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Mount Moresby Adventure Camp Society building upon success

Submitted by Jonathan Ebbs-The Mount Moresby Adventure Camp Society, also known as MMACS, has some exciting plans in the works. Persistent proposal writing, community networking, and a hard working staff team are all beginning to pay off as the society prepares for substantial growth this summer and into the fall and 2009.This early September will bring the Hecate Strait Challenge. Four of the MMACS sea kayak staff will kayak non-stop from Haida Gwaii to Prince Rupert. This 70 nautical mile marathon hopes to attract attention to the adventure camp and raise money that will be used to provide bursaries to local children and youth for our 2009 summer program. Keep your eyes open as information and pledge sheets will be distributed in as many places we can. To manage the risk of such an event, the paddlers will have the support of the north end Coast Guard Auxiliary as well as local residents in their sail boat.This summer, the adventure camp program for kids between the ages of 6 and 13 years old promises to be full of new events and will build on last year's program. The camp runs from Aug. 12-21 and is almost full at 28 kids! The program includes a seven-day kayak trip for the older youth, is two days longer than last year and thanks to funding from the BC Gaming Commission is being offered at the same price as last year at $400.Work with School District 50 has been a great success so far and will continue in the year ahead. The Outdoor Pursuits pilot program ended on a high note as students climbed and spent a night at 2,400 feet above sea level on Mosquito Mountain. And what a gift as the group was offered crystal clear skies and a beautiful 360 degree view. This program ran three different trips including a hike to Cape Ball to survey culturally modified trees for the Haida Heritage and Forest Guardians in April.The Forest Stewardship Outdoor Education Program ran in May with the grade 4s and grade 8s. After the grade 12 program this coming fall, the program will enter year 4 which is a seminal year. The fourth year marks the year that all of our islands students from grade 4 to grade 12 plus three years of graduates will have been to the adventure camp at least once. The society thanks Mike Woods for his leadership and support in these partnerships and wish him the best in his move north to the tropics!The Mount Moresby Adventure Camp Society received one of three new licences to operate in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. This is a huge new open door as the society builds its sea kayak program. It will enable the adventure camp to market educational trips to private schools, universities and to the tourism market. Any profits realized in this operation will be used to subsidize our programs geared to the local population. This will translate to greater self-sufficiency in being able to offer more great programming and more employment for local residents without the constant search for funding.MMACS is working hard to match the money approved by the Coast Sustainability Trust in December of 2007 to make improvements to its facility and grounds, including the waterfront which is in desperate need of some clean-up to make it safer for swimming. The upgrades include a shower/washroom facility, a field office and some finishing work to the existing buildings.The Mount Moresby Adventure Camp Society wishes to thank all residents of Haida Gwaii/The Queen Charlotte Islands for their support of the camp and camp operations. We understand that during our growth and learning there are bound to be bumps and hurdles. If we could be flown to the top of the mountain, we wouldn't have the satisfaction of realizing such heights by our own steam and our disconnection to the challenges below would remain complete.