Nearly a year ago today, our nation was shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking children out of schools and parents out of work, sending them to complete their daily tasks from their homes to prevent further spread of the virus. A year later, and not much has seemed to have changed. A lot of folks are still working from home, and kids are still doing virtual learning, though with people beginning to receive the vaccine, it seems that we may be able to return to our “normal” state sooner rather than later. COVID struck just a few months before summer camps all over the nation reopened, and for some, it put an end to the summer before it even began. While not all camps were able to open in the summer, there were a small number which successfully navigated the COVID issue ensuring campers were safe, but also got to enjoy what summer camp has to offer.

Swift Nature Camp was one of the few overnight summer camps that operated during 2020 through the COVID-19 Pandemic, though it was not without sacrifice. Much of what we knew about camp had to be changed in order to maximize the safety of both campers and staff. We asked campers and staff to quarantine for weeks before coming to camp to minimize the chances of them becoming infected by going out into public. The schedule was reworked so that cabin groups would not intermingle with other cabins, so that if only one cabin were to have a case of COVID, we would have been able to isolate them to ensure there was no further infection. Face masks were mandatory, though due to the length of camp, we were able to take them off, as no one was allowed to enter or leave camp, effectively giving us a “safety bubble” where it was nearly impossible for COVID to enter camp after campers arrived for a session. As no one could leave camp, days which staff members had time off were spent around camp, rather than getting to go out to eat or go to a state park. Each cabin also had UV lights put into them, which science has shown to be effective in killing the COVID-19 virus. Thankfully, at a nature summer camp there is plenty of sun at camp, which allowed us to naturally disinfect canoe paddles and life jackets by letting them soak up the UV radiation of the Sun. The wide-open spaces made social distancing rather easy, and we tried to keep camp as normal as we possibly could, and I believe that this was done quite well, as Swift Nature Camp experienced 0 cases of COVID all summer. 

COVID surely changed the way that Swift Nature Camp operated in 2020, but we took it as a challenge we could not back down from, one where the reward was much greater than the risk, and it paid off hugely. By prioritizing safety, we were able to mitigate any damage that could have been done by the virus and were able to make it through the entire summer. While the social distancing guidelines were not well received by many campers, they understood that they all played a pivotal role in the entirety of the summer, as a single case of COVID likely could have shut down the whole camp for the entire summer. The campers wore their masks, they practiced social distancing, and the day that we announced that we would no longer have to wear face masks was often one of the best days of the session. It was so rewarding for all of us to know that we had each played our part to make sure that everyone benefitted, a lesson in teamwork that I think more of the world should learn from. 

With the 2021 season ahead and a year of experience of “COVID Camp” behind us, Swift Nature Camp is ready for the new summer. We instituting new policies like asking counselors to get vaccinated as soon as they can based on the groups which are allowed to receive the vaccine. With testing becoming more widely available, we will be implementing much more testing, to further ensure the safety of our campers and our staff. Face masks and social distancing measures will still be implemented in order to minimize the spreading of the virus. We are hoping that our 2021 summer camp will be just as safe as our sleep- away summer camp in 2020. It seems as if COVID-19 is getting under control and that 2021 will be the last year we have to plan for COVID, so that the Swift Nature Camp community can return to normal and that campers can return back to their summer homes with out concern

BY TONY BLASI SUN JOURNAL

Despite the still looming threat of COVID-19, Minnesota Summer Camps Executive Director Ron Hall is seeing an uptick in early registrations for some camps across Maine.

“The interesting thing is because Maine camps did so well last summer, they are filling up faster,” Hall explained. “Depending on the state guidelines — last year camps operated at between 60 and 70% capacity — and if that would be true this summer, the camps are going to be full very early.

“Most of our summer camps are hoping they will be in operation this summer,” he said. “Last summer we had a limited number of camps that operated. Some of the camps relied on testing … and keeping groups in pods. (Camps) also restricted who could come and go into the camp.”

He said Maine camp owners are confident of a more successful season.

“There are tests out there that say it is safer to have your kid in an overnight camp than (being) at home because the exposure that they have is far more controlled at camp than it is at home,” Hall said. “The camps were incredibly successful last summer so I think that is a big factor … and the more people that get vaccinated the better.

