North Fork Leadership Center

Art Village Pond

2010-07-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

North Fork Entrance Gate

2010-07-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Buildings, Landscaping and Animals, Oh My!

2010-04-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

CEO Sam examines a Bald Cypress destined for the Drop Off Circle.

Hanging out near the Health and Aquatics Center.

Lynn and Sam check out the Aquatics Center. JR heads to the outdoor pool showers (the two blue poles in the center). The Aquatics Center is going to be a very colorful and fun space.

Lynn and I are amazed at the amount of light streaming through the Solatube in the ceiling of the Aquatics Center!

These will allow us to cut WAY down on electricity consumption!

Program shelter, cabin and new dormers on the main house at the Fishing Village. Once the decking is built the Fishing Village will feel like the Ewok Village!

Two different kinds of tracks follow the same path through the Arts Village. Can you name the animals?

Cabin (far left), program shelter (left) and Activity building (right) in the Arts Village.

Coming along fast! :D

2010-04-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone(:

It has been a while, but like Sam said, things are moving SO fast at camp!

The pool is almost finished. They are putting the final coating on the pool this week so they can fill it up with water. Hopefully it will be filled by Earth Day(:

Speaking of Earth Day, have you signed up?(:

We've chosen what the colors will be inside the pool; it will be white with blue specs. The bathroom floors, toilets, and sinks for all of the sites went in on Thursday and Friday.

WE HAVE POWER !!! :D The light poles for the walking trails are going in this week. Also we are using a recycled asphalt product made up of different materials on all of the main roads going through camp.

Like Samantha and I have said a lottttt lately, things are moving SOSOSO fast at camp. Soon it will be open for you guys to make your own memories(:

More coming soon,
Kaylee (:

Well I hope to see you at Earth Day(:

2010-03-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

North Fork construction is moving fast! Right now we are talking about reservation prices for the different villages and buildings. But that's not the topic of today's blog post.

Today I want to tell you about the new ducks in the pond by the arts village. Yes, they may LOOK like real, live ducks, but take a closer look, and you will see that they do not, in fact, move. They actually mark the places where the air pump that is connected to the wind mill (you will see in the picture).

This generates air flow throughout the pond, making it healthier for the fish to live in it. Kind of like a giant fish tank :)

- ttfn - Samantha

Oh Deer!

2010-03-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

At the O.A.C. meeting we talked about the colors of the bathrooms in the aquatics center. The toilets will be a fossil green. There were two other colors, one a white-ish cream and the other a darker green. The bathrooms are built and roofed.
The activities shelter is next to that.

My mom posted this picture on facebook and we didn't even know there was a deer there until Mrs. Carolyn (our membership specialist) pointed it out. See him there in the clearing between the two buildings?

That sneaky little devil... hahaha!

Samantha S.

Mud Mud Mud

2010-03-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Mud is everywhere at North Fork during this wet weather! CEO Sam found that out the hard way during a recent inspection visit. Check out her muddy tennis shoes.

On a clean and brighter note - phase one construction continues, and we're just eight weeks away from the
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
Are you and your family registered yet?
Details in an upcoming post!

- SPOILER ALERT -
The PATCH design is AWESOME!

Quick Hello From Samantha S.

2010-01-26T06:12:00.000-08:00

Hey hey - Sammi here. Exciting new details regarding the sandals resort (Arts Village). One of the cabins are built up with siding included! The bathhouse/kitchen is HUGE. Plus, it'll get bigger because I believe they're adding a wrap around porch to the exterior.

JR dug up Kaylee's mom's flip flop (she lost it in the mud a couple months ago). I heard he still has it in his office.
There's a roof on one of the buildings in the health and aquatics center. We got to choose the pool side awnings too! Fun colors there.

Okey dokie then, next meeting brings more deets so keep track of us.

-Samantha S.

Health & Aquatics Center Looking Good!

2010-01-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

Your fabulous new pool (once it is completed) will be the central feature of the camp’s Health and Aquatics Center - a multi-purpose salt-chlorinated swimming pool with a zero-depth or “beach” entry for handicap access, bathhouse and training center.

