Catherine in the Corps: Team Leader Retreat to St. Dorothy's Rest

Just before our last weekend of TLT, less than a week before Corps Members would arrive, the Team Leaders headed out for a Mini-Spike at St. Dorothy's Rest in the Redwood Forest. This was a fairly last minute schedule change, but a hugely successful one. The week before was intended to be the annual mini-spike trip to Camp Mendocino. Unfortunately Camp Mendocino was shut down until further notice because of a man hunt occurring in the Mendocino forest for a fugitive killer. Oh my! So in the last moment, we shifted our destination to another NCCC project sponsor, St. Dorothy's. I love Mendocino and will be happy to go there later with the Corps Members, but I am so happy to have experienced St. Dot's.

St. Dorothy's, established in 1901, is the oldest Camp in the state of California. It was founded as a retreat for sick children who did not typically have access to the camp atmosphere and needed a place for retreat and "rest." Today the camp serves as an Episcopal summer camp and also offers free camp programs for critically ill children from Bay Area hospitals. The camp is currently in the process of acquiring a significant addition of land adjacent to their current property. For this reason, the timing of our mini-spike was perfect for them. Our work was to clear access roads and remove dangerous fuels building a defensible space around the camp to protect from forest fires. The access roads were the primary concern to get vehicles in to survey the new land and gain and understanding of what the land consists of before the purchase is finalized.

The sponsors, Katie and Ben Evenbeck, were amazing and welcoming to our group. They taught us about the camp, the area, the importance of fuel reduction, and particularly applicable to the life of a TL, the importance of Self Care. Katie lead a workshop for us our second and final night there all about Self Care and the reality that leadership is lonely.

The two and a half day trip was brief but the impact will not be so brief. We came closer together as a group of Team Leaders, got some experience with hands on project work and chain saw skills, and learned about another wonderful NCCC project sponsor. Thank you to St. Dorothy's and Katie and Ben Evenbeck for a fantastic getaway retreat!

The Chapel at St. Dorothy's

Pam and Katie in the Main House Lodge (where there was constant access to coffee and an abundant tea collection at all times) just after our arrival at Camp