THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - Building confidence and conquering fears, they are just two of the benefits of an annual all-girls summer camp now in its second year of operation.

The Taiga Adventure Camp for girls, being held this month in Fort Smith, has become a popular summer attraction in the NWT, to the point organizers have had to turn applicants away.

Alex Marie Heron of Fort Smith gets ready to go kayaking on July 5 on Pine Lake, about 60 km south of Fort Smith, during the Taiga Adventure Camp. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

This year, there were 60 spots available at the camp, but more than 100 applications..

"That of course didn't make us happy," said camp manager Sheila Sauteur-Chadwick, adding part of the selection process aimed to to make the camp regionally representative.

Natisha Drygeese, a 13-year-old from Ndilo, is an example of how the camp helped participants face their fears. She admitted to being hesitant about one of the camp activities – kayaking.

"I was scared," she said, explaining she worried about tipping over and falling into the water.

But Drygeese, who was attending the camp for the first time, said she tried kayaking and is not scared anymore.

She said the camp has built her confidence and she hopes to return in the coming years.

Fort Smith's Meagan Taylor, 11, was also at the camp for the first time said she enjoyed flipping over in a kayak on Pine Lake, about 60 km south of Fort Smith. She also conquered another fear that will make summers in the NWT a bit easier.

"I got rid of my fear of bugs," she said while sitting at a picnic table at Pine Lake surrounded by mosquitoes and other insects.

Meagan said she hopes to be back at the camp next year.

Sauteur-Chadwick said a lot of the girls come to the camp thinking they can't do many things and face various fears, from tipping over a kayak to things once believed too hard to do.

"Their confidence just soars," she said.

The Taiga Adventure Camp, which is for girls aged 11 to 17, is being held at various locations in and around Fort Smith.

The camp – the first session from July 2 to 9 and the second from July 14 to 21 – attracts girls from around the NWT.

This year, the girls are from Inuvik, Norman Wells, Tulita, Hay River, Yellowknife, Behchoko, Dettah and Ndilo, Fort Providence, Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, Colville Lake, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Simpson, and Lutsel K'e.

Most of the 27 girls in the first session were 11 and 12 years old, while the second session will be for girls from 13 to 17 years old.

"The kids are into very different things," Sauteur-Chadwick said explaining the division by age. "They're in very different developmental places."

Last year, the girls were not divided by age groups.

"Some of the feedback was the girls have more fun in groups with their peers," said Sauteur-Chadwick. Last year, the camp had as many as 40 girls in each session, but that was found to be too many.

Among many other things, the camp teaches healthy lifestyles, self-esteem, leadership, environmental awareness, traditional knowledge and arts and crafts, and offers on-the-land experience.

Some of the instruction is offered in workshops by local people, such as Fort Smith elder Jane Dragon talking about traditional knowledge.

"Part of the mandate is leadership development," said Sauteur-Chadwick, adding that component is for the older girls.

One of the goals is, as the girls participate in the camp, some of them will become camp counsellors as they get closer to 17.

This year, two girls from Fort Smith – one 15 and the other 16 – are working with the younger girls as counsellors in training.

Along with Sauteur-Chadwick as manager, the camp has five counsellors.

The camp's activities include activities such as swimming, kayaking, storytelling, creating a PowerPoint presentation about the camp, and a competition called Queen Bush Woman, featuring splitting wood, making a fire, boiling tea and making bannock on a stick.

Tulita's Kyanna Lennie, 12, was at the camp for the first time this year.

"Just to learn some new stuff and do something different and be active," she said of her reasons for attending.

Kyanna, who met lots of people at the camp, said she will be telling her friends about it.

"I'm going to tell them to come next year and it's lots of fun coming here," she said.

Karisa Balsillie, 12, of Fort Resolution was also at the camp for the first time.

Karisa said she attended because she thought it would be fun. "And it is fun."

Brittany Wilkinson-Beaulieu, a 12-year-old from Fort Smith, also enjoyed the camp, adding she likes being outside and meeting new people.

"It helps people to develop confidence to talk to other people," Brittany said.

Sauteur-Chadwick said the camp is designed to move around to other NWT communities.

No decision has been made on where the camp will be held next year, but Inuvik is being considered.