Major funding for the pool was provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

The outdoor training center at the Health and Aquatics Center was funded by the Edna Sproull Williams Foundation.

Arts Village Taking Shape!

2010-01-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Things are changing fast at North Fork -

The sleeping quarters for the Arts Village are all up. The construction workers are putting on the roofs and walls. Soon there will just be a little building with nothing inside of them except light switches and outlets.

The beds that were chosen are bunk beds. The beds’ design is still being planned out. Four bunk beds per cabin so eight people can sleep in each.

There are going to be two doors and two really big windows followed by 4 smaller windows over the main door and the back wall from when you first walk into the bunk house.

These pictures are the same building within 10min during our visit.

Here is one of the ten cabins - with walls, doors and the first layer of the roof.

The next picture is the same cabin, but it looks different.

The building is made to withstand 150 mile winds. The designers are making everything handicap accessible and thinking of every safety precaution.

While we were at camp this building was wrapped in Tyvek – a vapor barrier to help keep moisture out.

If you look really close you will see the whole side is covered with the Tyvek, and then the door is cut out again.

The man in the blue hard hat is starting to cut the door out.

- More later - The Drama Queens - Troop 853

Everything's Changing !(:

2009-12-28T12:21:00.000-08:00

hey everyone,

This month has been very busy for everyone. As we all know, Florida is full of rain & sun. Unfortunately, there has been more rain than sun these past few weeks. Some of the sites are on hold for now until the water dries out. The arrival center & the amphitheatre will start construction after the water is gone. Speaking of water, ponds 2&3 were sodded last week. Asbuilts(pictures) will be taken of the ponds to see how much water can fit in without it overflowing.

The windows for the buildings are in (: & the roofing started last week also. The aquatics building will have a metal roof, & I don't really know what the other buildings will have as their roofing, but I will find out the next time i'm there.(: The entrance road was named! if you havent heard about it yet, the road name is TREFOIL TRAIL !!!!! (:

The camp opening is approaching realllllly fast, & construction is really moving ! As soon as we all know it, we will be having campouts' & summer camp at Northfork(: I'm excited, are you?

More blogs coming(: (:
Kaylee

Milestone: Phase I Construction 50% Complete!

2009-12-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

We've all got reason to celebrate! Construction of Phase I at North Fork reached the halfway point this past week. Here are some updated pics of the areas currently under construction at your new camp!

Animals and Oak Hammock

2009-11-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

So the last O.A.C meeting was pretty cool. I don't exactly remember what happened in the actual meeting part. Just a bunch of technical talk. Then when we went out on the tour, we saw animals. We went to the Arts village, I believe, and while we were over there, we saw turkeys. There were probably around 5 maybe 7. They were hopping the silt fencing. Then near the site manager's house, we saw deer. We were in the golf cart and all of a sudden one deer pops out of the woods and runs to the other side of the road. Then another deer, and another. I counted about 8 deer. We saw squirrels obviously, too.

Near the Oak Hammock - that's what we're calling this area south of one of the ponds - there was a little bunny that was blending in with the grass and dirt - I almost didn't notice it! That whole Oak Hammock area is so beautiful. There's trees and a fire pit and benches, and SPACE.

It'd be the perfect place to go camping. AND one of the ponds is almost right across the street so you could go fishing too. The best time to fish is either when the water has mist over it, when it's about to rain, or dawn and dusk. Anyway, well I'll stop babbling now.

Talk to ya'll later. -Samantha S.

Aerial View - North Fork

2009-11-10T08:55:00.001-08:00

Aerial View of North Fork Construction - Oct 2009

Some of the Walls are Up

2009-11-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Drama Queens here with another progress report
on the Arts Village at North Fork.

Recently we revisited the Arts Village - and were we surprised at the progress! Last time we were here the slabs were being poured, the cement was settling and the pipes were sticking out of the ground.

Now the stone walls are up. The stone used for the walls is a split face block – the inside is smooth and the outside is burnished and rough. Also - see those metal strips sticking up? Those are hurricane ties. Each has 29 smaller and 2 larger holes for nails that help strengthen the wood posts that will hold the roof in place.

