In the longest trip Camp Kawartha offers, Wilderness Leader In Training campers will explore and develop their true potential as leaders in the beautiful Algonquin park. Campers will be chellenged and amazed throughout the trip as that traverse throughout algonquin, coming home with friendships to last a lifetime. On the WLIT trip, campers have the opportunity to apply their skills through taking turns leading the trip, directing the group, and navigating and overcoming obstacles; all while supported and supervised by their expierenced Wilderness LIT Director. 

On WLIT Trip, campers will: 

• Take turns being Leader of the Day. Leaders of the day are in charge of cooking, navigation, directing portages, and managing the ongoings of the trip, while supported by the Trip Staff. 
• Practice their counselling skills. Each day while on trip, WLITS practice how to handle various scenarios that may arise when working with children.
• Complete a ‘Solo Sit’. Brought to a nearby area of the park by the Wilderness Director (remaining close enough for supervision), WLITS will have the oppourtunity to practice solo reflection while immersed in nature – this is often described as one of the most profound expierences by our WLIT campers. 
• Develop a deep and profound understanding of who they are as a person and as a leader.

At the start of the WLIT Session, campers have the oppourtunity to ‘Shadow’ a cabin of younger campers for two weeks, working closely with the counsellor from that cabin to learn the ins-and-outs of counselling from them. At the start of the two weeks, WLITS will begin with observation and getting to know the campers in their cabin, and will work up to leading activities, programming, and providing small amounts of camper support where they feel comfortable. In a shadowing expierence, WLITS will:

• Be a mentor and leader for a cabin of campers. They will have the oppourtunity to get to know the campers in their cabin, join in on cabin activities throughout the day, and act as a supportive mentor to campers navigating thier camp expierence. 
• Plan and execute activities to engage the campers in their cabin. LITS and WLITS have the oppourtunity to come up with ideas for check in, activities for rest hour, and more!
• Build skills in, and learn how to teach and lead, 2-week camper classes. Over the duration of a 2-week session, campers will build their confidence in one of our class areas and learn the traits of effective leadership when teaching a group. 
• Connect campers to the natural world. Throughout the camp day, WLITS and LITS will have an abundance of oppourtunities to teach young campers about the natural world and explore together from a place of curiosity and wonder. 

As the oldest campers at camp, our WLIT and LIT campers have the oppourtunity throughout their session to learn about program development through the creation of their own programs, and to learn from the counselling staff through helping to lead and support some parts of the camp day. In developing programs, campers will build their creativitiy, organization, and teamwork skills, and through facilitation of programs and activities, they build their responsibility, leadership, and mentorship skills. In a given LIT/WLIT session, campers may have the oppourtunity to do any or all of the following:

• Devise and create an Evening Program for the whole camp. As a group, the WLITS will come up with an idea for an evening program that could be run for campers of all ages. They will work closely with our programming team to develop their program, and have the oppourtunity to run their program with the participation of the whole camp. 
• Help in the facilitation of morning feild games. From time to time throughout their session, the WLITS may help to facilitate feild games by coming prepared with activities, games, and ideas for the morning feild games session.
• Engage in some of the foundational duties of counsellors, with the support of their leadership director. During their sesison, the WLIT group will collectively have the opportunity to complete one evening of ‘Night Hawk’ and one day of ‘Counsellor of the Day’ duties under the supervision of their leadership director. 
• Create and run additional programming. If WLITs or LITS have an interest in running a particular type of programming, they may have the opporutnity to do so in collaboration with the programming team. In the past, LIT groups have run theme days, sports tournaments, regattas and more!