BRYANT POND – Two sisters attended the Maine Conservation School’s week-long session after they received scholarships from a quarry owner who donated money to cover 10 campers’ tuitions.
The Stifler family, which owns the Bumpus Mine in Albany Township, donated close to $5,000, according to Scott Olsen, the camp’s executive director. A week program at the camp, which has been teaching children ages 8 to 18 about the outdoors and nature for 50 years, costs $475.
A call to a family representative was not returned Friday.
The Stiflers asked that the students be from the Albany Township/Greenwood area and that at least half of the recipients be girls.
Olsen said typically the camp attracts more boys than girls, and that the Stifler scholarships were awarded to eight girls and two boys.
Kathleen and Cassandra Blaszczhak of Bethel attended the overnight camp from June 25-30 and were the first scholarship recipients to go this year. The camp runs through the summer, and also offers fall and spring programs. About 1,000 students attend the camp every year, Olsen said.
On Friday morning, the Blaszczhaks’ mother, Kelly, picked the girls up from camp.
“This was the first time going away to any camp,” she said, adding that she moved her family here two years ago from San Diego, Calif., and wanted the girls to experience Maine. “I thought it would be wonderful experience to do something Maine-oriented.”
Kathleen said she had a good experience, but was looking forward to not having to wake up at 7 a.m. She said kayaking was her week’s highlight. “We just go out onto the water, and we got to go into this little cove and played games with our friends while in the kayaks.”
Olsen said that several other organizations offer scholarships to the private, nonprofit camp, including $50,000 from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which offers money from its moose hunting permit auction. L.L. Bean, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, Kennebec Savings Bank and the Department of Environmental Protection also donate, Olsen said.
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