The wood and screen portions have to wait until the camp redistributes its water supply. Each site must have access to water to guarantee safety in case of fire. Once the water from the front pond has been pumped to the various construction sites, the 4x4 posts will be added and the screens put in.

We also observed on the now much larger concrete slabs that provide the floor for the showers and bathrooms that there are 8x8x8 joints to allow for the concrete to crack along these expansion joints.

There are three buildings walled in – one has the beginnings of a wash house with toilets and showers and the other two are unit houses. One of these two buildings will be equipped with utility sinks in the back to help facilitate art projects.

Here where we are standing will be a sink area – the pipes are already in place.

The pic on the right is outside the wash house - it is a handicap accessible shower.

So, as you can see the Arts Village is taking shape! We can now see the inside of buildings. The sleeping quarters will have wood and screen walls and so were still only concrete slabs during this visit.

Please check back for another update soon!

The Drama Queens!

Meeting info(: 10.27.09

2009-11-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

Hellllllo girls,

The arts village pads are down & we have gone vertical. All of the brick was placed and now were just waiting for plumbing to be installed. The entrance road has been cleared out. FINALLY :) It will be beautiful when it is all done. We're using recycled material for making the roads. It's not as soft as dirt, but not as hard as concrete.

Here I am with Miss Carrie and Miss Holly at the large activity center in what will be the Arts Village! We have WALLS!!!

Pond 4 is complete & is being filled up with water. Did you know that the bottom of the ponds have to be sodded (adding grass) ? I didn't, I thought the grass grew as the pond aged. Silly me (: (:

The Arrival Center; (which is where everyone is dropped off to unload their cars) , will start construction as soon as the area dries out. From the looks of it, I would say the area is no bigger than a shed.

Vocabulary time !!!!! (:
A SWALE is a small ditch between objects. All of the guys in the OAC meeting are always mentioning it. So I just wanted to let everyone on the terminology (:

Keep looking out for new blog posts (:
Kaylee<3

Really Coming Together Now!

2009-11-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been posting as often as I should. I'm excited to say that the camp is coming together. Cabins have been poured and walls are going up. The main house in the fishing village is coming together.

Piping has been laid out and is underground and cabins are starting to be built!

My mom told me that we might be able to camp in the finished cabins in the summer. This is just phase one, keep in mind. They still have to make the other villages, and other buildings like dining hall. But it's enough to get us started! We're all very excited to see how it will turn out.

Catch-ya next time -Samantha S.

We're Good To Grow!

2009-10-16T11:11:00.001-07:00

A major milestone - North Fork construction project has passed inspection by the Clay County Fire Department, and we're good to grow! The test was to ensure that the hydrants connected to the new pond by the Arts Village are working properly. The pump truck is drawing water from the pond, which would be used in case of fire during construction.

Success! Now we can start "going vertical" as they say in the construction biz. Let's build!

Pond Expansion

2009-10-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

The existing pond (#2) is currently being drained to a level where the expansion can be accomplished. You can see it is going to be a beautiful space when it is complete - and we can bring our fish back home!

The Main House Update

2009-10-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hey Girls,

The Main House is being refurbished and how it is looking now on the inside, you wouldn't even recognize it. The porch has been torn down and all you can see now are stakes in the ground. The rooms upstairs are no more! You can see right thru them from the bottom floor. The kitchen seemed so big before, now it feels so tiny. The bathroom and storage closet are now connected. The boards dividing them are no more. TALK ABOUT NO PRIVACY !(: Everything is looking great.

CEO Sam told Samantha and me that a tree that is located outside the Main House was transported as a seed from Juliet Low's Home in Savannah, Georgia! The camp is becoming a beautiful place. And guess what ? Its allllllll for you girls (:

Kaylee (: (:

Trees, Bricks and GREAT Weather!