“The one area that we don’t know yet is we are waiting for the state,” he said. “Last year, camps that operate shorter sessions — two weeks or less — did not operate, and the unfortunate part of that is most of those camps are small, nonprofit camps that provide a critical service to Maine families.”

Director Terri Mulks at Camp Susan Curtis in Stoneham said they hope to open, but she is waiting for new guidelines from the Maine Center for Disease Control.

“We were open last summer for smaller groups of kids,” she said. “We really have a long history of serving the economically disadvantage kids in the state of Maine. So they need camp more now than they ever needed it before. We are absolutely 100% moving ahead in the hopes that we will be able to open again this summer.”

Mulks said children who are facing economic hardship don’t often have the advantage of attending a summer camp. She added that registration is open to returning campers. 

“The other thing that is a little different for us — because of the population we are serving — we actually work directly with their schools and have the kids referred to us,” she explained. “I know for ourselves, we are opening at reduced capacity to make sure that we can stay safe and healthy — and we are going to have a lot of things in place … things like lots of hand washing and smaller groups. So those things will definitely be in play like last summer.”

Mulks added that vaccinations are important, but there are other factors to be concerned with this season.

“Kids aren’t vaccinated, yet,” she said. “The vaccine is for adults, and so when we can have kids vaccinated, we have to move forward in the same way we did last summer.”

When Camp North Star in Poland opened last summer, the camp finished the season COVID-19 free and gave parents confidence in the organization. He said North Star’s success last year was due to management, staff, campers and parents.

“We are still going to limit our numbers a bit this summer,” Steven Bernstein, camp director and owner, said. “But more importantly, we are following really good public health guidelines in terms of socially distancing and cohorting campers into smaller groups.”

He said he understands why some families will not send their children to camp.

“Unfortunately, we have campers who can’t attend for medical reasons — either their own or somebody in their family that might be immune compromised, and their doctors don’t feel it is safe for the child to come,” Bernstein said. 

He said vaccinations are a reason for optimism, but they can also lead to a false sense of confidence.

“It is great that staff is being vaccinated,” he said. “I don’t know that many, if any campers will be vaccinated this summer. We are not doing anything differently because some people will be vaccinated.”

Crystal Parritt, Lewiston YWCA director of child care services, said she is seeing more parents staying on top of finding a summer camp for their children compared to last year.

“So we have definitely seen an uptick of inquiries” she said. “I really don’t think they are going to really be deterred like last year or at least in the springtime, when we didn’t have a lot of information about it.”

Parritt said parents know that the YWCA took precautions such as hand washing and social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 forced the Auburn YMCA to forego its traditional day care and used a hybrid model.

“This summer we are hoping to have 150 kids compared to 125 from the 2019 summer,” director of children services Jaime O’Connor said. “Originally, we were hoping for even a larger number, but with the current situation, a slight increase in number was a better way to go with the upcoming summer.”

Registration for the YMCA summer program isn’t open yet because the Y is to taking a wait-and-see approach to how the new guidelines will look.

“We are hoping to open registration at the end of the month,” she said. “I will say one piece of advice for the parents because I know I am a camper parent as well, and I know I am trying to figure my summer out for my kid. But my advice to parents is please be patient with us because we are trying to plan our summer, but then we are waiting to hear from outside partners like the CDC and the state.”

When we raise children, one of the words that they hear the most is respect. In fact, respect is so important, that it is often referred to as “The Golden Rule,” or “Treat others the way you wish to be treated.” We teach our children to respect authority, to respect the rules, yet we teach it in a way that isn’t accessible to them. Usually, we tell them they will get in trouble or bad things will happen, but these are very general statements, which can allow a child’s mind to wonder exactly what those bad things are. However, there are ways that we can teach respect to children, while also teaching them how to be more environmentally conscious. 

Nature Summer Camps envelopes children in nature, taking them out of their cities and homes and delivering them to a pristine outdoor setting. While not every camp is nature themed, many are, and they teach children the practices that will serve to help and heal the Earth. Children are shown how much the planet provides them with, that it creates their food, their water, everything that they know, and it creates a natural sense of respect to the environment. At Swift Nature Camp a science camp in Wisconsin, we have a rule that you should not walk off of the path. Kids usually do not like this rule, but it exists for a simple reason. We explain to the children that long, long ago, there were glaciers that moved through the area, leaving behind all of the sand, which isn’t a very good soil for grass to grow in, so keeping foot traffic to the path keeps the grass healthy. Sometimes, kids ask, “Why is there no grass growing there?” and we explain that it’s because other campers have chosen to walk off of the path and through the grass, trampling and destroying it for everyone else. This shows the children the effects of disrespect, the solid proof that it is better to respect the rules.

