https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/planting-seeds-grow-environmental-stewardship-plan

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....

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/convenient-truth-how-our-past-can-save-future

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...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/hidden-motivator-todays-staff

One thing you say or do can still change a child's life, but is that enough anymore? When I first began training camp counselors a decade ago, I loaded the program with an inspiring message...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/rearview-mirror-driving-safety-camp

A look in any rearview mirror will tell you a lot about where you have been, but little about where you are going. Unless, that is, you are driving at summer camp — where a quick look back can be an...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/unpacking-summer-camps-lease-hath-all-too-short-date

After the last marshmallow has roasted, the last sunset has sunk, and the last tear has dried, the aftermath of a summer at camp often reveals itself in, well, less than expected ways. Sure, there’s...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/indifferent-spectators-leadership-lessons-camp-beyond

Reflecting on the hands-off (called laissez-faire back then) attitude common among Harvard College students in the late 1800s, senior class poet George Pellew wrote, “We deem it narrow-minded to...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/after-deluge-part-iii-letters-my-campers

Huck Finn enjoyed a rare opportunity to attend his funeral and hear what folks had to say about him after he faked his death to escape the confines imposed by the Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/always-thank-bus-driverand-other-words-wisdom-all-campers-ill-never-meet

On the occasion of my fiftieth birthday, I contemplated the unthinkable: retirement. Not that I am anywhere near ready to conclude my career, but I now know what before I refused to acknowledge: Some...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/change-agents-social-entrepreneurship-summer-camp-experience

Lessons on leadership abound in the summer camp environment. And as we know, leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Some are loud; some are quiet. One is bold; another cautious. Many seek to lead...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/ready-set-go-how-camp-prepares-children-lives-success

The middle and high school years are filled with challenges, change, and promise. Perhaps more than anything else, parents hope that their children will be prepared to be productive and successful...