Spike 2: St. Dorothy's Rest

For Silver 3's next project, I'll be heading back into the redwood forest to a Episcopal camp and retreat center called St. Dorothy's Rest, the oldest, continually operating summer camp in California. It was established by Nellie Lincoln in 1901 to provide programs to critically ill youth at no charge. That mission and legacy continues to this day with a free two-week Health Camp offered each summer to more than 350 patients, ages 8 to 15, from the Lucille Packard and California Pacific medical centers. These children suffer from severe medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis or asthma or are transplant recipients. St. Dorothy's also offers five weeks of additional summer programming with swimming, archery, arts and crafts and canoeing and, for the rest of the year, hosts retreats from multi-denominational churches, knitters, book groups, school field trips, and a wide variety of other organizations. From what I've researched online, the place looks beautiful, nestled among the coastal redwoods, tanoaks, broadleaf maples, and California bays and buckeyes. We leave for the camp on Monday and will be stationed there through the end of March.

This project marks the beginning of our fuel reduction work. Over the past five years, the trees at the camp have been hit by a disease called Sudden Oak Death, and the only way to control it is by identifying infected plants and removing them. The hundreds of dead trees left in the pathogen's wake also pose a significant fire threat to the campers, the historic property, and the surrounding community. St. Dorothy's is also in negotiations to purchase an additional 300 acres, which has not been properly managed from a fuels perspective. We'll also be helping thin out some of this land in preparation for its annexation into the camp. We have dedicated some time to building trails to improve accessibility for handicapped visitors, and some potential rainy day contingency projects include developing educational environmental summer programs, repairing and painting the chapel, and organizing historical documents.

St. Dorothy's Rest is located in the tiny village of Camp Meeker, located off the Bohemian Highway in the hilly second- and third-growth redwoods near Dutch Bill Creek. This quaint, unincorporated town has a population of about 2,500. It was originally established as a logging community in the mid-19th century, but after depleting the area, the property was was sold off and reincarnated as a vacation retreat for residents of nearby San Francisco. Camp Meeker today consists primarily of the camp and parkland, but the neighboring hippie town of Occidental, even tinier with a population of 1,300, has a quaint but vibrant shopping district that specializes in antiques, herbs, arts, and crafts and has a surprising array of restaurants, cafes, and breweries and a specialty grocery store featuring locally grown and organic produce. This little gem started as a railroad stop and commercial center but in the last half century became a magnet for artists, writers, and visionaries and of late become a popular tourist getaway.






While we will be somewhat isolated during this project, our team is really excited about our proximity to two great destinations: the vibrant city of Santa Rosa to the east and the Sonoma Coast State Beach to the west. Both are about 30 minutes away, not to mention San Francisco, which is out of our radius for taking the government van but might be a viable weekend trip. Many of us have already made plans to go hiking, camping, and fishing.

We are staying in a five-bedroom, four-bathroom cabin called Topside, and we'll have kitchen and laundry facilities at the neighboring Farmer's Lodge. While we haven't seen photos of the residence in which we will actually be living, the pictures on the Web site of their other retreat facilities have given us high hopes. Most of us are just happy to have semi-private bedrooms after living on top of one another in the giant basement in Wyoming. We will have a computer hooked up with DSL, and while the cabin does not have wireless access, it's available at the camp office a short walk down the road.


My team is really excited about this project and has high hopes for things to come. It's always hard to get an accurate feel for a place until you actually visit it yourself, so I'll be sure to send some updates your way after I arrive!