Summer camp is all nature and trees.  These trees don’t just provide shade to keep us cool, they are teaching aids. We are able to teach campers about what makes each species of tree unique. Many of the campers know that pine needles are good for starting fires, but so is birch bark. We teach them about Jack Pines and the dangers associated with those trees. The lessons of conservation associated with trees can also create respect. There are a number of birch trees at camp, and since the campers know that birch bark can be a good fire starter, they rip the bark off of the live tree. When campers do this, we go to the tree with them and show them the scar that it left. We tell our campers that it would basically be like taking a layer of their skin off, so that we can teach them the lesson we’re trying to communicate in a way which they can understand. They are also able to see the direct results of disrespect as well, as the tree would be damaged from their actions. While the tree will usually survive these encounters, it still serves as a powerful tool in teaching children the importance of respect.

A final area in which SNC Nature Camp teaches children respect with science and conservation is when it comes to bugs. Many campers who aren’t used to being out in nature often do not enjoy bugs. Many don’t like spiders one bit, resorting to immediately crushing them. What we try to teach our campers is the importance of bugs, how each one serves a pivotal role in the life cycle, or the benefits which bugs such as spiders can bring to us through eating smaller bugs. However, the most important thing that we teach our campers is that when we kill a bug, we kill it in their home, a home which they allowed us to be in, and we repaid them by killing them. We say that we are just visitors to camp, but the bugs live their forever, so it’s important that we make sure that they are safe in their home, just as we like to be safe in our own homes. Showing our science campers the analogy between their homes and a bug’s home teaches them respect by putting the idea into perspective. Since they do not want to be crushed by some random wandering giant, they usually maintain respect for bugs, because they have begun to respect bugs enough to see life from their perspective.

Overnight nature camps provide a great experience for children to learn many great lessons directly from the planet. Environmental Conservation serves as a path to not only teach children more about their world and how to protect it, but also the consequences of our actions, whether they are respectful or disrespectful to nature. By turning the conversation of respect into a lesson about how nature works, we can effectively teach our children to be more compassionate to both other humans and the world that we all live in.

Come to our March Zoom Meeting.

See friends, make friends and much more..

Social media is a platform which allows users to share all kinds of information easily. Some choose to update people on their families, other upload pictures of their vacations. However, these platforms also allow us to voice our opinions, write stuff that may be false, and can easily become a way for people to spread anger and sadness. We often complain that social media has created this new environment that we live in today, one where people are cold and less kind, where the hustle and bustle of life have us forgetting to say things like, “Thank you.” Social media does not force us to do anything, it simply provides an opportunity for us to communicate, much like books or television. Ultimately, we are the things that spread these messages, we are the ones that decide what to share, and we are responsible for all the damage done by social media.

As many have discussed the impacts of social media on society, there have been many studies performed on the actual impacts it has. Dr. Sara Kornath teaches as a professor of philanthropy, having a degree in social psychology. As such, she has explored societies decline in empathy, and looked at factors such as social media, and she has found an interesting correlation.

“There's a lot of research, including our own that finds a correlation between narcissism and social media usage, but I don't necessarily think that means that social media use causes increased narcissism. The studies that have tracked people over time find if anything, it's the other way around, that narcissistic people are just attracted to use social media because...

It can be used to fit their aims, which is to get a lot of attention. I did present that work, it's still unpublished, but finding that empathy is correlated with less social media use. Since then, a mini meta-analysis came out with five different studies examining that link between empathy and social media. Interestingly, it actually found that there's a small positive correlation. More empathetic people are using social media on average, a little bit more.”

Dr. Kornath has shown that the issues with social media are not due to the existence of these platforms themselves, but it is the human component which has allowed these platforms to become what we believe as the biggest problem in our society. How can we fix this problem?

