Saving North Carolina Hemlocks

Beetle Treatment for Hemlocks

There is a pest, a small insect native to Japan called the “hemlock woolly adelgid,” that is threatening the health of hemlock trees all across the eastern United States. From Maine to Georgia, along the Appalachian mountains and Piedmont, hemlock trees are dying, and unfortunately Rockbrook has not been immune. Perhaps 75% of the hemlock trees at camp (and we have a lot on our 200+ acres) have been infected. You can easily tell because the insect produces a white wool-like substance at the tips of the trees’ branches.

Initially, scientists attempted to control the woolly adelgid using chemical insecticides, but now there is a growing consensus that a particular Japanese lady beetle, Sasajiscymnus tsugae (“Sassie”), can provide effective biological control of the pest. These small, pinhead-sized black beetles eat exclusively adelgids and a few aphids. They evolved alongside the aldelgid in Japan, and are, as it turns out, a very effective and very specific predator. The U.S. Forest service conducted several years of testing and has now embarked on a large scale effort to release colonies of the Sassie beetle in infected areas. It is somewhat difficult, time-consuming and costly to raise colonies of the predator beetle, but their long-term effectiveness in controlling and even reversing the damage done by the woolly adelgid has been remarkable.

Working with Dr. Patrick Horan, Rockbrook Camp is treating its hemlocks with multiple colonies of the Sassie beetle. We’ve picked more than a dozen trouble spots (like the trees shown here near the Junior Lodge) as starting points, but as the beetles mature and reproduce, we hope they will spread and attack the woolly adelgid throughout the camp. It takes several months, even years to see the benefits of the beetles’ work eating the adelgids, but we’re excited and hopeful to see the results.

P.S. One of our release sites is up on Dunn’s Rock where there are some of largest known examples of Carolina Hemlocks.

Summer Sleepaway Camp Memories

Summer Sleepaway Camp Catalog

“I have too many fond memories of camp to pick just one! It depends on my mood. Sometimes it is the memory of the candles reflecting in the lake at Spirit Fire. Sometimes it is all the singing we used to do (& the many, many songs I still know by heart). Sometimes it is the zany pranks and fun, kooky things that let us express ourselves so comfortably, like Kangaroo Court. And sometimes it is just the remembered pleasure of sorting mail in Goodwill on a rainy, misty day while everyone else was at lunch — and how the sound of singing would carry over from the Dining Hall. And the sound of the bells in the morning . . . Oh, just everything, then. (Except the spiders in the rafters!)”
— an Alumnae from the 1980s

P.S. This is the cover photo for the 1961 camp catalog!

Tie Dyes are Always in Fashion!

Camps Craft Tie Dye

One craft at summer camps like Rockbrook that’s always popular is making a tie dye t-shirt. It’s certainly a classic thing to do, and while you might think of swirls and colors on shirts from the 1970s, tying and dyeing cloth is common all over the world. For example, there is adire tie dyeing in Nigeria (Africa), shibori dyeing in Japan, and mudmee dyeing in Thailand, just to name a few.

In the Rockbrook craft activity called “Hodge Podge,” the girls use rubber bands to tie up the cloth. Folding, twisting, bunching, pinching, and wrinkling the material you make all sorts of different patterns. Then with the rubber bands, you keep everything tight. The tighter the fold, the more resistant to the dye that part will be. That’s part of the creativity involved— deciding what to make tight (resisting the dye) and what to leave loose (taking on the color of the dye). Plus, there’s the fun of picking what colors to use, and in what areas. With so much variation, it’s neat to see how each shirt turns out different.

North Carolina Stone Hotel, c. 1840

Dunns Rock Stome Hotel

It’s always fun to bump into a surprising historical connection to camp. Here’s a great example we spotted recently— a photo of what was called the “Stone Hotel.” It’s on display in the Transylvania County Courthouse (that’s the North Carolina county where Rockbrook is located) with the caption “Built circa 1840.” But do you recognize the big rock up above and behind it? It’s our very own Dunn’s Rock! The junction of Island Ford Road and US276 (Greenville Highway) was once a bustling little town with houses, this hotel, and a general store called “Powell’s Store,” which is still standing and is currently the Mud Dabber’s Pottery. An 1870 census of the Dunn’s Rock Township, as it was called, recorded 80 men, women and children living there. You have to wonder if the hotel was still open when Rockbrook was founded in 1921, and if any Rockbrook Camp families ever stayed there. Pretty cool.

The 10 best ways to dress up at Camp

Summer Camp Dressing Up Fun

What are the best ways to dress up at summer camp? Dressing up is one of the best things about going to an all girls summer camp. There seems to always be a chance to put on something funny, become a character, or create an alter ego of some sort. Parties, skits, shows! The zanier the better too. For all of the girls attending Rockbrook, here are the top 10 fun dress up themes we love at camp.

  • 10. Crazy Hats
  • 9. Pajamas
  • 8. Super Heroes
  • 7. Backwards Clothes
  • 6. Fairies
  • 5. 70’s Disco Divas (or some other decade)
  • 4. Pirates
  • 3. Survivors
  • 2. Crazy Hair Styles
  • 1. Grannies

When it’s time to pack for camp this summer, keep these in mind. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Combine these and make a totally unique costume. What about a Super human Granny? Or a Pirate in Pajamas? The options are endless!

Are your Kids Ready for Camp?

Kid Camp Summer

How do you know if your kids are ready for summer camp?

It’s an important question to ask, especially if you have a younger child who’d be new to the experience. Most discussions of this question focus on whether or not your child is outgoing and ready for the social component of camp. The idea here is that once a child makes friends at camp, they’ll enjoy the activities and be fine away from home. In fact, it’s often hoped that the camp program will help a shy child become more outgoing, more self-confident and independent. It’s true; camp is great for this reason.

Talking with Sarah, the Director of Rockbrook, she also cautions parents to make sure their child is honestly interested in attending camp. “It’s best for it to be her idea,” she says. As parents fondly remember their own summer camp experience, or hear that camp is “good for kids,” they can sometimes push a little too hard and talk their children into the idea, perhaps before they are really ready. “Research camps together and find one that sparks her interest and makes her really want to go. Learn about camps together; listen to her concerns, and with gentle encouragement, you’ll find the right camp,” Sarah suggests. You’ll know she’s ready for camp when it’s her idea and she’s excited to go.

Read more about the important skills and characteristics kids need to be ready for sleepaway camp.

small girl leading horse at camp

Summer Camp Makes Kids Talented

Summer Camp Kids at Rockbrook

OK, what do these people have in common: Larry Page (co-founder of Google), Condolezza Rice (U.S. Secretary of State), Bob Dylan (musician), Drew Carey (television actor), J.D. Salinger (author), and Katie Couric (journalist)? You might guess, but it’s true; they all went to camp as kids. The list of other famous and influential people who attended or worked at a summer camp is a pretty amazing list. The talent and abilities these folk now famously show, is impressive.

What’s interesting about this is to think how so much of what we become springs from our experiences as kids, how the people we meet, the activities that challenge us, and the accomplishments that validate who we are, can so profoundly inspire who we might become. As summer camp was a part of these talented people’s lives, and as it continues to be for scores of children today, it played some, perhaps even crucial, part in making them so.