Each year, the interpretive team attends visitors’ night at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp on Thursdays. The crew brings Smokey Bear to meet and greet the hundreds of children and adult campers with mental and physical disabilities that attend the camp each session.
Volunteers put on a skit and talk with the campers and counselors, providing a Forest Service presence in the camp that is located on public land off Road 39 on Highway 26, a few miles passed the Village of Rhododendron.
Kiwanis Camp is one of our favorite activities, and we hope to expand the programming this year to include campfire programming, guided hikes and activities for higher functioning groups.
Additional programs are already underway, including a special visit from volunteer Rangers to the Trillium Lake campsite of the canoe group at Kiwanis Camp. Rangers bring furs, skulls and more to discuss with the campers, and have a blast hanging out by the water.
This year, Smokey also helped kick of the Kiwanis Walk, Roll or Stroll fundraiser in Portland. See pictures of the fun soon!
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- Last year’s interp crew singing the Smokey Bear song with the Kiwanis Camp house band.
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- The staff of Kiwanis Camp rounding out the evening activities for the crowd last year.
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- This year’s Volunteers sing the Smokey Bear song for the campers at Kiwanis every week
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- Smokey visits with campers
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- This year’s group hangs out with Smokey at K-Camp
