A New Addition Behind Western Lodge

Campers hiking up the hill behind Western Lodge this summer will notice a new addition to Anokijig. This big shed houses the summer office space for Scott Stewart and Scott & Heidi Mabie. Those three used to occupy an office with Darin Holden and another assistant program director.

Five people in an office originally intended for one or two people was a challenge, but our staff found a way to make it work for many years. Even with their efforts, it had been apparent for a long time that we simply needed more space.

Several years ago, a generous donor gave Anokijig a very nice log building package. This building would create the additional space Anokijig desperately needs for year-round, insulated offices (we currently spend about two weeks each year moving in and out of Western Lodge). It would also give us space for a year-round dining and meeting hall, capable of handling larger groups in the cold months, when Western Lodge simply cannot be used. Most importantly, it would provide us with additional storm shelter space, in case of dangerous weather (you can never have too much of that!).

The fancy name for it is the "Outdoor Education & Program Development Center with Storm Shelter" and we would love to put that building up now, but we just don't have the resources to do it and our top priority is to pay down the debt incurred to save Anokijig from developers. Until that day comes, the logs, insulation, shingles and the rest of the building all sit in cold storage at a nearby farm.
In the meantime, we've been able to reduce the number of "cloffices," made room for an additional staff member and increased the productivity of Anokijig staff.


We would've liked to have made our new "staff hut" more
aesthetically pleasing, maybe by adding log paneling to match Western Lodge. For this type of addition, we're strictly in "need" mode. We need it to be functional and look neat in appearance, even if we want it to blend in to the surroundings and match other buildings in the area.


The good news is, we can always do that at a later date, although we'd much rather replace it entirely with the building with the really long name. If you'd like to see some of the other items on our wish list, you can visit it at this link- http://anokijig.com/wishlist.htm

Until the time comes that we can build our dream building, we will continue to make do with what we have and keep our fingers crossed for the future. Keep working hard Scott Stewart, Anokijig depends on you!