Recently added articles from Camping Magazine:
How to maximize your environmental education program at camp.
Nov 01, 2007; ... Through my travels, I encounter many nature-themed camps. They have names such as "Young Explorers," "Nature Nuts," and "Outdoor Adventurers." Sadly, I discover that nine times out of ten, these camps have no naturalist or professional outdoor educator on staff. No camp director would ...
Teaching GPS technology in nature education programs.(global positioning system )
Nov 01, 2007; ... I'm an ecologist and outdoor educator by training and profession. On my first day of work at the Oregon 4-H Center in 1985, the most sophisticated technology in the office was an electric typewriter. If you wanted a copy of your document, you used carbon paper. Over the years, I've learned ...
Change yourself; change their world how to play with campers with disabilities.
Nov 01, 2007; ... A well-meaning camp counselor once said to her camper, "Don't stare at that person who has a disability." The camper broadly translated that information to, "Don't look." As a result, people who were different became invisible to the camper. Her counselor really meant, "Don't make the ...
From Peg.(Peg L. Smith)
Nov 01, 2007; ... We need 20/20 vision. The time is now--not later--to employ our strengths and competencies. The time to act is now--not just about camp but human development. Our methodology, the camp experience, is the best way to address the world's nature-deficit disorder. Our vehicle, the camp ...
Five things to do to get more natural a place to share--naturally.
Nov 01, 2007; ... I want to encourage people to connect children with nature. I believe camps have a genuine opportunity and responsibility to be catalysts for tens of thousands of kids, but we often miss it. Most of us are in more than the child and youth development business, we are in the outdoor child ...
The value of working at camp on the lives of young camp staff research.
Nov 01, 2007; ... The impact of working as a member of a summer camp staff is seldom recognized for the valuable contributions that often arise from the experience. This article highlights findings from a project that asked young staff to discuss their perceptions of how their job as a camp counselor ...
Notes from the field risk management.
Nov 01, 2007; ... A variety of risk management issues influence the management of camps today from challenge courses and water slides that fall under "amusement ride" regulations in some states to requirements for waivers and releases and policies regarding camper/staff contact. So what is on your radar ...
Planting the seeds to grow an environmental stewardship plan.
Nov 01, 2007; ... Without a plan, we do not know where we are going. Four years ago I was sitting in a meeting with all of our camp department heads, talking about developing themes and character for the facility. Someone mentioned that it was important to consider our natural environment. That was all it ...
It's not that easy, being green ...
Nov 01, 2007; ... Almost forty years ago (!), a certain celebrity frog first sang a melancholy tune bemoaning being overlooked because he shared his color with so many other things. His contribution to the balance of life seemed lost. In a wash of introspection, he seemed to feel very small and ...
What's the big deal? Taking a look at "in" issues for teens teens today.
Nov 01, 2007; ... In the first Teens Today column, presented in the September/October issue of Camping Magazine, a profile of today's teen campers was developed, including a demographic snapshot and top reasons why male and female teen campers choose to participate in camp. This column explores issues that ...
A convenient truth how our past can save the future.
Nov 01, 2007; ... What an opportunity! Camps began in the late 1800s as a way to connect kids with nature. The first camps introduced boys to hiking, fishing, and adventure in the wilderness. Over the years "camp" has changed. Camps today include a wide variety of experiences like sports, education, and ...
Top 10 things to do to stay green at Camp Top Ten.(Brief article)
Nov 01, 2007 ... 1. Form a "green committee" of staff and volunteers. Get everyone's input on ways to stay green! 2. Start a Captain Planet[R] (or some type of other environmental) program for campers. Use awards and/or badges to make it fun and encourage involvement. 3. Switch to ...
Take your horse to camp.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Another way to increase usage at camp facilities is to allow people to bring their own horses to camp. Both youth and adults will have this interest and appreciate having a location to camp with their equine friend. Attending camp with a horse can strengthen the understanding and ...
Global understanding: the benefits and challenges of international staffing.
Sep 01, 2007; ... During the summer of 2006, over 26,000 international staff from one hundred countries worked in camps across the United States. Their positions included counselors, program staff, administrators, cooks, housekeepers, maintenance staff, and others. Their motivation was as different as the ...
From Peg.(Peg L. Smith)
Sep 01, 2007; ... We are tethered by invisible wires. I am not sure children today can feel the unspeakable liberation of moving, dancing, and running in open spaces free of realized or unrealized confinement. Maybe that is the reality of today's world. Maybe it is important in order to enhance safety. Yet, ...
Slicing the pie: selections from ACA's 2007 compensation and benefits survey.(American Camp Association )
Sep 01, 2007; ... Naturally, camp directors want to be paid a competitive salary and compensate their counselors and staff fairly. It is not surprising, therefore, that salary and compensation information repeatedly comes to the forefront when directors are questioned about statistical information they want ...
Do you need to step it up a little? Naturally.
Sep 01, 2007; ... Here's a test, and some suggestions. Wondering if there's enough focus on nature at your camp? I've cooked up a little "diagnostic." Score how well you measure up, and take note of my advice at the end. I certainly hope you find some tongue in cheek here. After all, this is ...
Whether you're eleven or twenty, camp is valuable: a place to share.(Reprint)
Sep 01, 2007; ... A couple weeks ago, I ate lunch with a group of fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds--the same kids I'm supposed to transform this summer into "future camp leaders." One of the girls said that her friends and teachers give her strange looks when they find out what she's doing this ...
Who's on the bus?(and how long will they be there?)
Sep 01, 2007; ... What makes our camps great? Getting the right people on the bus, in the right seat, and keeping them there (Collins 2001). Staffing is the most important thing we do. As a camp director, I wear many hats--fundraiser, cook, public speaker, toilet plunger, standards visitor, community ...
"The Sky is Falling!"--Mr. C. Little: building principles.(Chicken Little)
Sep 01, 2007; ... There is a fable about a character named Chicken Little who is plunked on the head by an acorn falling from a branch above. Being prone to panic, he announces to everyone he encounters that the sky (instead of the acorn) was falling. The panic spreads over nothing. Occasionally, we've had ...