About Camp Trapping and the Cariboo Action Training Society

Introduction

Cariboo Action Training Society operates Camp Trapping, a wilderness camp for young male offenders. Referrals are made through Youth and Probation Services and are required to attend as a condition of their Probation Order. The students are selected on a variety of criteria, but generally are individuals with multiple delinquencies, and are perceived to need a highly structured programme building self-esteem and individual responsibility. The programme facilitates probationers between the ages of twelve and eighteen years of age. Preference is given to referrals from the northern region, but students are accepted from various areas throughout the province of British Columbia.

Since the programme’s inception it has grown to the point where we now accommodate fourteen students at any one time. Camp Trapping operates year round utilizing a staged intake format. Individual students stay for 16 weeks but a turnover in the student population occurs every eight weeks due to overlapping programme schedules. Thus, beds become available to new programme participants at eight week intervals.

 

Historical Perspective

Camp Trapping was started by Bruce Hawkenson in June 1971. Mr Hawkenson, a probation officer, prior to Camp Trapping's inception, recognized the need for a programme to deal with male probationers in conflict with the law and deemed unmanageable within their community.

Securing a tract of land on Trapping Lake, forty-five point five kilometres south of Prince George, Mr. Hawkenson began the rudiments of what is now Camp Trapping. In accordance with provincial regulations, a private nonprofit organization was established and Camp Trapping became a bonafide rehabilitation resource, operated under the auspices of Cariboo Action Training Society.

Mr. Hawkenson created a programme which would challenge the students mental and physical capabilities to their fullest potential. The key phrase became, "I think I can; therefore, I can". The students and staff alike were challenged to give their best effort, and more often than not it proved to be more than they thought they were capable of.

Further, Mr. Hawkenson established a philosophy which helped guide and mould the programme to its present status. The philosophy still hold true today and is as follows:

- I possess a lot of worth as an individual.
- I have the ability to discover potential qualities within myself.
- I can develop these by mental, physical and spiritual exercise.
- I can only maintain my growth and success as I share it with others.

 

Programme Aims and Objectives

In addition to establishing the philosophical orientation, Mr. Hawkenson outlined some general programme aims and objectives. These aims and objectives have been expanded to include:

1. To develop the maturity level of the participants by exposing them to a wide range of life responsibilities.

2. To increase the interest level of the participants in the world around them by exposing them to a wide variety of experiences.

3. Improvement in the student’s work and school habits through various programmes’ designed to promote practical learning and social skill development.

4. To develop a healthy respect for the rights, privileges and feelings of others in the students.

5. An opportunity for students to improve social skills and effective interaction through cooperative group living.

6. Help the student to develop and clarify his own values and goals.

7. To increase the level of self-motivation by enhancing the student's self-image in terms of achieving and recognizing success.

The programme is designed to use a combination of wilderness living experience and counselling to help the student reduce delinquent behaviour, return to school, or its equivalent and function as a contributing member of society. Educational and vocational training, it is intended, will increase self-awareness and in turn, self-esteem. Challenging students to extend their limits in a variety of settings affords the means to prove self worth. Awareness of ones own feelings and values and the ability to communicate them freely, are the objectives of the counselling experience within the programme. Hopefully, when a student graduates from Camp Trapping, he will possess a clearer understanding of his personal make-up and a higher regard for the society in which he lives.

Site Information

The physical plant is located at Trapping Lake, 45.5 kilometres south of Prince George. Several buildings are on the site, these being a bunkhouse, schoolhouse, garage/woodwork shop, sauna and kitchen. In an attempt to emphasize individual responsibility, some of the facilities require input by the students for maintenance and comfort. Most buildings use wood heat, thereby requiring substantial wood gathering and cutting. The programme is serviced by electricity and running water however there are no flush toilets or showers. Although not meant to be extravagant accommodations, the site is comfortable and affords the basic requirements in a wilderness setting. Camp is in a constant state of evolution, with new buildings and renovations occurring continually.

 

Staffing

Staff are selected, taking into account academic background, physical fitness, experience with youth, out tripping experience and leisure activities. We attempt to have staff with a wide variety of backgrounds and selection depends on the programme needs at the time. An essential element through, is an ability to work effectively with the youths using patience and enthusiasm. An integral part of the programme is equality between staff and students. The staff members are prepared to do everything which the students do. The staff team consists of eleven full time employees working various shifting patterns to ensure seven days a week, 24 hour supervision. Briefly these are; two teams of three counsellors, each team working one week on (Monday to Monday) one week off. These six workers constitute the core of the team providing day to day supervision, interpreting camp philosophy, maintenance/counsellor, cook/counsellor, wood shop instructor and school teacher. A programme coordinator compliments the team providing support and ensuring programme delivery.

