TENANTS HARBOR — A Lincolnville nonprofit organization, partnering with the University of Maine, is setting a goal to leave no child — or adult — inside.

That goal is expected to become a reality next summer when Tanglewood 4-H and Learning Center will open a residential camp, thanks to $1.1 million in funds raised to support the cause.

The residential program will offer sailing, boating, gardening, creative arts and science at Blueberry Cove in Tenants Harbor next year. Leslie Hyde, an extension educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke to a group of volunteers and donors who attended a recognition celebration at the St. George campground Tuesday.

“Everywhere I go I hear people say, ‘When will you create a camp for big kids?’ ” Hyde said. “We’re hoping Blueberry Cove will become as much as an adult camp as a youth camp.”

The history of the campground reaches back to 1949, when Henry and Bess Haskell started the first interracial camp to advance their vision of a more peaceful world. Ann Goldsmith, who lives next door to the campground, has seen Blueberry Cove develop over 50 years.

In 1953, the campground had 37 campers with 25 percent non-Caucasian, Goldsmith recalled.

“It slowly grew to 50 kids,” said Goldsmith, who took over as director in 1966. “We ran the camp until 1985 and then started a team camp similar to Outward Bound.”

Outward Bound is a nonprofit educational organization, based in New York, with programs in wilderness, expeditionary learning and team building. Goldsmith ran the camp until she sold it to Tanglewood in 2004.

“I was looking for someone who would continue to use it for children and as a learning center,” Goldsmith said in an interview.

Hyde said Goldsmith was pressured by “a lot” of people to sell the property.

Tanglewood bought the property for $750,000, which is about half its worth, Hyde said. In addition to educational programs, Tanglewood will ensure that local community organizations have access to the Maine coast through collaborative partnerships. They anticipate serving approximately 1,100 Maine youth and adults annually through the camp.

“The board saw this opportunity and we took a real leap of faith and the people responded,” said Tanglewood executive director Brian Robinson.     

Robinson added that the amount of support from the community and region Tanglewood received has been “overwhelming.”

“What is amazing is the deep connection with this place and the community,” he said.

Tanglewood’s Lincolnville location has 40 staff members who support a ratio that never dips below six-to-one. Robinson envisions the same ratio for Blueberry Cove.

Tanglewood will have a conservation easement on the Blueberry Cove property to prevent further development and to protect biological diversity. The 25-acre camp will be preserved as one of the largest undeveloped properties in Tenants Harbor and Long Cove area, according to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

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