A staff hiking trip before Opening Day combined all three of these elements. The trip contained two days of hiking and one night of camping. This opportunity built intentional communities among in-camp leaders, specialists, and coordinators, as well as gave staff the chance to test the camping equipment to make sure it was ready to go for upcoming trips.

This trip brought together people with different experience levels. Some were seasoned hikers and long-time Merrowvista community members, while others were with inexperienced campers or brand-new community and staff members.

Each group practiced leadership on trail. These moments sparked conversations of learning, growth, and openness.

Growth and genuine openness are qualities used to create healthy and intentional communities. Merrowvista strives to be a place where campers can be their true, authentic selves, and the staff lead by example. During staff training, people are challenged to be intentional and to get to know each other below the surface level. These communities and connections follow the staff into their final stretch of training.

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KCISP is also a key part of campers’ daily routine at camp. In-camp leader Jessie Traxler said this small 30-minute time block allows campers to tidy up their personal bunk space and clean common spaces such as bathrooms and other areas.

Traxler said when children enter camp, they come with a variety of upbringings and backgrounds. KCISP is a great way to establish that each individual is on the same page when it comes to taking responsibility and ownership of community spaces.

To ensure camp development and success before camp begins, the staff team replicated the KCISP experience on a larger scale. These tasks range from organizing books and sweeping the activity center to deep cleaning the out-camping equipment building.

“Everyone who has been assigned to KCISP-ing assignments has really made camp come to life a little bit more and the spaces are much more ready for campers, so that’s exciting,” said Traxler.

The Merrowvista team cannot wait to welcome campers into the environment and spaces in just a few short days!

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