2009-10-01T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

WE SAVED A TREE THIS WEEK !!!! YAY (: (: (:

The A-Frame is TOTALLY gone, and they are staring to shape the dirt and pour the concrete for the cabins that are going in. In the Arts Village the concrete slabs have been put in and the FABULOUS brick is going in. The drip irrigation field is almost complete. For all of you that don't know what that is, It is where all of the water will be stored until the ponds are complete, just in case there is an emergency. There were a couple of tanks put in about a month ago. Now you can barely see that there is anything there!

Construction has been going REALLY fast, due to the weather. Let's all hope it stays this way(: NO MORE RAIN PLEASE?(:

Much More to come ,

Kaylee(:

North Fork Taking Shape in Clay County

2009-09-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Aerial View of Construction at North Fork
August 2009

It's all about the Infrastructure!

While the girls are busy at school, the crew at Dana B. Kenyon and their many subcontractors have been busy getting North Fork ready to enjoy for generations to come!

Infrastructure - the roads, ponds, parking areas, plumbing, foundations, etc. are being put into place as we get ready to "go vertical" with buildings!

Work continues on the main entrance - it's going to be a beautiful drive into camp!

The pool gutters are in place. The area around the pool is cleared - as you look at the aerial photo you can almost see where the buildings will be! It's such an exciting time for all of us watching your new camp take shape out here!

The drip irrigation field is done - you'd never guess all that is under the ground there. The water treatment area is taking shape - all cleared and ready for the foundation to be poured.

The storm drainage system is being built out too - and ponds are being dug throughout the property. They may not look like much now, but when they are in place they will be breathtakingly beautiful spaces where generations of girls will learn to fish and skim stones.

At the Fishing Village, the foundation footers for the restroom and are about ready to be poured. The A-Frame is gone and crews are ready to pour concrete slabs where the cabins will be. Renovations are taking place at the main house too, getting it ready to be part of the Fishing Village unit.

The Arts Village is starting to take shape! They have starting laying brick and pouring concrete for the activity centers there.

Want to help? Individuals and troops can still purchase a commemorative Brick Paver or have your name engraved on a bench at the Amphitheater - contact Linda Hull for details. Engrave your name in history at North Fork!

Thanks to everyone involved in helping North Fork blossom and grow into the camp we envisioned years ago when the Master Site Plan was developed with the help of girls, volunteers and staff. Stay tuned to this blog for more notes and pics!

Here Fishy Fishy...

2009-09-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hello - I’m Carolyn Veres - I’m with troop 164 and I’m part of the Orange Park service unit. I went to North Fork on the 11^th of August to help out with the pond that is in the beginning of camp right at the entrance. What they wanted us to do is get all - well most - of the fish out of the pond so they can make it bigger.

The way we had to get them I thought would hurt the fish, but the Wildlife Conservation group said that 95% of the fish would be safe from the electrical shock. Now I’m not that smart on fish stuff, but I thought they would die!

After they said it won’t hurt them, we all got into groups of two so one of us would work the pedal that would shock the fish and one it catch them with a net and them put the fish in a bucket that was right behind them.

It was fun but very slow waiting for the fish to come up to the surface, but we got them.

We keep that up for about 4 hours - man was that hot and tiring - but after we got most of the fish out of the pond and measured, weighed and recorded them.

We were able to take them to Camp Chowenwaw Park where they will live for a little bit until the new pond is ready for them.

It was a fun thing to do! I felt very happy that I got to help out with the construction of the camp. I can’t wait for the camp to be all the way done!

A-frame demo #1

2009-08-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

A-Frame GONE!!!

2009-08-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

The A-frame came down today. We were there to see it happen and video it. Mrs. Gray

It was so amazing! They used a type of machine to destroy the building, I had a great time. I hope you will read this. If you don't watch our video, you will miss a lot! Heather

It was sad to see it go. After hearing Elizabeth Towers' stories about living there, I really started to enjoy the history of the A-frame and the main house. Jennifer

We hope to post all the pics and video tonight.

Fishing Village

2009-08-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hello,

We are the girls from Junior Troop 1345, here to keep you updated on the construction of the new Fishing Village at North Fork.

