BRYANT POND — A $50,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation to the Bryant Pond 4-H Camp capital campaign has brought plans for construction of a new dorm and classroom facility a whole lot closer.

Susan Jennings, University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator at the camp, said with the grant, and an earlier $50,000 grant from the Stifler Foundation in Massachusetts, the goal of raising $200,000 is close. Other funds have come from a variety of individuals and other 4-H organizations.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension camp on the shore of Lake Christopher has one year, ending Nov. 1, to raise $200,000 in order to get another $200,000 from the Bolger Foundation in New Jersey.

The camp, which once served as the Maine Conservation School, provides outdoor education in the environment, conservation, hunter safety and other similar topics to young people from throughout Maine and sometimes from out-of-state. Last year 2,000 young people participated in one of the programs.

Half of the King grant will go toward the Bolger grant match, while the other half will help provide scholarships for participants.

The $400,000 will be used to build a new, four-season facility that will house 38 people, two classrooms, a small kitchen, an infirmary and a museum that will display mineral and wildlife artifacts.

Jennings said the National Guard is scheduled to construct the foundation for the new building. Hopes are to have the facility ready by early spring, or late fall, if possible.

The family who owns and operates the Stifler Foundation owns a home in adjacent Albany Township and allows youngsters from the camp to visit the Bumpus Mine as part of mineralogy education.

Many young people from schools in Western Maine take advantage of day or overnight programs at the camp, including the after-school programs in the Dirigo and Mountain Valley regions of the Western Foothills School District, nearby SAD 44 and from the Buckfield region.

All 40 Buckfield Middle School seventh-graders will participate in a weeklong program beginning Sept. 21 this year.

The UM Extension service opened the camp in April 2008.

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