Camp Woodboia underwent renovations beginning in the spring of 2020

Camp Woodboia is situated between Wood Mountain Regional Park and Wood Mountain Historic Park.

The camp offers wide spaces for children to play and roam. Also, the swimming pool at Wood Mountain Regional Park provides the camp a facility where swimming lessons can be held as a camp activity.

Skits, campfires, crafts, cooperative games and nature lore comprise some of the other activities at the camp, along with Bible studies, morning watch and evening vespers.     

Camp Woodboia, a United Church-based camp, began in the summer of 1949 under the guidance of Reverend V.A. Wilkinson of Lafleche (business manager), Robert Bater (student minister in Fir Mountain), Tom Gilchrist (student minster at McCord and Fleming Holm (student minister at Mankota).   

This summer, with the camp having been closed for the season because of COVID-19, a group of United Church parishioners and volunteers decided to spruce-up Camp Woodboia for 2021 and beyond.

“We’ve been here since May. We’ve got a good group of volunteers this year,” said Gerry Medley, a volunteer leader, who along with Larry Coghlin helped orchestrate the volunteer work over the spring and summer of 2020. “There’s been volunteers from Lafleche, Woodrow, Mossbank and Assiniboia,” Medley said.

Some of the cabins at Woodboia have experienced significant makeovers. The cabins themselves were originally grain bin kits retrofitted as cabins and date to 1959-60.

Designated Lay Minister and camp board member Wendy Gibson discussed some of the other newer developments at Camp Woodboia, such as a water well dug three years ago and the updated washrooms constructed five years earlier.

“I’ve been on the board since I moved to the area in 2005,” Gibson said. “And I’ve seen a lot of improvements.”

There are seven cabins at the camp, along with a storage building and a dining hall. In total, about 50+ children usually attend camp, along with high-school-aged camp counsellors and junior counsellors.

“We rely heavily on teenagers to be our camp counsellors and junior leaders,” Gibson explained.

Every year, the camp also hires a director, a nurse and a chaplain – camp chaplains are either area ministers or lay people who volunteer to fill this role for one week at a time.

“It’s tough some years, but we’ve always managed to get enough staff,” Gibson added.

There is a shorter three to four-day camp for children aged 5-7 called the Explorer Camp. The Discovery Camp is a weeklong camp for older children, which includes swimming lessons.        

“We normally have three camps in the summer for ages 5-13,” Gibson said. “Two of our camps have kids in swimming lessons, if they choose this activity.”

The camp works with Wood Mountain Regional Park to reserve the pool for lessons, so the board adjusts the camp’s schedule accordingly each year.    

The staff at Wood Mountain Regional Park further assist in camp operations by cutting the grass and picking up the garbage during the summer.

Camp Woodboia is also known for hosting an interdenominational church service on a chosen day in July. “One Sunday in July, there’s a camp service for the local churches. Anyone who’s available comes,” Gibson recounted.

Camp Woodboia relies on donations and fundraisers to keep operating.

Many in South Central Saskatchewan have supported the camp in numerous ways. For example, Lloyd Hogg of L & C Hogg Construction Services Inc. in Assiniboia supplied new doors for the cabins. Moreover, Southland Co-op provided the camp with matching donations for lumber projects. The Quilters in McCord raffled off a quilt to raise money for Camp Woodboia. Also, the Crimson String Quartet raised funds for the camp from two concerts held last summer in Lafleche and McCord.