We were able to use the Main house at North Fork for our troop meetings last year, so it is especially neat for us to watch it transform! We took a tour of the construction. The changes so far are:

1) the entire back porch is gone....
2) the barbeque area is gone
3) the interior walls have been ripped out of the main house
4) all the wiring and wall studs are exposed

We learned that a building looks a WHOLE lot smaller when it does not have any inside walls. Don't understand why, but it is true. It was really hot inside the building! The construction workers start really early so they can get a lot of work done before it gets TOO hot.

Before the upstairs consisted of 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. Now it will be 1 big room with an outside balcony and stairs! More useful for a large group of girls! There are also going to be a total of 8 cabins in the Fishing Village unit, along with 2 pavilions. Each cabin will sleep 8 girls. There will also be connecting decks for the cabins (sort of like the ones at Seminole Springs).

We took a lot of pictures, as soon as we can we will add them. They will soon be taking down the A-frame! Will let you know more about that later.

Our First Look at the Future Arts Village

2009-08-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

Mud Mud Everywhere!

Walking through the future arts village at North Fork can be treacherous! One person was stuck in the mud already and lost a shoe! With all of the unavoidable Florida rain showers, there's nothing to do but keep going, even though it makes laying down the foundations of unit houses, bunkhouses, and the main house a bit difficult.

Despite the mud, we were able to gain some fun facts about the emerging arts village. Two different types of wiring are used inside the concrete - First re-barb is used to help maintain the shape of the concrete and steel wiring goes inside the concrete. This is primarily used to provide uniform heat throughout the concrete. Because metal acts as a conductor, if one part of the concrete was warmer than the other, the heat would travel through the metal inside and spread the heat to other parts. This does not mean that the floors will be heated during the winter, just that the floors will feel the same no matter where you stand on it.

There are a lot of pipes sticking out of the ground right now, all around the concrete foundation. The gray pipes are going to be used for electricity while the blue ones are used for water. There is one red pipe for the emergency sprinkler in the ceiling, used in case of fire.

All the concrete floors are split into a pattern of 4 pieces. This is because concrete hardens and will also expand in heat, and will always crack in some way. By controlling where the cracks are, the construction crew helps prevent other unwanted cracks and also allows for the concrete to expand without ruining the concrete. The cracks put in by the construction range in depth and can be anywhere from a quarter of an inch to five eighths of an inch.

All foundations must be sprayed for termites, even though there is very little wood used in the construction so far. The ground has been compacted to ensure that it will not shift after the building is constructed on top of it. After it has been firmly packed, it is sprayed for bugs and then covered by plastic. By treating the soil beforehand any existing bug populations are eliminated from underneath the future building sites.

There are many old trees in our camp, and the crew has carefully worked with a civil engineer to make paths and building around our most precious and oldest trees. Though many have had to be cut down, there is a big effort made to save as many as possible.

We met an artist who was involved with making our arts village! The architect, Ms Holly Gramble, was visiting the camp while we were on our tour. She had come to North Fork to attend some meetings. Her field has a lot to do with combining art with the practical needs of people. She told us about how they had met with girls to plan out the camp and that they made most of the plans on a CAD program.

Septic Tank Delivery

2009-08-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday we got our new Septic Tanks! One holds 15,000 gallons, another holds 30,000! These will be buried in the "drip irrigation field" next week. Here's the larger tank being unloaded.

Rain, Rain Go Away.....

2009-08-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hi, Amanda, Jessica & Mariah here with another pool update. We should probably change that to a weather update. "Rain, rain go away come again another day" is the song the crew at North Fork has been singing for the last week or so. At our last update the concrete had been poured and it needed to cure or harden for about a week. Then they would be able to hang the gutter system and do some plumbing. After that the actual pool work would stop and they would start the above ground building of the Health & Aquatic Center. Well, with all of the rain that we have had the crews have not been able to procede. To quote Mr. Pete Margretta, Construction Manager with Dana B. Kenyon, "this is what is known as unforeseen delays". They need about two weeks of good weather so they can dry out enough to start putting up buildings. Apparently it is a real mess out there!

