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Looking for s'more campers
by Outspoken on Sun May 25, 2008 10:55 am
Looking for s'more campers, state raffles all-inclusive weekend trips
By DEIRDRE FLEMING
Portland Press Herald
Last year, Maine state parks saw a 9 percent increase in day visitors, but no change in the numbers of those coming to camp.
So state officials are going to make camping as easy as possible for interested Mainers.
This summer the Bureau of Parks and Lands is offering free, all-inclusive weekend camping trips to 32 families at six state parks around Maine.
The Free Family Camping Weekend that will be offered the weekends of July 11, 18 and 25 and Aug. 1 at six different state parks will cost the 32 families drawn in a raffle nothing, other than the cost of travel.
All the camping equipment will be provided: tents, stoves, sleeping bags, cooking utensils.
The Free Family Camping Weekend is a part of the state's Take-It-Outside campaign to get more Mainers experiencing and connected with the outdoors.
"Camping (numbers) were flat. We want to see more people. If you are camping, you are probably more immersed in the outdoors," said Will Harris, director of the Department of Conservation's bureau, who came up with the idea of free camping weekends.
In 2007, there were 2.1 million day visitors at Maine's state parks, but just 229,400 campers, a number that has remained stagnant for years, Harris said.
Due in part to the donation of 32 large sets of camping equipment by L.L. Bean and Coleman, and the contributions of several other donors, the department is focused on recruiting more campers by teaching those new to camping how to do it.
In addition, selected families will be given free vouchers to Hannaford to shop for food. They will be taught by licensed guides how to use a camping stove, start and put out a fire, and abide by Leave No Trace outdoors practices. They also will be shown how to set up their tents.
"A new tent can even be intimidating, even to a 20-time camper," said Gary Best, an interpretive planner with the bureau, who organized the raffle.
Similar programs are done in California and Connecticut, but neither is exactly like Maine's -- where the families are provided all the gear they need and all the instruction they need to learn or re-learn how to camp.
Connecticut's program, called No Child Left Inside, encourages families to look for clues at several different state parks over the course of seven weeks.
The program is only in its third year, but has drawn great interest, said Diane Joy, assistant director of state parks with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
The first year, 400 families signed up; last year, 750 families signed up; and this year, Joy said, more than 900 families have signed up for the program.
"It's been overwhelmingly positive," Joy said. "This year, one-third of the families came back for the program. When we kicked it off on May 10, over 4,000 people showed up."
Maine's first free weekend camping trip will be held on July 11 to 13 at Mount Blue State Park in Weld and Lily Bay on Moosehead Lake.
Other free camping trips will be held at Rangeley Lake, Dover-Foxcroft's Peaks-Kenny, Sebago Lake and Liberty's Lake St. George state parks.
Day visitors at state parks can look for registration forms, or go to www.parksandlands.com. The deadline to register is June 15.
If the program is a success, the state will continue it next year, Harris said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=189398&ac=Outdoors
By DEIRDRE FLEMING
Portland Press Herald
Last year, Maine state parks saw a 9 percent increase in day visitors, but no change in the numbers of those coming to camp.
So state officials are going to make camping as easy as possible for interested Mainers.
This summer the Bureau of Parks and Lands is offering free, all-inclusive weekend camping trips to 32 families at six state parks around Maine.
The Free Family Camping Weekend that will be offered the weekends of July 11, 18 and 25 and Aug. 1 at six different state parks will cost the 32 families drawn in a raffle nothing, other than the cost of travel.
All the camping equipment will be provided: tents, stoves, sleeping bags, cooking utensils.
The Free Family Camping Weekend is a part of the state's Take-It-Outside campaign to get more Mainers experiencing and connected with the outdoors.
"Camping (numbers) were flat. We want to see more people. If you are camping, you are probably more immersed in the outdoors," said Will Harris, director of the Department of Conservation's bureau, who came up with the idea of free camping weekends.
In 2007, there were 2.1 million day visitors at Maine's state parks, but just 229,400 campers, a number that has remained stagnant for years, Harris said.
Due in part to the donation of 32 large sets of camping equipment by L.L. Bean and Coleman, and the contributions of several other donors, the department is focused on recruiting more campers by teaching those new to camping how to do it.
In addition, selected families will be given free vouchers to Hannaford to shop for food. They will be taught by licensed guides how to use a camping stove, start and put out a fire, and abide by Leave No Trace outdoors practices. They also will be shown how to set up their tents.
"A new tent can even be intimidating, even to a 20-time camper," said Gary Best, an interpretive planner with the bureau, who organized the raffle.
Similar programs are done in California and Connecticut, but neither is exactly like Maine's -- where the families are provided all the gear they need and all the instruction they need to learn or re-learn how to camp.
Connecticut's program, called No Child Left Inside, encourages families to look for clues at several different state parks over the course of seven weeks.
The program is only in its third year, but has drawn great interest, said Diane Joy, assistant director of state parks with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
The first year, 400 families signed up; last year, 750 families signed up; and this year, Joy said, more than 900 families have signed up for the program.
"It's been overwhelmingly positive," Joy said. "This year, one-third of the families came back for the program. When we kicked it off on May 10, over 4,000 people showed up."
Maine's first free weekend camping trip will be held on July 11 to 13 at Mount Blue State Park in Weld and Lily Bay on Moosehead Lake.
Other free camping trips will be held at Rangeley Lake, Dover-Foxcroft's Peaks-Kenny, Sebago Lake and Liberty's Lake St. George state parks.
Day visitors at state parks can look for registration forms, or go to www.parksandlands.com. The deadline to register is June 15.
If the program is a success, the state will continue it next year, Harris said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=189398&ac=Outdoors
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
