Guard Up! Brings Wizards, Warriors, Zombies to East Boston This Summer

Guard Up! Inc, a Burlington MA based company, has been awarded a 5 year contract by the Westford Conservation Commission to occupy and run their summer camps out of Westford’s East Boston Camps starting this summer. 

The company is moving its “Wizards & Warriors” and “NERF Zombie” Camps to town from their former location in Charlton, a move that Guard Up founder Meghan Gardner believes will be beneficial for the company.

“We are very excited about the move from Charlton to Westford,” said Gardner.  “I feel honored that our camp was selected and I am thrilled with the opportunity for our company to play a role in preserving this treasured land and camp.”

Westford Conservation Commission resource planner Bill Turner believes says the lease of East Boston Camps (EBC) is in line with the commission’s objectives for the camp which were established in 2005 when the Town of Westford purchased it from the Hyams Foundation. 

“The Conservation Commission issued a Request for Proposals from camp operators for lease of the property for a summer camp operation, and selected Guard Up, Inc. because it had the most responsive proposal,” said Turner. “The lease agreement calls for Guard Up to provide both cash payments as well as improvements to the camp building to bring them up to code requirements. This will go a long way towards helping make the camp available for license for other groups and functions so as to generate yet more income and help meet the Master Plan goal of reducing the cost to the taxpayer of maintaining the property.”

Since the East Boston Camps is an area frequently used by local residents, the Conservation Commission and Guard Up are working on plans to accommodate both the campers and residents in a manner that protects both parties’ interests. 

“In order to provide for the safety and security of participating children, the Guard Up program will have exclusive use of that portion of the property located around the main camp area known as the ‘Boys Camp’,” said Turner.

Residents will not be able to enter the camp area while it is in session, but they will be able to continue to walk up the roadway to this area and then will be able to continue along a new bypass trail that will run out along the crest of the slope above Keyes Brook, eventually reconnecting to the main trail to the north of the camp by the basketball court.

Signs showing the restricted area and location of the bypass trail will be posted at the EBC kiosk and online.

Residents with questions on EBC availability when the camps are in session can email contact Turner at bturner@westfordma.gov or call at 978-692-5524; more information on the camps themselves can be found online at www.guardup.com or by phone at 781-270-4800.