At Buitenzorg with Easter the first European Campstaff Seminar of the Goose Network took place. There was campstaff of other sites from Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Switserland, Belgium, Germany and of course the Netherlands. On behalf of Buitenzorg Erica was one of the participants. She gave us the following impression.
We set to work seriously with various workshops and in doing so we exchanged a lot of ideas. I myself, for instance, joined a workshop in which we decided upon the succes and risk factors of environment and nature programs.
Denmark brought her 'most wanted activity'. We got this rectangular slice of beewax and a short cord and from (a piece of) that you had to roll yourself a candle. It was great fun and it complied neatly to some of the succes factors: it is simple, doesn't take too much time and you take something home with you. In another workshop I was in a wheel chair, then on crutches and then walking with a white stick. With those aids only I had to move around and experience how it is to transport yourself as a handicapped. It is a perfect way to find out in what way your site is adapted to persons with a handicap. The person who did this workshop with us was in a wheel chair herself, so there is no better expert. To her, the two most important things were going to the sanitary unit on your own and move about the site independently.
Of course there was enough time for fun and cosiness. We ate each other's traditional snacks and drinks. A very special one was a piece of shark meat, that smelled like ammonia.
We have also showed our guests the surroundings of Buitenzorg by bike.
The tasks of campstaff on the various sites can be very different (from offering a complete summer camp program, including food to offering programs 'on the shelf', happy to be of service, but you have to plan your own camp). In spite of this fact you see in everyone a zealous and enthousiastic attitude when they are at work. It was a mega nice weekend.
Ingeborg, Marjan, Rachel and Sandra, thanks for the organisation!
Erica Derijcke (Netherlands)
Letter from Svend-Erik Fangel Pedersen about the seminar: Click to view: