Camp Bil-O-Wood: Parent Interview with Lindsay Wills

Watch our Parent interview with Lindsay Wills to hear firsthand what children experience and how they grow at Camp Bil-O-Wood.

Transcript of the interview

How did you know this was the right fit?

I just think that Camp Bil-O-Wood has such wholesome values, and it's allowing kids to have the freedom to explore their world and their natural environment and take risks with a great deal of support around them from staff members and counselors so that they can find out what they're passionate about. Maybe they fall down, and something doesn't go well, and they're supported to be resilient and work through hard things, whether it's on a canoe trip, which I highly value that experience for my children, or whether it's in the cabin when they're sweeping or cleaning up and navigating a conflict.

How did you know this was the right fit?

I just think that Camp Billiowood has such wholesome values, and it's allowing kids to have the freedom to explore their world and their natural environment and take risks with a great deal of support around them from staff members and counselors so that they can find out what they're passionate about. Or maybe they fall down, and something doesn't go well and they're supported to be resilient and work through hard things, whether it's on a canoe trip, which I highly value that experience for my children, or whether it's in the cabin when they're sweeping or cleaning up and navigating a conflict. 

What's unique about the camp?

Camp Bil-O-Wood is in the heart of the Canadian wilderness and it's expansive and basically untouched and I think that that makes it so incredibly special. For campers to be able to take a hike and do an overnight canoe trip or take some canoes a couple hours away, go on a trip on a river and a few lakes, and not experience potentially another person is incredibly valuable to me. As well as the togetherness of campers from ages 7 to 17. So you're going to see 17-year-olds getting to know an eight-year-old and asking about how their day is going or being a friend to them if they're navigating feeling homesick that day. Younger campers are having such a wonderful model of an older camper or a counselor, and that kind of intergenerational approach is a really unique thing in today's world.

Was there any personal growth you saw in your child?

I've seen my children's confidence continue to move up and continue to be able to navigate many things that come their way as teens and as they're moving into adulthood. I have two children at camp and they've been there for somewhere around six years now. They choose to go back year after year, even though some of the time they might have a couple of days at the beginning where they're navigating homesickness or they encounter a challenge on a canoe trip or a conflict in the cabin. The overarching theme is we believe in you and I know that you can work through this hard thing and we're here to support you in doing that. As they're moving into adulthood, they're exploring how to pursue a passion and how to be persistent through something that's challenging so that they can reach a greater goal.

How can parents overcome hesitancy to send their children away overnight?

One of the really special things about Camp Bil-O-Wood is that the families who send their kids are really invested in having them specifically go to experience Bil-O-Wood. It's a storied place that's been around for a long time. There's a beautiful support structure between parents who have already sent campers and new parents in different communities throughout the country and even the world. I think it's a really helpful thing for parents to be able to call up the directors, Paul and Tricia, and say, hey, can I talk through this? I'm worried about this for my kid, or how can I get some support in this way? Or is there someone else that I could also talk with so that I'm able to navigate through my hesitancies? It's just a wonderful community that really helps to bring a level of security to parents who are thinking, I'm sending my child to a different country and it might be far away from home and how's that going to work out?

What would you tell other parents about the overall value of sending kids here?

I truly do believe that it is the best parenting decision that I could have ever made. A good friend of mine, a parent of two teen young adults at this point, turned to me a couple of summers ago at the end of camp and she said, Lindsay, Camp Bil-O-Wood is the best parenting decision that I've ever made. That resonated with me and put words into my mouth for exactly what I feel about Bil-O-Wood as well. I continue to encourage my kids to stay connected and to pursue being at camp because I think it's such a valuable piece of their lives. Every time they've chosen to go back, they have not once regretted a moment of being there. My son, who is now an 11th grader, said to me in the car, Mom, this summer it just made me really think about reevaluating some of my friendships back home and really kind of thinking about the decisions I'm making and what's really important to me. To me, that's a mature, valuable conversation.

What does your child say?

My children truly do know that that's the place that they want to be in the summers. They're choosing to be away from friends and activities that are happening here at home, at least for a portion of the summer. Whether a child chooses to go with their parents for two weeks or stay for seven, they are missing out on some things back home. Every year as we get closer to camp approaching, they start to get really excited to see their friends at Camp Bil-O-Wood again, because those campers go back year after year, and their families are part of it year after year. They end up having almost this feeling of a second home with a great deal of support. If you're thinking about sending your child to Camp Bil-O-Wood, I would highly encourage you to pursue it. Even if you decide that you want to take a year or two, or your child is not even of age to be a camper yet, having those conversations now, talking to other families, reaching out to Paul and Tricia, reaching out to a parent, it's worth doing. Because you will experience such a valuable life change for your child.

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