Activities at Ouareau
Choice is more than options, it’s empowerment
Campers choose their own activities where they get to follow an individually tailored schedule! Ouareau has four activity periods per day. Many of the activities have achievement-based levels, giving campers the option of challenging themselves without competing against their peers.
A little more about activities
Every three days, campers choose six activities from which an individual schedule is created with four of their choices.
Swim classes are available at the request of parents, up to Red Cross level 10.
Not all campers are assigned to language classes. The best place to learn language is participating in everyday camp life. However, for those campers that need an extra little boost, they will be assigned to either Understand, Speak or Conversation language classes. Check out this page for more info!
Twenty activities to choose from!
From learning how to roll a kayak to standing on stage in front of the spotlight, we’ve got you covered!
Home Cookin'
Why food matters
The dining room atmosphere is intentionally created for language learning, friendship making, and most importantly – delicious food! Meals are served at the table "family style" where food is brought to the table and served by the staff. Campers eat with a mix of campers their own age, giving them an opportunity to meet and converse with new people every week.
Language at the table
Campers sit alternating by first language, with an Anglophone sitting between two Francophones, so that conversation is encouraged to unfold in the Language of the Day.
Whether you're vegetarian, lactose intolerant, or a particular eater, there are always options available for every meal. Special dietary restrictions may be accommodated.
There’s fresh fruits available during the day for in-between meal snacks. We also have a salads and vegetables platters at every meal!
All food is made on site by our amazing kitchen crew! We believe in the value of home-cooked meals, and prepare food daily with love, care and passion.
Where do I live?
Campers sleep in Yukon tents or wooden cabins. To maintain their closeness to nature, camper cabins and tents do not have any electricity. A living space is shared by 4 to 6 bunkmates, half of them French and the other half English.
To allow our campers a sense of independence, while giving them a chance to experience community living, counsellors at Ouareau sleep in nearby cabins instead of in the same space as their campers. At nighttime, a team of staff walk around the camp until the campers have fallen asleep. Counsellor cabins are close enough that they can hear whispers from the campers next door, and if a camper needs anything during the night, they can go to a staff cabin.
Both cabins & tent are built on a wooden platform above the ground.
One of the best parts of living in a tent is listening to the raindrops on the roof, or rolling up the tent walls to catch a breeze on a hot day.
Meet our units
Units are age-based sections, they have different bedtimes and age specific evening events.
Aged 6-7 and in kindergarten-grade 1
A marvelous five-day introduction to camp, Junior campers have a tailored experience specific to their age. They get to discover camp in small adventurous bites, always with a staff member guiding the way.
Aged 8-10 and currently in grades 2 to 5
Our counsellor’s focus is caring for these young campers as they take their first step towards independence all the while being supported by a watchful team. Though our Nova unit is wide in age, tent and cabin groups are still formed with campers close in age.
Aged 11-13 and currently in grades 5 to 8 (Secondary 2)
Luna campers have a great capacity to connect. Exploring who they want to become while laying the groundwork of strong friendships. This means they can test their boundaries while being surrounded by supportive peers and camp counsellors.
Aged 14-16 and currently in grades 8 (Secondary 2) to 11 (Secondary 5)
Growth is important for all of our age groups, but it’s especially meaningful to our Seniors. They get to see themselves as part of a network of women in leadership positions and practice those roles through different opportunities while continuing to push themselves in their own personal goals.
Partnering with Parents
Giving you peace of mind is an important part of creating a successful Ouareau experience for your camper(s). We know that trust must be earned – that is why we like to work with our parents before, during, and after camp.
Families receive a detailed guide to camp (which you can also find below), as well as a series of newsletters that contain helpful tips & tricks to let you get to know camp before you arrive.
We call all first-year camp families to talk about the progress of their child.
Ouareau has a service that allows you and your loved ones to send e-mails that we print and deliver daily to the campers.
Campers can also send a hand-written note – that we scan and e-mail to you – once a week.
We send all of our campers a keepsake package where they’ll find their activity awards, a link to camp photos, messages from their counsellors and peers, and a picture of their bunkmates. This allows campers to show and share their camp experience with everyone!
Camp guide
Looking for more information on camp? You can download our Camp Guide here.
