Stewardship
Stewardship is the acknowledgement and practice that everything belongs to God, and as his children in fellowship with Him and following the model of the Son, we are empowered to sustainably use all that is entrusted to us for the good of all He loves. Stewardship is one of Camp’s Initiatives: four major area of focus across Program and Projects that are derived from our Mission & Values. Camp applies Stewardship to human resources, financial & material resources, and creation resources, and sees all these areas as intertwined in an integrated whole.
Want to get involved? We are always looking for people to join our stewardship community: skilled and unskilled volunteers, tradesmen, professionals, students, academics, and families with children and youth. Contact Us to let us know were you’d like to connect.
Stewardship Categories
Land Stewardship manages all the 395 acres of land-based resources in a way the promotes the value of our land for all living things and seeks to restores the “as created” health of natural systems with continued human integration.
Forestry Stewardship — a sub-category of Land Stewardship — manages the 369 wooded acres of Camp through growth and species diversity monitoring, selective harvest of saw timber, and timber stand improvement yielding firewood.
Asset Stewardship manages the physical plant, equipment, and human resources of Camp in ways that display our love for God and people and that use wealth resources according to the principles of the Kingdom of God. This includes taking care of the historical and modern buildings of Camp, maintaining our working equipment and work areas, and taking great care of people and the various things they contribute to our community.
Energy Stewardship — a sub-category of Asset Stewardship — works for sustainability in Camp’s energy use, specifically with a focus on local renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. Current projects include Firewood harvesting for our Outdoor Wood Boiler (OWB) system, replacement of traditional tanked water heaters with condensing on-demand units, and the Promise Center Solar Project.
Biodiversity Stewardship (PILOT) is a new pilot program to survey, monitor, and promote biodiversity in the ecosystems of Camp lands. Includes research and project development in organism identification, life inventories, habitat preservation and development, and invasive removal and prevention.
Stewardship Projects and Pages
Forestry Stewardship
Forestry Stewardship is a program under Camp Deerpark’s Stewardship Initiative tasked with managing the approximately 360 acres of forest owned by the Camp. Like all Stewardship programming, Forestry stewardship sees humans as part of creation that have a unique God-ordained role in managing living things and resources according to his way and will. The current program was founded…
Forest Roads Project
The Forest Roads Project is an ongoing effort to create and maintain an unpaved road system for better ATV and tractor access to the 395 acres of the Camp. This project is part of the Stewardship Initiative, especial helpful in Land Stewardship and Forestry Stewardship because it opens the 369 acres of Camp forest to better management, including firewood…
Tall Grass Areas
Tall Grass Areas are portions of lawns and meadows on the The Grounds at Camp Deerpark that are set aside in a natural state without regular mowing as part of our Stewardship Initiative, especially our work in Biodiversity Stewardship. Many species of birds, insects, and mammals use tall grass areas for nesting sites and feeding, and allowing these areas to…
Promise Center Solar Project
Promise Center Solar Project is a 22.31 kWp solar array installed on the roof of the Promise Center at Camp Deerpark as part of our Stewardship Initiative. The project was funded by a donor contribution in combination with NYS and Federal solar incentives and will save Camp as much as $107,000 in electrical costs over the next twenty years* –…
Spruce Lodge Hot Water Heating System Replacement
Spruce Lodge Hot Water Heating System Replacement is a Facilities Department Stewardship project to replace the heating-oil boiler and hot water tank in Spruce Lodge with two on-demand condensing tankless water heaters for safety, reliability, and efficiency reasons. Status: In progress Project Sheet: spruce_lodge_HWH_2025.pdfDownload Background / The Problem: In 2024, technicians from Deerpark Oil informed us that the hot water tank in the…
Woodcutting
Woodcutting refers firewood harvest as part of our Forestry Stewardship program. Typically, youth and young adult Volunteer Groups harvest, haul, split, and stack Firewood for heating purposes in the Fall and Winter. The target amount of wood is 40+ cords. Historically, Mercersburg Mennonite, Bowmansville Mennonite, and Conestoga Mennonite have participated. In more recent years, a community of families…
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