A question we’ve been hearing a lot lately is: “What will we do at camp this year?” And that’s a totally fair thing to ask before you commit.

Creating the environment

Make.Do.Camp. starts with the idea of creating the best environment and schedule to learn, connect and play. This includes a lot of space and choice in a beautiful YMCA camp setting – Big Cove the oldest overnight camp in Canada! But it’s a small group – we can only have 100 people max, including our team, workshop leaders and participants.

We are also choosing our leaders, creating our workshops and making our program in relation to what is happening to the world – we are not ignoring or stripping away our current lives, but taking a moment to pause and reset.

It’s a container with a gentle daily rhythm that gives you:

🌅 Shared coffees with casual conversations
🍲 Family-style meals and time to be together
📝 In-depth workshops with 10-20 people
🔥 Fireside gatherings in the evening
🏕 Time to walk, rest, journal, nap, or just sit in the woods

You choose how you want to spend your time and there’s always something inviting happening.

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Sessions and activities

We’ll offer a mix of things rooted in curiosity, creativity, and presence — all optional:

🧠 Talks, workshops and exercises about work, life, ideas, meaning
💬 Deep conversations that matter
🧘‍♀️ Gentle movement, yoga, or meditation
🌲 Time outside: hiking, boating, games and lots of physical camp challenges
🛠 Hands-on crafts and projects
🎨 Storytelling, humour, music, and unstructured play and dancing

Some past sessions:

How to navigate disruptive changes in our jobs, our cities and our institutions 
Ted Graham

Revealing the personal and professional obstacles on the path towards excellence
Omar Gandhi

Embodied Language: How Movement Speaks
Cory Bowles

The Heart of the Pitch: Telling your story to the world and yourself
Leo Artelajo

Pop-Up Camp Party: Using theatre games to help become a more engaging and confident speaker
Susan Leblanc

Make It Happen: Motivation and intention creates action
Pattie Reynolds

Stop The Violence, Spread The Love: How mourning turned into a movement for peace
Quentrel Provo

Craft House, guiding budding artists through various hands-on crafts and art
Heather Wilkinson


Idea Generator: The world we perceive is the world we live in
Aaron Collier & Richie Wilcox

Patterns & Woodworking: Therapeutic for the hands and mind
Gary Staple & Lindsay Zuelich

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The vibe: thoughtful, curious, mutual care

Make.Do.Camp. is a place to show up as you are — not to be performative, not to dominate, not to sell anything. There are no lanyards, no class systems, no VIP sections.

Camp is truly for everyone and we are creating a respectful, shared space.

There’s no pressure to “do it all” and no judgment if your favourite moment is just sitting with a coffee in the morning.

Sample day schedule:

7:00 am – Yoga, meditation, swim, run or paddle

8:00 am – Breakfast

9:30 am – First workshop slot x 3 options (work/creative/active)

11:15 am – Second workshop x 3 options (work/creative/active)

12:45 pm – Lunch

2:00 pm – Outdoor activities – zip line/high ropes/paddling/archery or craft house or solo time

3:30-5:00 pm – Third workshop x 3 options (work/creative/active)

5:30 pm – Meditation or solo time

6:30 pm – Dinner

8:00 pm – Fireside or main hall social

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Who this is especially for

This experience really resonates with people who:

✨ Are in a season of transition, search, or change
✨ Want time and space to think without distraction
✨ Appreciate both reflection and connection
✨ Value honest conversation
✨ Want to be nourished — body and mind

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What this isn’t

To keep things clear and respectful:

🚫 This isn’t a party weekend
🚫 This isn’t a luxury retreat
🚫 This isn’t a high-pressure, pitch-heavy or preachy event
🚫 This isn’t a place where tech and phones are part of the experience
🚫 This isn’t a “solve your life in 4 days” bootcamp

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Safety and shared agreements

To support this kind of depth and care, we operate with a Code of Conduct that outlines how we show up for one another. You can read it here:
👉 https://makedocamp.com/code-of-conduct/

It covers things like respect, consent, boundaries, and holding emotional space with one another.

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More to come!

We’ll start announcing workshop leaders and programming in the spring! Stay tuned. Also see our FAQs!

Spaces are limited, so please get in touch if you want to express your interest in attending. Email makedocamp@gmail.com