CAMAS OUTDOOR CENTRE: MULL

An important message about Camas

With great sadness, the Trustees of the Iona Community have made the decision that Camas will not reopen. The resources needed in terms of staffing and finances to open Camas safely and sustainably, are beyond the scope of the Iona Community at this time.

Camas, the Iona Community’s outdoor centre on the Ross of Mull, has been a place of transformation for young people, folks living on the margins, and many others for more than eight decades. The decision to close Camas has not been taken lightly. It follows an extensive safety review, careful scrutiny of financial projections, and a remarkable ‘Camas Companions’ fundraising campaign.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave their time, money, wisdom and prayer to the effort to reopen Camas. The Camas Companions campaign revealed the depth of love for this place and its work.

The Iona Community remains resolutely committed to working with young people. The vision and strategic goal of “Youth at the Heart” remains our focus. In the months ahead, Trustees and staff will work with our Members, our Young Adults Group, and our Youth Work Advisory Group to shape a renewed vision for youth work through the Iona Community.

Camas Companions who gave financially are being contacted directly with information about what happens next. For those who asked for their gifts to be returned should Camas not reopen, that will also be quickly actioned.

Camas changed lives. The bell may no longer ring in Camas Bay as it used to. But the remarkable work, and the lived community experienced there will not be forgotten. The young people who need the kind of community Camas offered will remain at the heart of the Iona Community’s youth work strategy.

God of the changing seasons,
God of bright skies, thrift and shorelines,
Sooth our weary hearts as we grieve a time that is gone.
Restore our souls as we glimpse a future of promise and potential.
May we learn new steps to the dance of life,
trusting and loving you, and one another, 
as a skein of geese dancing with the heavens.
— Ruth Harvey, Leader of the Iona Community