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Year Round Co-Workers & Friends

It’s a special kind of friendship when you can teach together, share family experiences together and work at summer camp together! This is the bond that Nicole Lembo, Nabby’s Director of Family Outreach and Ryanne LoPresti, Head Counselor of our Pups Group, have with one another.

Nicole and Ryanne met and became friends while working as teachers at Walter Panas High School. They both teach 9th grade and their classrooms are right next to one another. As they taught alongside each other, they became close friends and as fate would have it, became pregnant around the same time with their second children. As Nicole now recollects, their daughters met before they were born, and had no choice than to become dear friends too! Fast forward to today, and their daughters (Evie and Anna) are the very best of friends who cherish spending their summers together at Nabby. In addition to their daughters, Ryanne’s son Tommy and Nicole’s daughter Olivia, are also close friends and Nabby campers.

It was through their time together as teachers and their children sharing summers together at Nabby, that their families became extremely close and have since enjoyed vacations (Disney!) and many activities together over the years.

We were fortunate to have Nicole join the Nabby team two summers ago after seeing the impact camp had on her two girls and just as thrilled when Ryanne came aboard last summer after hearing about Nicole’s experience. Both women knew first hand as Nabby parents, that working at camp would be special, and indeed, it has been.

As Nicole noted, “I loved getting a chance to work with Ryanne in a new environment! It was nice to be outdoors and active, focused on making sure campers had a great summer!”

Both teachers, now Nabby co-workers and forever friends, we look forward to welcoming back Nicole and Ryanne this summer!

Summer Images to Cherish

We love to tell stories about camp and share the special moments and people that make Nabby such a special place. We were incredibly fortunate this summer to have a talented photographer Allison and photographer/videographer Camila, that made this all possible with their memorable images each and every day!

Both women are locally based photographers who specialize in family photography.

Allison started her professional photography career about 10 years ago and has turned something she loves into something she gets to do for a living! Allison now has her own studio in Peekskill and particularly enjoys taking pictures of families and especially children. This is what has made her Nabby experience so meaningful. “Getting to know the campers has been an absolute joy and the counselors and staff are all so great to work with – they are a joy to be around every day!”

Allison has two children in camp and has also loved to see them grow, learn and enjoy all the fun Nabby has to offer. Allison noted, “I hope the families and children get to see through our pictures how much fun they are having each day – how much they are enjoying themselves”.

Allison was joined by her friend and colleague Camila in the second half of the summer. Both live in Montrose and have had the good fortune to work together previously. Like Allison, Camila also had two children in camp and runs her own business called Living Notes Photography which focuses on family lifestyle photography.

“Camp Nabby was so much fun for both myself and my kids. The energy, the warm and inviting place, THE PEOPLE… it was all amazing. It was an honor to freeze time for each camper, counselor and staff and keep these memories alive for them for generations to come”.

Camila adds, “Capturing the bond that’s created and the camaraderie, the fun, the little quirks and personality is the best part of this job”.

Not only talented, but prolific, our photographers posted over 500 photos of junior and senior campers combined each and every day! Camila also produced videos that can be found in our mobile app, on our Camp Nabby Youtube channel and on our social feeds. Both women approached each day with tremendous enthusiasm and had so much fun getting to know our staff and campers, which certainly is reflective in their work. We thank them for capturing and sharing a wonderful summer together!

The Amazing Aerial Adventure

When you ask our campers what they like best about aerial adventure, they will tell you how much they love each and every activity! From the high ropes course for senior campers, to the thrilling zipline, challenging rock walls and tree climb to the ever popular treehouse and obstacle course, our aerial adventure program has something for every camper! The program is led by Erin Appelle who celebrated her 10th season at Nabby this summer. Erin is in her 10th year of teaching at Carmel High School. She is joined by co-leader Sam Leader, who is a teacher in Mamaroneck. The rest of the team, which Erin refers to affectionately as family, includes James, Olivia, Bobby, Jack, Jeff and Robbie.

Collectively they ensure safety, fun and of course adventure, each and every day! They nurture and support campers who need encouragement and always bring a smile to our campers faces. Erin notes that the staff truly enjoys seeing campers challenge themselves and do things they thought they could never do. “The most rewarding aspect of the program is to see all the smiling faces when our campers accomplish something incredible”.

That is something the aerial adventure staff gets to witness each and every day.