So, while we are waiting, we thought we would tell you about a couple of your new pool features. We told you about the zero entry in our first blog and how this will benefit our campers in wheelchairs; great for SMILE Camp. It will also have competition lanes and a recreational play area.

One of the features that will be really good for lane swimming is the perimeter gutter system. The gutter is a stainless steel system hung around the edge of the pool (see pictures). When water is pushed towards the edge of the pool it will go in through a grate (blue plastic on top, left) and into a main channel (big tunnel, left) where it will go to the pool filter system. Once it is filtered it will come back through a smaller channel (small tunnel, left) and back out into the pool through little jets (white plastic hole, right) that are spaced out around the pool wall. We know, HUH? What all that really means is you won't get a big wave of water pushed back at you when you come up on to the wall of the pool. NO WAKE ZONE!

The other really cool thing about your pool is that it is a green pool. NOT the yucky algae kind of green pool (eeeww), but an eco-friendly green pool. The pool will have a salt generation filtration system. Which means it will use salt to filter the water instead of a ton of chlorine. So, it will use a lot less chemicals which is so much better for our environment. It will also require less maintenance. You will really notice the difference when you jump in; no more yucky chlorine smell, no more bleached out swimsuits, no more going in with blonde hair and coming out with green hair (yes, it happens). But most of all, no more stingy, burning eyes. YEAH!

So remember when you are swimming in the pool that there is more than just the nice cool water that makes it a cool pool. More next time...

Ninja Scouts out.

OAC Meeting 08.04.09

2009-08-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hiiiiii everyone this is Kaylee(: ,

At today's OAC meeting we discussed the clearing of the trees for the new entrance. I got a chance to view the new entrance & once it's done it will be breathtaking with the canopy of trees overhead. In the Arts Village they have began to pour the concrete floors. Some of the dirt from the new ponds were used to raise up the ground in the Arts Village so that the area will not flood. A new road is being created to the pasture around the Arts Village due to one of the buildings in the Arts Village blocking the old road.

Today while visiting some of the sites I saw some wild animals (Turkeys & Deer ).

I was worried what was happening to all of the animals on the camp site; & I asked if they were being relocated or were they just having to adjust to everything. For all of you animal lovers, you will be happy to know that the animals have PLENTY of untouched land to live on. The animals have moved away from the construction. Keep a look out for more updates coming soon.

Later everyone,

Kaylee :)

Troop 1138

The Concrete Is Here!

2009-07-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

If you were anywhere near Long Bay Rd & Blanding Blvd Friday you would have seen the convoy of concrete trucks heading in and out of North Fork. The trucks were on site bright and early Friday morning to begin pumping concrete into the pool - and we were there!

The concrete truck hooks up to this huge crane type truck that pumps the concrete through a hose into the pool.

Each truck holds 10 yards of concrete and it took about 11 trucks just to pour the floor!

As the concrete is pumped into the pool, workers spread it to get out air bubbles and make sure it is evenly spread.

Everyone has to work quick; from the time the truck is filled they only have 90 minutes to get to the camp and get it pumped and spread before the concrete starts to harden. It is a long day and a lot of hard work!

When a truck is empty it has to go to the concrete washout area to clean out any unused concrete.

If they don't the concrete will harden in the holding tank and it would to be chipped out by hand - UGH! The unused concrete is washed out into a bin and is later recycled and reused in roadway projects.

This is the biggest transformation the pool has taken and it is really fascinating watching and learning about what it takes to get from dirt to water. More to come next time.

The Pool is Taking Shape!

2009-07-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

Here's the pool just a few days after the last pic - and WOW - you can see how fast it is coming together! Tomorrow they will start pouring the base. You can see the zero-entry area at the top right - that will allow wheelchair access - That feature is sure to get rave reviews when we start hosting SMILE Camp here!

GSGC Director of Property Lynn Watson promises to be on the job super-early tomorrow so he can capture some great pics as they pour - and we'll share as soon as they are ready!

Make A Splash!

2009-07-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hey this is Amanda O., Jessica O., & Mariah S. from Troop 1350 - and we are here to keep you posted on the Health & Aquatics Center and the pool construction going on at North Fork.

