There are so many lessons that this horrible pandemic has taught us that it is frightening. Things did not seem to fall into place in the camp world until camp was set to begin. New York State day camp directors were unsure of camps being able to open until June 1st. We spent quite a few quarantine months working out logistics. “If camp could open, how will I be able to make it work safely?” We went through each moment of camp second by second in our minds and came up with operation guides to help our staff understand what was in our heads. We read the CDC guidelines and the American Camping Association Field Guides over and over. We thought about transportation, program, staffing, activities, and so much more.
It wasn’t until camp began that we could see all of our efforts come to fruition.
As the kids came off of the bus, it seemed quiet. Staff wearing masks, campers not talking to each other, and everyone so used to being at home in quarantine that the concept of the camp was surreal. As the morning announcements were made, it happened, we started to hear a few giggles. Like music to the staffs’ ears, the campers loosened up. A few moments later, the sound of kids talking and laughing echoed through the grounds. It was like the pandemic was gone until you stopped to look. The masks were still there, the groups were so much smaller than we ever had seen before, and so many fewer staff members, but it didn’t matter. There was laughter.
As the summer moved on, it became apparent that the small group-to-one counselor format was working great. We had few if any, discipline issues, and the relationships with each other and the counselors were more vital than ever before. This format needs to be replicated whether this coming summer is a COVID summer or not.
Camp activities were vital, and due to the smaller group size, every camper could do things multiple times. Campers seemed to like that, but what stuck out was the time in between activities. Due to the need to clean equipment and spaces so often, we programed our camp to run activities every other period. Our maintenance team would then move in and give everything a healthy and deep clean. In 30 years of running a camp, I have never seen it so clean. There was no garbage on the floor, no candy wrappers on the side of the trails, nothing left out on the picnic tables, and I never smelled the bathrooms so clean. Perhaps it was a stronger focus on cleaning or an exact schedule of where and when to clean, but this is also something that we need to replicate in the future.
The New York State Department of Health had instructed camps to hang hand washing signs up throughout the grounds. We knew that hand washing would be vital in keeping the campers safe, so we took it a step further and installed slop sinks around the camp. Our goal was to allow the kids to wash hands in between each activity, no matter where they were at camp. It wasn’t until late September that I was looking at the overall attendance that I noticed how many kids were in camp each day and how few campers and counselors missed a day or two due to being sick. It was clear that washing those germs off was not only good for fighting COVID but fighting the common cold as well. We will have the sinks up again in the summers to come.
Social distancing at camp is tough. Keeping kids apart in an unstructured situation is all about creativity. One place we stressed the social distance was at the waterfront.
With far smaller instructional swimming groups, we found that the kids could spread out, and the learning was incredible. This past year we had more campers advance their skills than ever before. This can only be attributed to the smaller instructor to camper ratio and the space for practice. It was great to see more kids in the deepwater enjoying our slide jungle gym and trampoline than in previous summers. Our goal for the coming summer is to work on the ratios and spacing once again and allow the kids the same opportunity to advance.
When camp ended, we celebrated that we did not have even one case or worry about COVID throughout all eight weeks of camp. The staff was so proud, and everyone was now thinking about the coming school year. It was late in the summer that Mayor De Blasio announced the plan of shutting down a class if there was one case at the school and if there were two unrelated cases. Everyone at camp talked about how returning to school would be simple. Since we had no cases in camp, most schools would be fine and would have no issues. Those thoughts changed quickly.
It became apparent that the controls in terms of groupings and social distancing that we had in camp could not occur in school. After school programs, mixed classes, grades, and learning bridges mixed schools. Public transportation to and from school combined everyone, and before we knew it, middle schools and high schools were closed, and elementary schools seemed to open and close weekly. Camp was different! We had control, and while we might have been lucky, our structure seemed to work.
There are simple things that we miss in the COVID structure of the camp. Our older campers would enjoy trips and overnights, and even if the NYS Dept of Health were to allow it, these activities might be too hard to staff and afford with the small groups and close counselor ratios necessary. We also were unable to serve lunch this past summer. We could not provide the protection level that food preparation and distribution needs, so campers had to bring their own lunches each day. We spent a lot of time discussing these changes, but in the end, we knew that to run a safe camp, things had to be changed, and we had to make tough decisions.
As we look forward to this coming summer, there are again so many questions. What new protocols will the CDC and Dept of Health put in place? Can we bring these lessons forward and put them in place again with the same outcomes? What else can we adapt to make a safer summer for the campers and allow them to have a fantastic time after a long and challenging school year? How will the vaccine play into staffing, and what new cautions will we need to take as a result?
Camp staff are always thinking about the next step. Making camp better, safer, more fun is the goal of every camp director year after year, but this year perhaps more than ever. Using the lessons learned and growing in a new direction is a new theme in the camp world, but the key is development.
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