In the camp world, we are no strangers to these empathetic practices, in fact, we would like to consider it the norm. Day camps, overnight camps, all seem to have these lessons at the forefront of their teaching, with what little teaching they do. Good counselors lead by example, they are kind and courteous to each and every person they interact with. From this, the campers then learn the appropriate behavior from a role model, making them want to have similar behavior to that of the counselor. They begin to greet people more, they begin using their manners more, they just generally become more empathetic. One could say that kindness builds kindness, which has long-term positive impacts. How can we measure these changes? Often, campers do not want to leave camp. While some may believe that it is because they will miss all of the fun things of camp, the usual reason campers never want to leave is because of their friendships. The bonds they forge at camp are so incredibly strong, transcending time and the space between us, and that is likely to do with the empathetic practices of camp. Why would anyone want to leave a summer paradise where everyone is kind all of the time? Some adults are lucky enough to be a part of camp life, and they often feel the same things that campers do. A place that is unlike college or work, where every single person you see is kind every day of the week. Why can our society at large put this into practice themselves?

Before camp every summer, our staff sits down and reads a poem called “If Only the World Were More Like Camp.” The message of the poem is that camp creates an atmosphere of love and empathy, and that if the world were more like it, our lives would be much better off. Maybe, social media just needs a little bit more camp energy, where we talk lovingly to one another, of excitement for new adventures of your friends, or maybe the simple “Happy Birthday” to an old friend you have not seen in a while. We have to relearn and reteach ourselves and our society how to be kind by being kind first. If kindness truly does build kindness, who better to start building that kindness than ourselves? Make the world more like camp, care about the people that are important to you, and treat those you do not know with respect and a smile. The best cure to a bad day is making someone smile, so instead of spreading anger, spread love. Show your children, your peers, anyone, the positive impacts of empathy and kindness. If kindness can build kindness, then hate can surely build hate. Decide what you would rather build, a world full of impersonal narcissists, or one full of joy and love. Be the change you wish to see, become kinder, and the world around you will follow.

Sources:

Speaking of Psychology: The Decline of Empathy and the Rise of Narcissism. Dec. 2019, www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/empathy-narcissism.

Recently, I read the below article about keeping our children safe during a pandemic in the summer of 2021.  I whole hardily agree in what was said and yet I found something missing. Last summer we ran summer camp without it. This year, science has brought testing, a game changer for overnight summer camps . Summer Camp will  be more safe and manageable when overnight summer camps use preamp and during camp testing. Our “safe bubble” will more quickly be available getting us into the fun of Summer camp, COVID FREE. At SNC Policy will develop as the summer nears. But here is what we did in 2020, Camp COVID Policy

Summer Camps 2021: Health & Safety First

By Rina Meyer, MD

As school starts to wind down and vaccine rates increase, East End families are cautiously looking toward a summer of fun. Although we still don’t know what the summer will bring in terms of infection rates or public health policies, here are some tips to make your summer as safe as possible…

MASKS 

As we’ve learned, COVID is a virus which attacks the respiratory tract and is spread by droplets (a small amount of liquid produced by exhaling). These tiny droplets can become aerosolized and fly through the air, where they can be inhaled by others. The best way to protect yourself and those around you is to be vigilant about wearing masks…even if someone has been vaccinated!

The best thing to do is to wear a cloth mask (either purchased or homemade, a good chance for some camp-inspired creativity) or a disposable mask (but save the N95 masks for your healthcare providers who have been properly fitted for them). Avoid masks with ventilation valves, as this can increase the spread of disease. The only way that a mask can protect anyone is to wear it correctly…this means masks should cover your mouth and nose at all times and fit snugly.

Try not to touch your mask while wearing it, and wash your hands if you do! When you remove your mask, remove it by the ear loops or tie—don’t touch the front of the mask (where the germs are) or your face. Wash or sanitize your hands after taking off your mask, and make sure to launder your mask regularly.

HAND WASHING—NOT GLOVES 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that gloves only be used for those caring for or cleaning up after those who are sick. It is not necessary (and may be more dangerous) for your kids to use gloves during summer fun, especially during camp activities, including eating and drinking. If your child is wearing gloves and touches their face, it may make things worse.

