Bryerswood Youth Camp pleased with how summer camps went

Campers enjoy the final day of the Bryerswood Youth Camp summer camps Aug. 28. Seven weeks of summer camp were presented at the Texas Road campground.

Leaders at the Bryerswood Youth Camp are pleased with how the camps at their campground turned out.

Seven weeks of summer camp were directed by Caitlin Gonneau, Pamela Zeman and a team of youth camp counsellors with Gonneau and Zeman stating it topped last year’s efforts. An extra week of camp was added this year because of school starting later than usual, as the first day of school is not until Sept. 8.

“It was a successful summer,” said Gonneau. 

Themes included art, animals, different types of games, science, sports, Disney, colour wars and planes, trains and automobiles. 

“We had over 500 registered,” said Gonneau. 

Being outside for a good portion of the camps was one of the selling points for Bryerswood, Gonneau indicated. There were also indoor activities and field trips for each of the seven weeks of summer camp.

“We offered them different types of experiences for them,” she said. 

Gonneau added that camp directors wanted the children to learn and have fun, with the campers also meeting new friends.

This was the fourth full summer of children’s camps, she added, though the first year summer camps resumed at the campground was a shortened, end-of-summer camp.

“There are lots of returning campers,” said Gonneau. 

Gonneau added most of the campers came from the Amherstburg area, though others come in from Belle River, Essex and Windsor. There were, on average, about 45-55 campers per week.

The bead program was a hit with the kids, Gonneau stated, with kids able to add beads awarded to them by staff and leaders for trying new things, helping others, being kind and acting nicely. The beads went on strings that supported the name tags that went around their necks.

“We’ve heard from a lot of parents that said their kids are coming out of their shells and they’ve built confidence,” said Gonneau. 

The PD Day camp resumes in October and the “Trunk or Treat” event returns to Bryerswood Youth Camp Oct. 25.

“It’s been a really good summer,” added Zeman. 

The camp counsellors were hired through the Canada Summer Jobs program with Brodie Morin and Michelle Lafleur helping in the kitchen. Zeman said there were four new counsellors in 2026 with every single counsellor from last year returning. 

Zeman added it says something when children return week after week, with some children coming every week.

For more information on the Bryerswood Youth Camp, visit www.bryerswood.com or call 519-726-6266.

Bryerswood Youth Camp pleased with how summer camps went

By Ron Giofu