Woodmilling at Camp Arrowhead

Several times over the past year, we’ve been lucky to partner with the American Conservation Experience, a program for young adults who are considering work in the conservation field. We offer a place for them to teach their hands-on chainsaw course, and in turn they cut down problem trees on property that we are then able to mill.

Assembling the sawmill (which we named “Ron Sawnson”) was one of our first projects together in 2019, and since then Max and Ryan have become pros at turning this wood into lumber. So far, we have used the lumber from these trees to panel the walls in the dining hall, create new clotheslines for the cabins, and build our chicken coop.

"Milling can be an incredibly taxing process. At the end of the day, you're covered in sweat and sawdust,” says Ryan Fletcher, facilities manager. “But it is also incredibly rewarding. Since I've experienced the process of turning a fallen tree into a stack of boards, I can no longer look at a two-by-four the same. Locally sourcing our own lumber is just one of many ways Camp Arrowhead incorporates sustainable building practices and responsible forest management."

We’re also excited to give boys an opportunity during the summer to practice using the sawmill themselves, starting with observation and important safety lessons before moving on to cutting a board and making something out of it themselves. What would you create at camp?