Kingswood Camp CITs Partner with Lake Host Program to Protect Lake Tarleton

Combined Effort

“Being able to help keep a place so dear to my heart as Lake Tarleton free from dangerous weeds was an experience that I am glad I could be a part of,” says Kingswood counselor Sean Forester. Kingswood Camp, a traditional boys summer camp located on Tarleton’s southwestern shore, has partnered with the Lake Tarleton Association in an effort to protect Tarleton from the threat of invasive species.The summer of 2013 marked the 10th year that The Lake Tarleton Association was awarded a grant from the New Hampshire Lakes Association to participate in the Lake Host program, developed to prevent the spread of milfoil and other exotic weeds into the lakes of the Granite State.The grant was a total sum of $1,550.

These funds paid the salary of a lake host who was employed to staff the public boat launch and provide courtesy boat inspections and share information regarding invasive species. In order to qualify, the Lake Tarleton Association was required to match an equivalent number of volunteer lake-host hours paid for by the grant. Association members were trained to become lake-hosts and donated their time to the effort. Additionally, a large number of volunteer hours were contributed by counselors-in-training (CITs) from Kingswood Camp.

An Appreciation For The Outdoors

Helping young men forge an appreciation of, and reverence towards, the natural world has always been one of the camp’s primary objectives. This is accomplished through the camp’s hands-on approach to outdoor activities including hiking, paddling, fishing, and photography. The camp’s most sacred gatherings are held at the council fire circle at the lake’s edge, and the topic of discussion is often about the beauty of the local landscape and natural history. In time, campers learn to see Lake Tarleton as much more than the place where they learned how to canoe, windsurf, or spent their first night sleeping in a tent. When Kingswood developed its CIT program, it made perfect sense to include Lake Host education and volunteer opportunities. CITs, many of whom have spent years at the camp and have a genuine appreciation for Lake Tarleton, value the chance to become stewards of the lake.
“The experience of my ten years at camp without the beauty of Lake Tarleton would have been completely different. I am grateful to be able to give back to something that has given me so much,” continues Forester. The CITs receive their lake host training on one of the first nights of camp. The training session is led by Charley Muntz, a Lake Host veteran, and former president of the Lake Tarleton Association.

The Work Of A CIT

Following training, the CITs work hour and a half shifts in pairs at the public boat access, supervised by camp and lake association members. The arrangement has been described as a “win-win” situation by CITs and Tarleton Association members alike. The Tarleton Association is able to provide the camp volunteers with signed verification of community service hours, often required by high schools for graduation. The volunteer hours aid the association in its goal of having a lake-host presence at the boat launch every day from Father’s Day to Labor Day. The Kingswood CITs express nothing but positive reviews of the experience. They enjoy working in teams to man the boat launch, and report that visitors to the lake are overwhelmingly supportive of their efforts. It is our hope that the partnership of Kingswood Camp and the Lake Tarleton Association can serve as an example for other camps and lake associations around the state.