https://www.acacamps.org/blog/campwire-episode-56-examining-mental-social-emotional-health-campers-staff

Let’s take a moment to discuss mental, social, and emotional health (MESH).

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/camp-best-job-youll-ever-have

"Being a camp counselor prepared me for life after college both personally and professionally." In this video blog, former ACA CEO Tom Holland reflects on his personal experience as a camp...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/want-improve-your-response-mental-health-challenges

Camp professionals often ask what they might do to more effectively respond to staff and camper mental, emotional and social health (MESH) needs. This often arises from a desire to be as inclusive as...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/instilling-meshages-marginalizes-toxic-stress-camp

As the Healthy Camp Education and Monitoring Program (HCEMP) committee studies MESH and its implications, I was interested to see some foundational work in this area. In...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/moderating-childhood-stress-through-camp

Exposure to adverse childhood events (ACE) can lead children to drinking alcohol, smoking, illicit drug use, overeating, and other maladaptive behaviors (Stevens, 2015). These children can experience...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/expect-more-your-leadership-team-encourage-them-expect-more-you

This blog post in support of Project Real Job discusses why you should expect more from your summer camp leadership team and how to encourage them to expect more from you.

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/future-camp-research

In this blog, Jessie Dickerson describes how camp researchers and camp professionals came together at the 2019 ACA National Conference to envision a future for camp research.

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/its-best-part-camp-camper-views-smartphone-policies

As camp directors, we instinctually know that the experience is much better without smartphones and technology, but what do the campers themselves think?

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/what-you-dont-know-cant-help-you-value-asking-your-staff

Staff feedback is vital to running a successful summer camp. Your staff are the only ones with the answers to these questions, so if you want to know the answers . . . ask them. 

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/conversation-about-fatigue-camp

Before fatigue becomes a serious problem, here are four suggestions for addressing fatigue at this point in the summer.