At Circle Square Ranch, campers get back to nature

Anastasia and Walker Proden have been going to summer camp since they were seven and six years old.

Now 13 and almost 12, the siblings still make the 30-minute drive from their home to Circle Square Ranch, south of Austin, a tradition that’s become a summer highlight.

Walker likes swimming in the pool while Anastasia enjoys trail activities. The two are scheduled to head to the sleepaway camp in southern Manitoba for five days in August.

Anastasia says she makes new friends every year and is excited to do so again this year.

“My favourite thing about camp is meeting people, learning new skills, being in nature and helping people,” she says. “It’s fun for a multitude of reasons, learning, making friends, and just the vibe is awesome.”

Circle Square has a host of activities for campers, including archery, horseback riding, mountain biking, trampolining, basketball, arts and crafts, sand volleyball, wall climbing, zip-lining, wilderness cookouts and campfires.

Stepdad Myles Evans says the value of the experience goes beyond the activities and benefits them in many ways.

Evans also went to camp when he was a kid, attending Shiktehawk Bible Camp in New Brunswick.

“In this day and age, it’s more needed than you would realize,” said Evans. “Developing a moral compass and so on, it’s not so much out there anymore. I really appreciate having the kids being around others who have it and learning from them.”

Vanessa Proden, the children’s mom, says they have continued to enjoy camp year after year, and that they’ve been able to keep going thanks to the Free Press Sunshine Fund.

“It actually allows us to let them go to camp,” said Proden. “I wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. It’s super expensive.”

For 45 years, the Sunshine Fund has supported low-income families by helping send their children to camps throughout Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, including Circle Square Ranch, where Proden first heard about the program through camp staff.

The Manitoba Camping Association sends approximately 600 children to various day and overnight programs at 31 camps each year. So far this year, 465 campers have signed up, with more applications being processed.

Evans says the camp has helped both children grow during the week of fun.

“They get to explore new opportunities, hang out with other people they wouldn’t normally get to in their everyday life,” said Evans.

“I know they went for quite a few years, and it’s helped progress them in a lot of ways… Walker’s still struggling with some issues of being shy… but having this in their life has definitely benefited them a lot,” he said.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca