Important Information - National Camp and Club Planning

Hello Woodlanders!

The next few months are going to be busy ones for Junior Forest Wardens!

Here are the major happenings (in addition to the regular meetings)

April 26 - Cache In Trash Out - Litter cleanup at Pagan Lake, plus fun with GPS!
Thanks to Chad for lining this up. 

May 30-June1 - Family Camp at Greig Lake.  We will be joined by many JFW families from other clubs, and the focus will be on getting ready for National Camp and having an awful lot of fun!   Watch for further information coming soon

June 7-8 - Family Canoe Camp at Mustus Lake.  Bring your tent & PFD!  A low-key breath of fresh air!    Watch for further information coming soon

July - National Camp 2014!   This is a huge event and we will simply need all club members to pitch in.  This is too good to miss - a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you and your family will never forget!  Lots more information to follow, but here is a start:

• Advance information is available on the JFW website: www.jfwa.ca
• The National Camp website will be opening in stages.  
• General information will be posted soon.  Check back often for updates!
• You will receive an email with your member log-in in the next few weeks.  Be sure to log in, change your password and let us know if you have difficulties
• Family registration will open before the end of April.  Be sure to enter all your family registration and send in payment before the earlybird deadline!
• Session signup will open in June.  There are a huge variety, but they fill up fast so don't delay!
• Ways that you can help, starting now!  

Club  AGM and leadership for the coming year.
It is fun to be a member, it is much more fun and rewarding to be involved, and there are many ways to do that.  Something for everyone!   We want to have all positions filled by May 31

• Tony has indicated that it is time to hand over the role of Club Coordinator to someone new, and will of course provide lots of help for the transition.  Thanks, Tony, for a job well done!
• There are also opportunities to serve as age-group leaders and assistants, merchandise and equipment managers, event planners, and others.  JFW is participatory - we depend on everyone pitching in!

• This document summarizes some of the key roles

So, we'll be seeing lots of each other, as we enjoy our coming club events, National camp,  and getting ready for next year!

It's a great time to be a Junior Forest Warden!

It's time to get into National Camp mode!

Yes, National Camp 2014 is coming fast!  As you know, this is the first-time EVER that this huge event has been held in Saskatchewan, AND it will be right here, in our own backyard, in the Meadow Lake Provincial Park!

There are many ways to be involved.  The first, and most important is: Plan To Attend!  Book those holidays, and get the camper ready!

Next, read all about it.  There is "advance information" available on www.jfwa.ca, the JFW official website.  Also, the National Camp website will be open to members very soon

Finally, there are many tasks that need people to do, now and as Camp draws near.  A growing list is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H2lkh7XaJXvCetwvTtDmgmGAFn8_DnTp3pfS93kU8Zs/pub

Happy National Camping!

Former JFW Members - Take our Quiz!

We would like to hear from our past members.
Whether you were part of the club for one year or twelve, we want to have your insights on what makes JFW good, and what can make it excellent.

Click HERE to begin our short questionnaire!

Many thanks

This Month's Tree Mail - a Must-Read!

Please take a few moments to download and read the August Tree Mail.
It is full of inspiring stories about the southern Alberta floods, and how Junior Forest Wardens were there to help!
This says a lot about the kind of organisation we belong to!

Cody's Speech

The following is a speech composed by Warden Cody Tallmadge for his 4H club. We think you may enjoy it...

KEEP OUR FORESTS GREEN !!!

Good evening judges, leaders, guests and fellow 4-H members.

Hi my name is Cody. I am here to talk about Junior Forest Wardens.

"Keep our forest green" is our motto for our Junior Forest Warden club.

I am a first year member of the Junior Forest Warden club in Meadow Lake. My age group is called the Trailblazers.

Our club has an annual winter camp.

This year it was on February 22 to the 25^th.

My mom and I went to a camp called Camp Oshkidee on the shores of Jeanette Lake.

Our first night we slept in a log cabin lodge.

The room only had one bunk bed in it !!

Our second night there, we slept in a quinzee.

A quinzee is like an igloo.

It is not made out of ice blocks, but is made from a HUGE pile of snow.

The snow pile was 7 feet high by 10 feet wide and 14 feet long.

The snow had to be piled the day before.

We shovelled and shovelled and shovelled and so on………4 hours later…….our snow pile was finished with the helping hands of Neil, Mathew and other wardens and leaders.

The snow was very sugary, not sticky, so it had to set up and harden over night.

The next day we had to dig out the cave to sleep in.

The walls had to be about 1 foot thick for good insulation.

It took all afternoon to scoop out all that snow.

It was cool in there that night, but it was alright

We had good warm blankets

I went snowshoeing at night and played snow shoe baseball.

We had lots of good food in the main lodge.

I helped cook the chili for supper on the first night.

I also earned my bronze badge on our camping weekend.

I had lots of fun !!

If you enjoy the outdoors, camping, archery or fishing, you should join our local Junior Forest Warden Club.

Thank you for listening

JFW News for Woodlanders!!!

Lots of things happening, this month, next month, next fall and all the way to next summer!

Last Weekend the Annual AGM was well attended by ML Woodlanders.  Our ‘brag board’ was admired by many, and lots of questions were asked, like “How did you do that?”  Thanks to everyone who contributed to that project.  

The AGM was memorable, and we have three new faces on the AJFWA executive:  Roger Madaire, President; Jackie Hromyk, Vice President; Leigh-Anne Butler, Secretary.  Lisa Patrick stays on as Treasurer, Dawn Friesen as Membership Director.  Al Wardale is taking up his role as Past President with gusto, and Terry Garrett continues as Chief Warden.

There were many good sessions, and a moving tribute to former Chief Warden Ernst Klaszus, with many of his family in attendance.

The most exciting news:  There will be a National Camp in July 2014, and the location will be in the Meadow Lake Provincial Park!

Mom’s Pantry Orders will be in this Friday.  Please arrange to pick up your orders from Marsh’s between 5PM & 9PM Friday.  513 2nd Ave W, 236-2166

Saturday May 4th is our intended Sprucewood Derby.  Many of you have bought car kits, and hopefully most are nearing completion.  If you need assistance, please let Tony or Neil know very very soon!  Watch your email for further details.

Planning Meeting.  Monday evening, 7:00 PM  On the agenda:  May Family Camp, June Canoe Trip, Fall Meet preparations, and the remainder of this season’s events.

May 14 & 28 Tuesday Evenings - will be excellent, please attend, we have a lot to do in a very short time!

May 24-26 Spring Camp at Greig Lake - Our last camp of the season, and already it is looking like a great program is taking shape.  Please plan to attend, even if you have to pull rabbits out of hats to be there.

Our new President, Roger Madaire and his family are hoping to attend!

On the program, among other activities, are birdhouse building, the all-new-soon-to-be-famous Tree-A-Thon, and touring the proposed National Camp site.

May 29th & 30th (Wednesday evening, Thursday afternoon) The Prairie Shelterbelt Program has asked us to take care of this year’s tree delivery.  The tree truck arrives in Meadow Lake on Wednesday, May 29th  at 6:00pm.  We unload & sort the orders that evening.   Thursday from 12-6pm people arrive to collect their orders, and we collect their money.  The shipping cost will be $731.85, the revenue will be $1370.00 and the profit for the Junior Forest Wardens will be $638.15!

We will need about a dozen people Wednesday evening, and shifts of three Thursday afternoon.  

This may very well be PFRA’s last-ever tree shipment, and we are fortunate to be able to get in on it!.

Canoe Camping Trip June 7-8-9 on the Mustus Lakes.  This is a 2-day or 3-day event (your choice) and what could be better - easy paddling, beautiful location, great companions, likely good fishing and definitely good food!

Tuesday June 11 - Club Windup & Annual General Meeting.  This is an important meeting, our last formal get-together of the year.  Along with a potluck supper and some fun activities, we will make some crucial decisions and get our ducks in a row for next year.  Among the priorities:

- Club leaders and executive (must have all positions filled)

- representatives on regional and national board

- other club roles, tasks, projects

- New or revised policies

- Initial planning for the coming year

We have really appreciated having energetic, dependendable and creative leadership teams for each age group this year.  Please show your support by attending this meeting!  

June 14-16 Family Camp and Ernst Trail Dedication at Long Lake Camp.  Westlock Whitetails JFW are hosting a camp at one of our favourite camp facilities, near Athabasca.  The highlight is a formal tree planting and a re-dedication of the Ernst Klaszus Memorial Hiking Trail.  Highly recommended!

June 14-16 Nature Saskatchewan Spring Meet at Grasslands National Park.  This twice-yearly event focuses on conservation and nature education.  All JFW members are welcome and encouraged to attend.  See http://www.naturesask.ca/get-involved/spring-meet for more details.

Other events, camps and learning opportunities are ongoing throughout the summer.  Be sure to watch Tree Mail and www.jfwa.ca for updates and information.

Tri-Region Invitational Family Camp, Labour Day Weekend.  We hope that at least five Meadow Lake families will travel to this first-ever event, to have some serious fun with the Bobcats and Snow Geese JFW clubs.  Some other ‘notable persons’ are likely to be there as well!  

Registration and Club Start-up, September 2013.  Time to start thinking now about what we want to do as a club, how we want to present our club to the public, and how to attract new member families.

Nature Saskatchewan Fall Meet Sept 20-22.  This is our best-ever opportunity to spread awareness about Junior Forest Wardens across Saskatchewan, while we play host and show off our beautiful corner of the province.  We can have a lot of fun with this!  The AJFWA is very supportive as well, and will provide any assistance possible

Fall Camp 2013 - Camp Oshkidee in November?   Several people had the same great idea - why wait until March to get everyone out to a weekend camp at this great facility?   A November family camp will be a great club-building, get-to-know-each-other event, and we will have a blast!

And finally, the BIG BIG News:   National Camp 2014, July 13-19, Meadow Lake Provincial Park!!!

Mark your calendars now!  Book your holidays!  You remember all those other events that we said are too good to miss?  Well, they were, but this one is approximately 99 times as good!