What we're about... Our history

In 1968, three local men with vision, Glen Brubacher, Emerson McDowell and Nickolas Dick, foresaw a beautiful piece of property... a private, quiet place where people could congregate and where healthy relationships could be nurtured with God, with Nature, and with other people. They foresaw a rural experience, where children could experience recreation, nature and a farm. The three men were Mennonite pastors and the product of this vision is Willowgrove.

Located in Stouffville, Willowgrove has welcomed many thousands of children and youth through camping and education programs; namely Glenbrook Day Camp, Fraser Lake Camp, Willowgrove Outdoor Education Centre and Willowgrove Primary School.

Based on the original vision, Willowgrove has a rich history of providing high quality, diverse services for the community.

Program Diversity is possible at Willowgrove because the campus offers so much! Where in the Greater Toronto Area can you find 100 acres with natural features that include a hardwood forest, a pond, rolling hills and a clear-running stream? (In fact... the stream was officially named "Willowgrove Creek" in 2003, honouring Willowgrove's contributions to the community.) Many, many children catch crayfish and frogs, build forts in the bush, canoe, skate outdoors, smell fresh boiling maple syrup or toboggan on a "big" hill, all for their first time at Willowgrove.

Man-made features dot the Willowgrove landscape as well. While driving in the long driveway through 40 acres of cropland, the visitor is met with the lighted baseball diamond, soccer field, basketball court, pavilion, swimming pools, mini-putt course, dining hall and other shelter facilities. Portables house the office, school classrooms and other utility areas. Past the main parking area is the barn area that accommodates our pigs, 150 egg-laying chickens, cows, goats, sheep and ‘Jenny’ the donkey. The barn area also includes the indoor climbing facility (14 routes and bouldering wall), arts and crafts, mountain biking depot, pioneer centre and the popular "hayloft" playgrounds. Beyond Willowgrove's facility core rests other playgrounds, campfire areas, maple syrup shack, low-ropes course, picnic areas, pasture and trails designed for wagon-rides, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or just a quiet stroll. Three residences on the property provide staff housing.

Willowgrove's second campus is a lakeside facility of 270 acres located near Bancroft, Ontario. This property is the home of Fraser Lake Camp. The Fraser Lake Campus is located in the Kawartha region of Ontario and has natural features that include 1/2 mile of shoreline, over 160 acres of forest, large rolling fields and a deep lake that is ideal for swimming, kayaking and fishing. Wildlife that frequent Fraser include deer, bear, lynx, elk, moose and fisher. Open from early spring through the fall, Fraser has cabins and a dining hall designed to accommodate 150 people. Program elements and more complete facility listings are available on the Fraser Lake Web site at www.FraserLakeCamp.com.

Notice to users of Willowgrove and Fraser Lake water systems: Our annual water system report is available free of charge at the Willowgrove office at 11737 McCowan Road, Stouffville, Ontario L4A 7X5.

Willowgrove is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable association of volunteers and professionals committed to serving our community through a Christ-driven perspective.

«...The creek it's called the Willowgrove, been flowing all these years
          Through stands of maple, fields of corn, the farms that gathered here.
The riverkeepers care enough to keep her flowing free
          From the Moraine to the River Rouge...»
          -- From "Willowgrove Creek", music and lyrics by Bryan Moyer Suderman

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