and have no double-meanings.
If it passes these tests, then a name is approved! I will expand on the nature theme a little bit more (just to clear things up). When we talk about a nature theme, we are referring to things that occur naturally in the world, such as, but not limited to:
1) Animals
2) Insects
3) Plants
4) Intangible phenomena
5) Regions
6) Bodies of Water
7) Geographic Features
8) Elements
9) Space
10) Scientific Concepts
These are only a few of the almost countless number of nature themes someone could choose from! Now, I suppose I should explain my camp name, since I am writing a blog post about them after all.
Adler is actually a German word that means “Eagle”. Firstly, I chose a German word for my name, as it reflects my family heritage. Secondly, I chose the Eagle, because it represents one of my favourite passages in the Bible, Isaiah 40:31. Initially, I didn’t know how I felt about my name, as it was new to me. But now, I consider it to be a name that is distinctly “me” and sets me apart from the rest of the crowd.
Nature Names have a special place here at Camp, and I’m proud that my Nature Name represents me as a part of the incredible Camp Kintail Staff!