All New Science Program Is A Blast

Nabby has introduced a new science program this summer, led by Dave Nodiff, who has been teaching science in elementary schools and camps for over 30 years. “Science Dave” is teaching three interest periods (for senior campers and campers entering 3rd grade) as well as select classes for our boys and girls groups entering 2nd grade. The classes have covered everything from energy & physics (solar bags, different types of rockets) to basic elements of chemistry (density separation between oil & water, chemical reactions, etc). Older campers have recently been working on solar robots, powered by the sun!

Dave hopes to educate our campers on the basic principles of science, inspire questions and thinking… and have lots of fun while doing so! From blasting rockets high up in the sky, to the “mentos challenge”, balloon cup shooters, string science and glow in the dark activities – Dave has amazed our campers with his varied experiments. For example, to create glow in the dark magic, our campers made two invisible messages. One was with a baking soda and water solution (for “invisible ink”) which reacted to turmeric powder and rubbing alcohol. The chemical reaction made the message or picture turn red. Then we used zinc sulfide to make a glow in the dark message which we put on top of glowing glue. Black light inside of a dark room made the zinc sulfide particles get excited and allowed them to start glowing which revealed the message/picture!

Dave loves it at Nabby and talks of the warm & vibrant atmosphere. “Nabby is very unique and is like a big family. The campers are very engaged and energized by the activities and really enjoy being here. As a teacher, it is very motivating.”

We are excited to continue the science program in the years to come and thank Dave for introducing this program to Nabby!

Nabby Nature: An Appreciation For The Great Outdoors

Nature at Nabby is one of our most popular activities, offering a variety of experiences for campers of all ages. This summer marks the 27th year (wow!), the program has been led by Rick Lee, affectionately known throughout camp as “Ranger Rick”! Rick is joined this summer by Patti and Mabel, rounding out an experienced and enthusiastic nature staff.

The nature program features two central locations – the Nature Center, featuring our own animals & reptiles, and the Nature Trail, where campers can explore the natural world. This summer, the Nature Center features a new outdoor animal community enclosure which has been a big hit with our campers. The enclosure allows campers to sit alongside rabbits, turtles, guinea pigs and lizards, and allows them to see how these animals & reptiles behave and communicate. The animals and reptiles at Nabby are all beloved, and this summer we have added more to love!! Three new rabbits (with many names suggested and still to be decided) and two new guinea pigs (Molly & Holly).

Of all the animals and reptiles, Ranger Rick notes that our bearded dragon, Shanti, and ball python snakes (Monty & Anando) are the most popular and our campers truly love to learn about them and hold them.

In addition to interacting with animals & reptiles, our campers truly enjoy heading to the nature trail. On the shaded trail, our staff leads animal tracking, campfires and a special visit to see the ‘great grandmother tree”, a 275 year-old yellow poplar that Rick notes, takes 10 campers to make a circle around its massive trunk! While animal tracking, campers love (and have been quite successful) to spot and catch frogs, newts and snails. Senior campers particularly enjoy taking longer hikes and making new discoveries along the way.

With so many years spent at Nabby, what does Rick hope to share and pass on to our campers? “My goal is to develop and inspire a genuine respect for the natural world. If our campers learn to enjoy and understand more about the environment, they will do their best to protect it”.

Meet Our Junior Camp Program Directors

Leading our Junior Camp activities this summer are two senior staff members who have worked at Nabby for a combined 20 + summers! Paige Mangione has worked as our head Gymnastics Instructor for 7 summers and Sam Stern has been a Head Counselor for over 10 years! Both Paige and Sam are school teachers and share an incredible enthusiasm for everything Nabby.

In their new roles of Junior Camp Program Directors
they will be responsible for keeping our youngest campers active (Paige will be focused on Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade; Sam will work with our 2nd & 3rd grade groups) and will assist our Group Counselors in introducing new games to love and special events to remember!

“I am most excited to spend extra time with our youngest campers this summer”, noted Paige. I loved seeing them at Gymnastics and now I get to see them in other areas of the camp as well. I am also looking forward to creating fun events and activities, as well as working closely with our outstanding staff!

Sam is most excited about getting outside and introducing new games and activities for many familiar faces as well as many new campers at Nabby this summer.

We are thrilled to welcome Paige and Sam to their new roles at Nabby!