 

Therapeutic Model

Therapeutically, the programme uses two major techniques. It comprises a combination of behaviour modification and reality therapy. In the initial weeks of a session, students operate on a point system earning rewards based on the number of points they acquire through the week. To deal with infractions a logical consequence system is utilized. As behavioural problems are assessed, the charts and point system are individualized to emphasize these difficulties and force students to deal with the problems. The students can earn their way from charts as appropriate behaviours become the standard. They will then progress onto a level system, each level demanding greater responsibility and behavioural contracting, with increased rewards for appropriate behaviour. As students progress through the levels, increased peer group counselling occurs with less emphasis on staff limit setting or consequencing.

 

Programming

A typical four month session comprises several major components. The programme attempts to balance physical challenges and mental challenge. Physically, the students are challenged by a daily four mile run, by wilderness out trips, and the demand provided by the physical setting of the camp. Mentally, the youths are challenged through the school programme, work skills programme, food preparation and the home economics component as well as the general therapeutic orientation of the camp.

Firmly entrenched in behaviour modification, Camp Trapping revolves around many rules and regulations held in place by a tightly run daily schedule.

In camp, the daily routine is generally as follows:

6:45 AM		Rise and shine
7:00 AM		Calisthenics
7:10 AM		4 mile run
8:10 AM		Breakfast
8:40 AM		Chores
9:20 AM		Work/School
12:00 PM		Lunch
12:30 PM		Chores individual logs or diaries
1:10 PM		Work/School
4:00 PM		Sauna or group sessions (alternate days)
5:00 PM		Dinner
5:45 PM		Chores
6:30 PM		Scheduled programming; self improvement time and charts (individual counselling)
9:00 PM		Quiet time in bunkhouse (students work on individual logs or diaries)
10:00 PM		Lights out

 

Weekends vary slightly from this as these are our reward and visiting days.

The common denominator of the programming is emphasis on the fact that all students are, and always will be, responsible for their own actions. Students are rewarded and consequenced continually depending upon their decision making ability and attitude towards this concept.

The orientation and operation of the entire Camp Trapping programme is focussed on addressing and improving the life skills of our students.

Examples of what we address, although not limited to, are as follows...

- Learning to work and take pride in quality performance.
- Learning to accept responsibility.
- Learning to care for ones physical and emotional self.
- Developing physical fitness and personal hygiene.
- Learning cooking skills and nutritional information.
- Seeing and participating in socially acceptable and enjoyable activities; sports, hobbies.
- Developing a repertoire of leisure activities.

A brief overview of the means by which Camp Trapping achieves these objectives are as follows:

 

Accredited Academic Programme

Camp Trapping has for years been affiliated with School District #57 and has a special needs academic teacher at camp supplied by the School District.

Individualized programming is offered, emphasizing basic academic upgrading and life skills’ instruction to all students.

We also participate in teacher exchanges, sporting and social events with the local alternate school programme.

Students also acquire Carpentry 11 certification.

 

Cooking and Kitchen Skills Instruction

Two students work with the camp cook weekly in a learning environment. The basics of nutrition, cleanliness, food preparation and storage are addressed. These students, along with staff, help prepare the weekend meals.

Safety guidelines are consistent with those in the Industrial Education programmes offered by School District #57 and have also been perused by Worker's Compensation Board representatives.

 

Out Tripping and Outdoor Survival Skills

This is a major component of the Camp Trapping experience. Safe, yet very challenging and very well led out trips is a mainstay of Camp Trapping.

Seasonally dependent, these include canoe instruction followed by multi day trips, ski instruction, multi day ski tours and multi day back packing trips.

Basic survival skills and over night excursions are also undertaken using the camp as a base.

Standards for our wilderness activities conform to the manual of Standards and Policies for Outdoor and Wilderness Activities. Camp Trapping has leaders on its staff certified as outdoor instructors by such nationally recognized organizations as the British Columbia Recreational Canoeing Association, The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors, Outward Bound and Yamnuska Mountain School. Our out tripping guidelines are adopted from these recognized leadership organizations.

 

Community Service Work

Part of our philosophical orientation is that our students owe a debt to society. Thus, to repay some of this debt each group of students participate with staff in community service work projects.

We have done work for private individuals, local clubs (Sons of Norway Ski Club and Hickory Wing Ski Club), the Hixon and Prince George communities and at Provincial Parks and recreational sites.

This service work allows our students the feeling of repaying some of their debt and allows them to be seen by the public in a more favourable light than is often the case.

 

Alternate Awareness Programme

Part of our programming also involves student participation in such endeavours as the following: Drug and An Alcohol education programme, job search programme and alternative awareness programme that emphasizes such diverse social issues as morals and ethics, racial prejudice, human sexuality, sexual equality, physical and mental disabilities, prison awareness, legal rights and world hunger, to name but a few. We rely quite heavily on guest speakers and visitors for this programme.