In the past five months, many people have communicated different versions of a similar quote: "we will never know if we did too much, but we will know quite clearly if we did too little."  Now at over two weeks past the end of the summer camp season, Jeff Lorenz, owner/director of Swift Nature Camp located in Minong, WI, cannot say if his carefully selected, hard-working staff did too much, but he can now confidently say that they did not do too little.  He states "Can we, with scientific certainty, state that we didn't have any COVID-19 cases at camp?  No, we can't.  But what we can say is that if an asymptomatic COVID-19 positive camper or staff member arrived at camp, our extensive precautionary measures kept the virus from spreading.  Furthermore, at over 14 days out from the last day of camp, no viral transmission has been linked to a camper or staff member from this summer at camp."

 

Nearly 200 campers made Swift Nature Camp their Wisconsin summer camp that held off COVID-19 summer home this year.  Some were returning campers from many years, while others were new campers spending their first summer at camp. Many chose Swift because a camp they had attended previously had closed for the summer.  Regardless of the reason for selecting Swift Nature Camp to provide a summer camp experience for their child, parents chose Swift because they trusted the procedures that the camp outlined would keep their children safe.  Mr. Lorenz stated "It was definitely nerve-wracking planning summer camp during a pandemic, but by following (and in some cases exceeding) the safety recommendations from the American Camp Association and other organizations, we didn't feel that it would be impossible.  Our goal was to create a bubble of safety surrounding our small camp community."

 

The successful season at Swift Nature Camp started with relying on families - all campers were required to do a strict home-quarantine for the two weeks before the beginning of each session.  The camp provided a form for families to document camper temperatures and any symptoms each day before arriving at camp.  Once the campers arrived at camp, they were assigned to small groups that stayed together for activities.  Jeff Lorenz shared:  "This was a change for our returning campers, who were used to having more freedom to choose their schedule individually in the afternoon.  But after months of being cooped up at home, all of the children were thrilled to be at camp - running around outside, swimming, interacting with peers and just having an old-fashioned good time."

 

While home quarantine provided some security, there were additional, strict precautions at the beginning of each session.  Staff scheduled bathroom times for showering and teeth-brushing and there was a rigorous schedule of hand-washing before and after each meal and activity session.  Each camper and staff member was temperature checked before every meal, and all camp activities were changed to keep the small cabin groups together.  For a few days, the campers wore masks at all times when not sleeping or eating, but after those few days, they were allowed to go mask free when they were with only other members of their cabin groups.  Jeff Lorenz elaborated: "In addition to the front-side safety plans that the campers could see, there was a lot of background work from the administrative side to keep things safe.  We operated camp as much like a cruise ship as much as possible - once we had everyone at camp, we didn't allow outsiders in and we didn't leave either.  Instead of running to the grocery or hardware store when we needed something, we'd find a way to order things to be delivered.  The small-town post office that serves camp worked with us to manage the increased volume of mail.  Mail delivery workers would leave packages at the bottom of our driveway and we would use a cart to bring them into camp.  Food distributors left deliveries outside in designated areas and our culinary staff would bring them in once the delivery person had departed."

 

Mr Lorenz further shared: "What really made this summer work was our amazing staff and the commitments that they made to ensure a successful season."  The camp hired extra staff members for the summer to meet the extra workload of keeping things safe and clean.  Staff members made sure to disinfect areas and equipment religiously.  The camp used a combination of a hydrogen peroxide fogger, UV lights, bleach solutions and in some cases, sunlight to keep equipment and areas virus free for campers and staff.  The camp staff agreed to not leave the camp property for the entire camp season - including a two week quarantine before campers arrived, they didn't leave the camp property for ten weeks.

 

"The most exciting part of camp was that because of our long sessions, the campers were able to go maskless and freely mix after a period of careful precautions." said Jeff Lorenz.  He shared further: "I'm pretty sure that the roar of celebration the day that we announced we could be completely mask-free and freely mix between groups was heard by our neighbors up and down the lake."  The time that children were able to spend freely with friends and outdoors was clearly exactly what they needed.  Parents reported that their children returned from camp refreshed and in good spirits - their emotional need for physical interaction had been met, and with that came the return of the children's happiness and normal personalities.  For Lorenz, this was confirmation that the incredible work and discipline required for a safe camp experience was worth it.  "It was not easy" he stated, "But this summer, we were able to turn sanitizer into smiles."