Instead of gloves, remind them to wash or sanitize their hands frequently (with a product that is at least 60% alcohol). Make sure that their camp supplies include a liberal supply of hand sanitizer. You can make it fun by picking products of fun scents and colors. Washing your hands is one of the best ways to not only prevent COVID, but a whole host of other illnesses.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

This is still the most important way to keep yourself and your kids safe! Make sure that your kids’ camps are taking all reasonable precautions to limit large gatherings and plan more outdoor fun. When not at camp, continue to take precautions. When opting for outdoor dining venues, make sure the venue has spread-out tables and the staff are wearing masks. Be mindful of wearing masks in stores, following arrows in store aisles and not crowding cash registers. If you are venturing out to beaches or parks, choose times that are less busy and keep your distance from others.

Just because COVID is on everyone’s mind, there are also some non-COVID things to consider for the summer…

ALLERGIES 

According to the CDC, food allergies are on the rise. About 6-8% of children have at least one food allergy and these can be serious. Symptoms of food allergies can include hives, itching, rashes, coughing, vomiting, lip swelling and difficulty breathing. In short, food allergies can be life threatening for some children.

If your child has a food allergy, make sure the camp staff understands exactly what triggers their symptoms, what their symptoms are and how to manage an emergency. Equip your camper with the medications recommended by your doctor, including an epi-pen (an injectable rescue medication for anaphylactic shock) if necessary. Remind your child to ask questions when offered new foods or treats, and be prepared to send special snacks for your day camper if the camp can’t accommodate special requests. If one of your child’s co-campers has an allergy, do your best to respect the rules and don’t send food that could be dangerous.

LYME DISEASE 

Long Island (and Wisconsin)  is notorious for deer ticks that carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the most common bacteria that cause Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that can cause rash, joint pain, headaches, fever and swollen lymph nodes, among other symptoms. If untreated, Lyme disease can also cause neurologic symptoms and cardiac damage. It’s important to minimize your child’s risk for tick bites and to identify early signs of possible Lyme disease, which can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

Whenever possible make sure your child wears a hat, long sleeves and long pants in heavily wooded areas. Encourage them to tuck their pants into their socks to further minimize exposed skin. Make sure your child is using insect repellent, with 20% DEET concentration, but avoid their hands, mouth and eyes. When hiking through brush and woods, encourage your children to stay on well-marked trails, which tend to have fewer heavily wooded areas.

Once your child comes home after a long day, teach him or her to check themselves for ticks (or make sure their counselor at sleepaway camp encourages this). In general, the shorter the time a tick is on your body, the less likely it is to cause disease. A deer tick is as small as the period on the end of a sentence and may be hard to see, but make sure everyone is looking.

Finding a deer tick is not an automatic reason to visit the infirmary or your pediatrician, but it is important to stay vigilant. Symptoms of Lyme disease can appear up to a month after a tick bite. Remind your children to alert camp staff or you if they have fevers, feel achy or sick, have “swollen glands,” or a new rash. The classic rash associated with Lyme disease is a bullseye, also known as erythema migrans. Any of these findings should send your child to the camp infirmary or their home pediatrician.

SUNBLOCK 

Camp is at its best and most fun when the sun is shining, but it’s crucial to protect your children from the risks it can pose. Remember, having five prior sunburns significantly increases your risk for melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) later in life.

The sun is at its peak intensity from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is usually prime time at camp. Encourage your children to wear wide-brimmed hats in the sun, as well as sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection. It’s a chance for them to make a fashion statement, as well as a positive health choice!

Sunscreen only works when it’s being used in the right amounts and at the right times. Start with an SPF of at least 15 and cover all areas of the body that aren’t covered by clothing. It’s important to reapply sunscreen frequently—every two hours, especially if your child is swimming or sweating a lot in the heat. Even waterproof sunscreen must be reapplied. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a young adult needs about one ounce of sunscreen per application.

***

Although a few things are still unclear about this summer, by following these commonsense tips, we can make summer 2021 on the East End safe and fun for everyone!

Dr. Rina Meyer is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist in practice at Stony Brook Children’s. She is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Her views are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of Stony Brook University or Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

Meet the Swim Instructors for 2021

Calebrating the 2020 Summer COVID Free, Plus the return of 1/2 of our staff

COVID has been a crazy time for all of us. Yet,  summer camps are in full swing for 2021 and the demand is amaingly high. Despite SNC safely running last year, we have seen a huge jump in early registrations. Some camps have raised rates or start wait lists. Camps do have a limited capacity and it is not easy to add more beds especially when we are all distancing our selves. Here is a recent article about overnight summer camps in the North-East.

