Camp Howland
A paradise in the making for the kids of Toronto
Why Support Camp Howland
A growing body of research shows that children have better physical, mental and emotional health, and even improved learning, when they play outdoors.
A dream come true!
BGC St. Alban's purchased a beautiful campground on the shores of Howland Lake in Minden Hills, three hours north of Toronto.
The vision
BGC St. Alban's, along with its supporters and donors, are creating an outdoor wilderness camp dedicated to delivering meaningful and quality outdoor experiences and leadership opportunities for our children and youth.
Kids will will enjoy water activities such as swimming, canoeing and kayaking. On land, the children and youth will enjoy activities such as hiking, mountain biking and orienteering. And don't forget campfires, singalongs, and the everyday joys of playing outdoors!
Site development
Accomplishments
- Zoning amendment application
- development of site plan
- Environmental, hydrological and traffic studies
- Added power in the dining hall!
- Well dug
- Fire Truck turning circle
- cleared 2km bike/hiking trail
- Started application process for septic system
- Added 9 docks to the existing 3 to accommodate swimming, boating and fishing. Cleared most of the land near the waterfront
- Replaced dining hall windows
- Gravel added to the road to the lake
- New hydro poles
- Repaired chimney
- Wood burning insert for dining hall
History of Howland Lake Campground & Camp Wesceneaskin
In the fall of 2018, St. Alban’s bought the campground on Lake Howland in Minden Hills from the Young People’s Union, the youth of the United Church of Canada.
The site was purchased by the youth of the YPU in 1956. They put $10 down as a deposit on the land and, with the assistance of their parents, did the fundraising for the purchase of the land and building of the campground.
The parents and others volunteered their time and worked to get Camp Wesceneaskin ready – many were contractors, carpenters, plumbers, etc and they donated their time to build the camp. The volunteers and youth were able to learn practical skills and trades on the job while building the camp. The buildings on the campground now were built by this original group.
The first group to use the camp was a group of young Hungarian refugees. The arrived in Quebec and traveled directly to the campground!
Any group could rent the camp and various groups used it over the years, some for multiple summers in a row. Many church groups rented the camp, Parents Without Partners, Parkdale Works Co-Op, and others. The Parkdale Works Co-Op set up a saw mill on the site and they used the lumber to sell as a way to raise money for their organization to help community members off the street and get free from addiction.
The Royal Ontario Museum rented the camp and used a section of the forest on the site to model the ROM’s “hardwood forest” exhibit.
Thank you to Howard Lee and Brian Boyle, YPU volunteers, for sharing the history of Camp WesCenEasKin with us.
Legacy of Camp Genessee
Through the 1960’s and 1970’s the Club sent hundreds of children to Camp Genessee. For many members this became their first outdoor and out of the city experience. The Camp allowed for different types of opportunities for programming skill development for Club members such as canoeing, crafts and orienteering.
Camp Genessee was owned by the Executive Director of St. Alban’s and when he moved on so did the opportunity for outdoor experiences for Club members.
Camp Location
The camp’s location is on Howland Lake in Minden Hills, about three hours north of Toronto.
We respectfully acknowledge that the County of Haliburton is located on Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory, and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which are Curve Lake, Rama, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Beausoleil and Georgina Island First Nations. We acknowledge a shared presence of Indigenous nations throughout the area, and recognize its original, Indigenous inhabitants as the stewards of its lands and waters since time immemorial.
