Camp Ramah in Canada Migrash

Camp Ramah in Canada is a 115 hectare summer camp for Jewish youth located on Skeleton Lake in the Township of Muskoka Lakes. Envision-Tatham was fortunate to work with the camp’s Board and staff to re-vision Camp Ramah’s Migrash, which is a Hebrew term describing the camp’s central green space (common land). The migrash was updated and expanded to provide formal outdoor sports amenities for soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and Ga-ga. The Ga-ga enclosure was an interesting aspect of the project and we were pleased to learn the history of this ancient Hebrew game that is similar to dodge ball, but played in a small octagonal court. As a central space between the boys and girls cabins, the migrash also serves an important role for social interaction, camp education, and programming. As such, the design provides a central meeting hub with shade sails, a secondary meeting space adjacent to the basketball facilities, and various un-programmed lawns. These areas are used by camp counsellors for cultural and social events throughout the camp season. The Camp Ramah Migrash was completed in 2008 and continues to provide an important unifying green space to support the social and cultural growth of Jewish youth at Camp Ramah in Canada.