Competition for summer camp spots is heating up, despite many uncertainties

By Andy Rosen Globe Staff,Updated February 9, 2021, 8:58 a.m.

After nearly a year of living in close quarters, families are snapping up scarce spots at Massachusetts summer camps, anxious for their children to be able to spend time in the fresh air with peers ― away from home.

Operators of day and overnight programs say they are doing all they can to restore camp activities that last year were canceled or severely curtailed in an effort to prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus. But the planning comes with a huge asterisk. State public health authorities have not yet released rules for how programs can be run safely — nor have they said whether overnight camps can open at all.

Many camp operators say they have no choice but to move forward as though the season will take place, hoping to avoid another year of lost revenue.

“The risk here is great,” said Matthew Scholl, president of the Massachusetts Camping Association. Scholl, who also runs the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA camps in Western Massachusetts, said camps must start preparing now for the upcoming season. He said he has had productive conversations with state public health officials, but camps are still awaiting authoritative information on how many children they’ll be able to accommodate, what the rules will be, and what kinds of programs are acceptable.

Camps in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont are feeling more confident about overnight programs, because those states allowed such programs last year, according to Michele Rowcliffe, executive director of the New England branch of the American Camp Association, an industry accrediting organization. Last year, it took state and federal officials so long to develop safety guidelines that many camp operators decided there wasn’t time to implement them, and remained closed. Massachusetts and Connecticut last year enforced outright bans on overnight camps.

Camp operators say it’s too soon to guess how the total capacity for campers in Massachusetts will compare with previous years. Some camps and summer programs are waiting for the state to act before opening up registration. Those that are going ahead with sign-ups are keeping their programs small for now, hoping that they can offer additional spaces once they find out about mandated restrictions. That’s made summer camp slots almost as precious as a pre-pandemic ticket to a Taylor Swift concert.

“We had nothing last summer, and we cannot repeat that again this summer,” said Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, a psychiatrist who lives in Hyde Park and is trying to find a camp for her boys, ages 4 and 6. The best guaranteed options she can find cost the family a total upward of $8,000 for the season. She is getting used to the idea that she may have to pay more than anticipated, but recognizes that some other families don’t have that option.

“I just worry about the ongoing disparities that kids of color and kids from low-income environments are going to experience,” Christian-Brathwaite said. “If it’s difficult for us ― how much harder is it going to be for parents who haven’t been employed?”

Camp operators say they are optimistic that the outlook will improve as the season draws nearer.

“Hang tight, because we’re hopeful that there’s going to be some adjustments,” said Eric Arnold, executive director of Hale, which runs day sessions and overnight camping at its 1,137-acre property in Westwood.

Beyond the questions surrounding state regulations, Arnold said, the organization is still waiting to hear from groups it partners with on free or reduced-price programs — such as school systems and community centers — that have not yet decided whether they will offer such assistance this year. He said the organization is holding back many slots in its camp programs for people who don’t have the ability to pay.

At the YMCA of Greater Boston, demand for summer camp programs is on the rise. James Morton, chief executive of the organization, said registration for overnight camp is 31 percent higher than it was last year at this time — when the threat of COVID-19 was still not fully known. Day camps also are reporting higher interest than last year.

The Boston YMCA runs overnight camps in New Hampshire, but is eagerly awaiting details on what it must do to operate its day camps closer to home. The nonprofit enrolled about 1,500 children in 2020 and wants to double that number this summer. It also plans to add additional summer learning opportunities for students who may have fallen behind at school.

“This summer is probably the most important summer that we’ve ever experienced in our 170-year history,” said Morton, who believes camp can help children overcome the isolation they may have felt at home. “Here’s an opportunity for us to mitigate some of that by providing young people with every opportunity to interact with other young people so that we can help them recover some of the social-emotional skills they might have lost.”

Boston Centers for Youth & Families, run by the city, typically begins registration in March for its summer day programs, but it is still waiting to see how many of its programs it will be able to restore for this summer. Last year, it served about 3,000 kids through online and in-person programs, the department said. In a normal summer, about 4,600 young people participate in in-person day offerings.

