Recently, local MPP Graydon Smith was at the Sparrow Lake Camp to hear how a $49,500 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) was used to help the 111-year-old camp to be available for young people for years to come. The OTF grant, awarded last year, helped it conduct a full site audit and create a long-term facility plan for the historic camp. The project was completed in August and gave the camp with a much-needed framework for the sustainability.
“I’m very pleased that Sparrow Lake Camp was successful in its application for these funds,” said MPP Graydon Smith, Parry Sound-Muskoka. “Sparrow Lake Camp provides kids from all over Ontario with a quintessential Muskoka experience. It’s wonderful to know these funds will help ensure that even more kids will have opportunities to attend camp on Sparrow Lake.”
The project began by examining every one of the 43 structures on site, aged between one and 127-years-old, and assess their integrity. Following the initial assessment, the team at DQI Architects worked with the camp to make a long-term plan that would lay the foundation for the future of one of Canada’s oldest summer camps as it continues to provide not only summer camping opportunities to children of all backgrounds, but also a home to many community organizations who run their own programs on the site.
“Having been built during three different centuries, with all the wonderful and peculiar things that come with that, our camp needed a cohesive vision for the future,” said Brendan Turner, Executive Director of Sparrow Lake Camp. “This grant has allowed us to find inventive ways to preserve the rich history of the camp while making a few key changes that will allow us to update the facility in order to make it more inclusive, expand our summer capacity, and make the space more suitable to the many community events which are held at Sparrow Lake Camp each year. We also want to congratulate the Ontario Trillium Foundation on 40 years of granting and building healthy and vibrant communities across the province.”
Sparrow Lake Camp is committed to preserving the camp as a place which welcomes all people and groups. If you wish to enquire about using the space for your meeting or hosting an event, please visit the website at: www.sparrowlakecamp.com
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
