https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/swims-smores-social-emotional-growth

Camp’s opening day excitement is palpable. Sights and sounds elicit joy and anticipation from staff, counselors, and campers alike. Early arrivers wait in line for the camp gates to open. Campers...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fema-nonprofit-security-grant-program

In 2023, an overnight camp in the Northeast received $150,000 to upgrade its security. These funds allowed the camp to replace fences, add a security exit gate, and install protective window coating...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/continuous-improvement-program-quality-lessons-learned-part-two

As established in the first “Lessons Learned” article (...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/thank-you-another-great-year

As the year winds down and the holidays approach, I hope you and your loved ones are well and finding time to breathe, play, and celebrate with time together. During this season of giving...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/interrupting-biases

"Excuse me," the camp director interrupted, "I just need you to tell us how to respond when a camper or counselor uses a slur like that."  We were in the midst of debriefing a series of...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camp-pride

Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, something I looked forward to every year was attending summer camp. After spending winters mostly indoors, the perfect reprieve from school was getting the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/foster-feeling-cross-generational-divide

As leaders interacting with the next generation we have a choice. We can spin our wheels trying to understand why they aren’t where we are, where we believe they “should be,” or we can consider the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/moving-forward-together-september-2023

Congratulations on all your success this past summer! I am so encouraged by the way you overcame a myriad of demanding and onerous challenges to create fun and exciting communities of belonging,...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/lets-play-nicely-eight-tips-creating-safe-spaces-camp

For generations, a camp director’s focus on safety meant protecting campers from physical harm. In today’s reality that is still a necessity though insufficient. Safe space at camp has now evolved...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/cultural-bias-risk-management

When bias is discussed in wilderness risk management, it is often explored from the perspective of decision-making. Heuristics are the processes by which we make decisions using mental shortcuts that...