When I picked up my now college-aged sons from Tutorial one afternoon many moons ago, one of them bounded out and proudly presented to me a bone in a ziplock baggie. They’d found a dead turtle by the lake and had extracted the jaw as a prize. One of the Tutors came along and simply said, “You might want to soak that in bleach overnight.” And bleach it we did, my friend.
I consider myself to be a fairly adventurous woman, but picking through dead animals for souvenirs…no thank you. Let’s be honest, if I’d come across the deceased turtle with them, I’d have shooed them away. Was I disgusted? Absolutely. But I also was thankful to Riverside for providing a place where my boys could explore nature in a way that satisfied their curiosity.
In fact, one of the main things that attracted me to Riverside initially was the idea of letting boys live out boyhood to its fullest. I could see in my boys, particularly one of them, a natural restlessness and a need to be active, be challenged, and take risks.
Tutorial has always had outdoor exploration and adventure as one of its major pillars, whether it be hiking, biking, kayaking, archery, or airsoft.
The extent to how often these activities occur has been somewhat dependent on the current location of Riverside. Having been a part of Tutorial since the beginning, I can tell you that the adventure component was definitely the most vibrant during the years Riverside was renting acreage in Big Rock.
Everyone involved in Riverside is eternally grateful to have had Tutorial at St. James for the last several years. But, the fact of the matter is that while there is plenty of space for hiking, many of the outdoor activities have to happen off site. This involves rental fees, travel, and bringing equipment along. There can’t just be a spontaneous afternoon of kayaking.
I can see the difference. The boys can too. Peter Searby, Riverside founder and director, was telling me recently that some of the third years were discussing how they wished there was more adventure…like their older brothers had in Big Rock. They remember hearing the stories and wishing to be old enough to join.
This is one of the many reasons Riverside needs a property of its own: to fully reclaim and realize the Ranger program.
I cannot tell you how desperately I would like this for my nine-year-old, who currently is a first year in Tutorial.
Many of you have asked when Riverside will have Ranger camp again. The answer is probably not until Riverside has its own land. The reason we stopped is because it is extremely difficult to find a space that has the facilities and will allow the freedom to do all of the activities that made Ranger camp so great.
I am as anxious as you are for Ranger Camp to return. The overnight camp for the older Tutorial boys provided a lot of core memories for my older sons. It was a bonding, brotherhood-type experience that they would still want to go back and relive.
There was an archery range on the land and a place to kayak and swim. The boys could don AirSoft gear and play at will. There were opportunities to work on lasting projects of which they could take ownership– a treehouse, a bridge over a stream, a floating dock.
This is what Riverside would like to get back to and exceed with a property of its own. Now that we have an established Studio program for girls, they also would benefit from the outdoor options available. And families could avail themselves of the opportunities as well.
But what it boils down to is a phrase that you might be familiar with if you’ve been around Riverside for a while: Imagination inspires the young to see what is good, true and beautiful and the spirit of adventure gives them the courage to venture out and find it.
By encouraging adventure and the risks and challenges that come with it, Riverside can be a conduit for helping the young not only find their calling, but to be brave enough to use their gifts to fill what they see as lacking in the world. Peter often quotes an old proverb: God owns the world but rents it out to the brave.
Let me follow that and leave you with quite a powerful follow on from Peter in his book Casting Fire: An adventurous spirit risks what the world might deem as madness. It is this spirit we must cultivate at Riverside.
