SCARBOROUGH – Ten-year-old Annabelle Forsley practically lives at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough, taking part in a wide variety of its year-round offerings. But her favorite, by far, is the riding program.

Forsley has learned dressage technique, jumping, and all about the anatomy of horses since she began taking riding lessons at Camp Ketcha six years ago.

“I’ve done a lot of other camps, but the horse camp is the best,” she said, as summer programming at Camp Ketcha wound down recently. “Horses are so friendly, fun and kind. I’m already competing, and it’s so fun,” she added.

This year Camp Ketcha, which is located on 107 meticulously preserved acres off Black Point Road, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1964, its programs focus on creativity, self-discovery, experiential education and physical activity.

While Camp Ketcha offers adult programming, it’s mostly geared toward kids, giving them a love for outdoor activity and the environment. Each year, the nonprofit serves about 3,000 campers, teaching them new skills, as well as offering them opportunities to make lifelong friends and special memories.

Its facilities include a horse barn and riding ring, a pool and pond, a garden, an archery range, a zip line and much more. The main building, which houses the camp offices, is often rented out for weddings and corporate events. The main building also boasts a conference room and a Montessori school.

The nine-week summer camp at Camp Ketcha, which is designed for kids 3-14, gives participants a chance to swim every day, as well as the opportunity to engage in arts and crafts, drama and music, a ropes course, environmental education, including outdoor living, and archery.

While the camp primarily serves Greater Portland, Executive Director Tom Doherty said Camp Ketcha also hosts a variety of international students every summer. In his eight years on the job, kids from as far away as Australia and France have spent a week or more at the camp.

In the summer, which is the camp’s busiest season, there are 85 employees. Year-round, the core staff is made up of nine full- and part-time employees, including Doherty and Liz Tully, camp director.

In addition to its many day camp offerings in the summer, Camp Ketcha also provides after-school care and school vacation camps. “We’re always adding new programs,” Doherty said, including specialty camps, such as ones dedicated to “Star Wars,” fairies, the arts and more.

Doherty, who said he could talk about the glories of Camp Ketcha all day long, said one of the best things about the camp is how it helps kids make “connections with positive adults,” which he said is key to healthy development.

“We’ve also created a place that’s accepting, that teaches friendship skills and that lets kids build things,” Doherty said. “Here at Camp Ketcha, the kids can use their hands and have a direct experience, which is so hard to find these days.”

He added, “This place is a real refuge. Kids can lose themselves in the experience, have fun and relax. The kids have ownership of this place, and they feel at home here.”

Along with its huge variety of programs, the camp also has a network of trails that are open to the public for walking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The property abuts the Libby River Farm, which is owned and maintained by the Scarborough Land Trust.

For Katherine Joyce, president of the board of directors at Camp Ketcha, what makes the camp special is its location, the staff, the volunteers and all those who are committed to seeing that it survives well into the future.

“I could go on and on,” she said. “(But), what makes Camp Ketcha special is the property, the people and the diversity of programming.”

Joyce said the acreage at Camp Ketcha is rare in a suburban environment.

“It’s a vast tract of land, with woods, fields, a pond and a ropes course where children can safely run and play. That’s a truly special thing.”

The variety of programming “is also something we are very proud of,” she said. “Our programs are geared to support working parents with reasonable costs and realistic hours. All of these things fit together into a puzzle that, when complete, represents that feeling of connection and homecoming I feel when I stand on camp grounds.”

Joyce, a Scarborough resident, has been president of the board at Camp Ketcha for the past three years. She said attending summer camp “was a formative experience in my childhood – it was a safe and joyful way to practice independence, to learn how to make friends and to interact with children and adults of all ages.”

That’s one reason she’s so committed to ensuring that her children, and others, have access to that same experience.

“As a parent, I wanted my children to develop a relationship with the land and community of Scarborough – to develop a special connection with their home that would anchor them throughout their lives,” Joyce added.

“Both of my children attend Camp Ketcha every year. They love and look forward to the activities, the property, the friends and the counselors,” she said.

To make sure Camp Ketcha is around for another 50 years, Joyce said, the support of the wider community is critical.

“We are always in search of those who are willing to donate time, materials or funds to maintain the facility,” Joyce said.

She agreed with Doherty that “this place sells itself” and said, “This property is an important part of our community, and we want to make sure people know that it is here to serve them.”

Tully said her favorite part of being the camp director is “meeting the great campers and families. We have campers here who started when they were 4 years old and are now 13. It is great to be able to see them grow up and change.”

She said the other great thing about being a camp director is the staff. “We are able to find amazing staff members locally, and many of our staff have been past campers and counselors-in-training.”

Tully’s overall goal for each program is that the “children learn new skills, try things they might not otherwise get a chance to do and make new friends. Those are all (part of) our mission, and we try really hard to ensure” it happens.

She first began working at Camp Ketcha in 2000 when she was a counselor during the summer.

“I had an amazing first summer as a counselor and fell in love with Camp Ketcha,” Tully said. “I (even) met my best friend here.”

She was a counselor for two summers, a head counselor for two summers and has been the camp director since 2004. Tully has three children who are all involved in Camp Ketcha.

“My two older children have attended summer camp, vacation camp and our Montessori preschool. My youngest will be old enough to start soon,” she said.

What Tully most wants people to know is that Camp Ketcha is “much more than a summer camp. We (may be) most widely known for our summer camp, but we offer a lot of great programs year-round.”

For Doherty it all comes down to one thing – “kids should be outside playing.”

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A CLOSER LOOK

See www.campketcha.org for more information about the year-round programs for both kids and adults offered at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough. Upcoming special 50th anniversary events include a golf tournament at the Prouts Neck Country Club on Sept. 16 and the Martini Madness gala on Nov. 15. The gala, which runs 7-11 p.m., will include a silent auction, appetizers, signature cocktails and live music by the Tony Boffa Band. Tickets, purchased by Nov. 8, are $70 per couple. Tickets bought after that date, or at the door, are $40 per person. Registration for the golf tourney and tickets for the gala are both available on the Camp Ketcha website.

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Camper Abhayadana Nguyen takes aim on the archery range during an early morning practice on the last day of summer camp at Camp Ketcha in Scarborough. Camper Ben Mallory sets off on a run down the Camp Ketcha zip line.