Last year, many camps said they struggled to attract families because of concerns about COVID-19.

Crossroads, a nonprofit that offers overnight and day camps in Duxbury and Brewster, last year scrapped those programs in favor of a partnership with BCYF to offer day programs at sites in the city. Only about 400 people signed up for 1,000 spaces.

This year, parents seem to be more comfortable with the pandemic safety protocols that camps have put in place, said Simon Hess, president of Crossroads. It surveyed families of high school-age participants about whether they were interested in attending camp this summer. Only two of 63 said they wouldn’t come under any circumstances.

But when the Duxbury and Brewster camps open as expected this year, he said, they will only be able to serve about 320 people — down from 1,000 in a normal year — because of the need for social distancing and other protocols.

Delicia Stephens, a South Boston educator whose two children have been involved with Crossroads for years, said her 11-year-old daughter, Sanyrah Andrews, is eager to participate this summer after taking part in the BCYF collaboration last year. But Stephens said she’s not planning to shop around for a different camp if her daughter does not get a spot at Crossroads.

“If that happens, then she won’t go anywhere,” Stephens said. “I’m only willing to send her to the Crossroads program. Because I trust them. I know them.”

For over a hundred years Ovenight Summer Camps have been providing outdoor fun and personal growth for America's youth. 2020 was the year of exceptions, resulting in  85% of the summer camps remaining closed. At Swift Nature Camp in Minong Wi. camp was on and COVID FREE. Swift Nature Camp attracts bright, curious and creative children with passion for nature and the outdoors. At camp, they tackle exciting adventures, and gain confidence and independence with their outdoor explorations. 

But, 2020 was different, many long standing SNC camp families were understandably reluctant to send their children to camp. Yet, with so many camps closed, many other families who did not know SNC, sent their children, making the summer of 2020 one of the busiest summers in 25 years. 

By creating a safe bubble, Jeff & Lonnie Lorenz knew that the children would appreciate camp more in 2020 than ever before. Jeff says "Despite all the rules to keep covid out, like isolating, masks, washing, cleaning and staying in pods it was still an amazing experience and much better than being in the basement looking at a screen."

 After the in camp isolation and masks wearing, the happiest day at camp was the day that camp was declared COVID free and the "safe bubble" was working. Campers were crazy with excitement. It meant that kids were again allowed to be kids and not worry at all about a pandemic. Swift Nature Camp was again a safe place.

In early May 2020 the government had given little support to help camp understand the best practices for summer camps to be open. Fortunately, the ACA (American Camp Association) had contracted with an outside environmental firm to put together a best practices plan to keep campers safe and reduce the spread of COVID. The plan worked flawlessly at Swift Nature Camp and never was there a reason to suspect a COVID case. In the summer, camps were a testing ground for many of the COVID plans like the "Safe Bubble" that the NBA used successfully in the fall of 2020. Camps helped lead the way that outdoors is a limiting factor in transfer of COVID-19.

So camp was coming to a close, we were sitting outside with our staff and we asked about their after summer plans. Not surprisingly, many colleges were doing classes online. So the question came up, "would you like to do school at summer camp?". Again, pandemonium erupted with the option of being at camp covid free, playing with kids and doing school. Thus was born the Fall School Camp that took place later that fall for 6 weeks. Being that we felt comfortable tackling COVID all that was needed was rearranging the camp schedule so students could get the school work they brought from home completed on time.  Many families loved the concept of giving their child the ability to have face to face contact along with outdoor exercise rather than staying home doing school work in isolation. The kids loved it. Because the group was small, it became more like family. Lonnie, the Camp Director says "It was amazing the students were so well behaved and friendly towards each other, their appreation for having such an opportunity was evident". Two of the greatest days were the day it snowed 4 inches and stayed around for 3 weeks and spending Halloween at camp including pumpkin carving and party at night. 

As we move to 2021, with a COVID vaccine slowly rolling out, it is clear that all of us have become more knowledgeable about the virus. As a residential summer camp that blazed the trail in 2020, this year will seem much easier. Today, we wait for the spring to give us more information, allowing more informed decisions to be made.  Safety is camps major concern, evaluation will take place and perhaps there will be less isolation & masks and more fun and friendships in the summer on the horizon.