News

Calling ALL LDP’s
This summer, Camp St. Croix will celebrate 29 years of shaping future leaders through our Leadership Development Program. We are very excited to extend this opportunity to this summer’s incoming LDP’s who will take part in transformational life experiences as they venture into the wilderness, develop leadership skills and learn how to make a difference in the lives of our campers!

Do you remember what an exciting time it was for you? Canoe trip? Sailing trip? Who will be in our group? Who is our leader? This is going to be great! Summer could not arrive soon enough.

The Camp St. Croix Leadership Development Program experience continues to impact participant’s lives as they become staff members, volunteers, and community leaders with a mindset of service, sustainability and a deep respect for the world around them.

Thank you, for believing in the mission of YMCA Camp St. Croix and building leaders of tomorrow, one camper at a time!  If you would like to participate in LDP’s reunions, fundraising efforts, special events and updates please email us your current contact information.

Books for Parents

•    It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living, Crissy Trask
•    The Geography of Childhood, Gary Nabham
•    Silent Spring, Rachel Carson
•    A Sense of Wonder, Rachel Carson
•    Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold
•    Listening Point, Sigurd Olson
•    Desert Solitaire, Edward Abby
•    An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore
•    Creation, Edward O. Wilson
•    Hands-on Nature, Susan Sawyer
•    Kids Nature Book, Susan Milord
•    Listening to Nature, Joseph Cornell
•    Beyond Ecophobia, David Sobel
•    National Audubon Society Field Guide Series
•    The Condor's Shadow, David Wilcove
•    Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching, Clare Walker Leslie
•    Infinite Nature, R. Bruce Hull

Books for Adolescents

•    Hatchet and Brian’s Winter, Gary Paulsen
•    My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George
•    Hoot, Carl Hiassen
•    The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan
•    Drawn to Nature Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie, Clare Walker Leslie
•    Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You, Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth

Books for Children

•    Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
•    The Water Boatman, William Mayne
•    Stella Luna, Janell Cannon
•    My First Nature Book, Angela Wilkes
•    My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead
•    What’s in the Pond, What’s Under the Log, What’s in the Tide Pool, What’s in the Meadow, Grandpa’s Farm, Possum’s Harvest Moon, Anne Hunter
•    Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Seuss
•    Pond, One Small Square - Woods, Cactus Desert, Backyard, Seashore, Coral Reef, Donald Silver
•    Our Tree Named Steve, Alan Zweibel
•    Jackson Jones and the Curse of the Outlaw Rose, Mary Quattlebaum
•    The Adventures of Pelican Pete: Annie The River Otter, Frances and Hugh Keiser
•    Nobody Particular: One Woman's Fight to Save the Bays: The Diane Wilson Story, Molly Bang
•    The Tree, Dana Lyons and David Lane Danioth
•    Ring of Earth, Jane Yolen
•    When the Moon Is Full, Penny Pollock with illustrations by Mary Azarian
•    The Earth Is Painted Green, Barbara Brenner
•    Other Way to Listen, I’m in Charge of Celebrations, Everybody Needs a Rock, Byrd Baylor
•    Earthdance, Joann Ryder
•    Mud, Mary Lyn Ray
•    Owl Moon, Jane Yolen
•    Tiniest Acorn, Marsha Danzig
•    Just a Dream, Chris Van Allsburg
•    A River Ran Wild, Lynne Cherry
•    The Man Who Planted Trees, Jean Giono
•    The Stars, H.A. Rey
•    Pond Life (Golden Guide), George K. Reid, Sally D. Kaicher, and Tom Dolan
•    Outside Story, Edited by Chuck Wooster
•    Reading the Forested Landscape, Tom Wessels
•    Reading the Granite Landscape, Tom Wessels
•    Nature In A Nutshell for Kids, Jean Potter

Last fall we began the 2013 Y Partners campaign for YMCA Camp St. Croix with a goal of $103,000.00. We are so appreciative of the generosity of our community in supporting Camp St. Croix year after year. This support is central to keeping Camp St. Croix programs strong and allowing us to fulfill our mission: To develop, in young people, respect for self, community and the environment, through camping, wilderness adventure and environmental education.

The contributions provide critical financial support that benefits all Camp St. Croix participants through:     
•    Camperships which ensure our youth experience regardless of family income level.
•    Ensuring quality and safe experiences through replacing and refurbishing worn equipment.
•    Providing staff training to deliver the best St. Croix experience possible.

Contributions to Camp St. Croix’s Annual Y Partners Campaign ensure that St. Croix continues its tradition of shaping the lives of young people through summer camp, wilderness adventures and environmental education programs that serve students throughout the year.

We are excited to announce that we are over 70% of our goal and are working hard to wrap the campaign up this winter! If you have not had the opportunity to contribute to the 2013 campaign I would like to encourage you to visit us at campstcroix.org to make a secure online donation or call us for additional information!  Thank you in advance for providing the gift of a great St. Croix experience to campers in need through your support of the 2013 Camp St. Croix Y Partners Campaign.  

Sincerely,
Al VanDenBroeke

Registration is now available for the 2013 Croixathlon.  Voted one of the Top 5 Races of the Year by Minnesota Triathlon News for the past several years this one is a race you won't want to miss! Register today!