Pool construction officially began Monday, July 13th! We were at camp Tuesday to watch as they began digging the hole that will become our new pool.

It is hard to imagine from looking at this picture that by the Spring this will be a beautiful pool with 145,000 gallons of sparkling water, 6 competition lanes and a really cool "zero entry" entrance. Zero entry means that you will be able to walk into the pool just like you were walking from the beach into the ocean. This will be great for SMILE Camp when we have campers in wheelchairs; it will make access much easier for everyone.

Parry-Paddock Pools is doing the pool construction. They also did the pools at the Cecil Field Equestrian Center and the Barco-Newton YMCA; those are a couple you may have seen or even swam in. Not only will our pool look great, but it will also be incredibly efficient to operate. It will have a perimeter gutter system and a salt generation filtration system (why is that written in green.... hint hint) - more on those features and the answer to the green writing next blog. In the meantime, we will be making regular trips to North Fork to watch the progress and we will update you along the way. More next time!

Types of Fish in the Pond

2009-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is a Grass Carp. The grass carp is actually one of the largest members of the minnow family. The back of the grass carp is silvery to dark grey, and the sides of the body are lighter with a slightly golden sheen. The belly is silvery white. Fins are generally greenish-grey. The fish has relatively large scales. Teeth have been replaced by specialized structures called pharyngeal teeth located in the back of the throat. These are used for tearing and grinding plant matter.

This is a Bream. (Abramis brama), common European food and game fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, found in lakes and slow rivers. The bream lives in schools and eats worms, mollusks, and other small animals. It is deep bodied, with flat sides and a small head, and is silvery with a bluish or brown back.

These are some of the many species that have to be either released or relocated to the new pond. We need to move them during the expansion of the pond. This task will need great effort and it will be expensive. They're doing all they can to save the marine animals though! - Samantha S.

Meet The Bloggers!

2009-07-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Meet Girl Scout Cadette Troop 1350 and their leader Lisa O'Kelley - they are going to document the building of the new Health and Aquatics Center at North Fork! They are pictured here with contractors from the Dana B. Kenyon Company.

They just visited the site and have lots to share with you - so follow this blog and watch as your new camp takes shape!

Report From the OAC Meeting

2009-07-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is Samantha S. -

This is the building where I met the North Fork contractors at my first OAC meeting! OAC stands for Owners / Architect / Contractor.

From the looks of the plans, North Fork should be ready faster than you think, and that's a good thing! Soon enough there will be a pool, a fishing village, an arts village, health center, and more. They're planning on expanding one of the ponds - and in order to do that they need to relocate the fish!

Definitely more to come next week! - Samantha S.

Use Of North Fork During Construction

2009-07-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Use of the Main House and A-Frame will be discontinued effective August 1 2009. There may be other program opportunities for day use, such as archery or canoeing, depending on what construction activities are taking place that day. For specific requests or inquiries, contact the Registrar at the Jacksonville Service Center. Anticipated Completion for Phase 1 is Spring, 2010. Reservation opportunities for the new camp will be published this winter.

New Ponds and Arrival Center

2009-06-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Making way for the new Arrival Center! Notice the two different types of dumpsters. One is for metal and one for wood. This helps us recycle as much construction waste as possible.

This is where one of the new ponds will be - it may not look like much now, but you can bet it will be beautiful when North Fork opens next year!

Let the Construction Begin!

2009-06-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

Usina Contractors have placed silt fencing around the property.
The silt fence is designed to keep the soil on the construction site from washing into the pond or creek and causing water pollution.

Ground Breaking Ceremony - June 6 2009

2009-06-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

Ground Breaking Ceremony - June 6 2009

2009-06-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

The complete photo album from Saturday's Groundbreaking
is posted on our Facebook Fan Page.

About North Fork

2009-03-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

North Fork consists of 250 acres just 2 miles west of SR 21 in Middleburg. The North Fork of Black Creek borders the property for over a mile on the South and West. Beautiful hardwoods and open pasture can also be found here. With funds generated by our capital campaign, we are currently in the initial phase of development of a state-of-the-art program facility on this site.