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Listen in on Episode 1 of our Summer Camp and COVID Series as Drew and David sit down with Abbie Parker, Camp Director in Iowa to discuss the changes that had to be made from traditional summer to COVID summer and offers hope amid this tough season.

Podcast Notes:

What does a normal summer look like?

Traditionally camp season is 8-9 weeks long. We have both overnight and a day camp, totaling round 360 overnight campers, with staff of around 100.

What did this COVID year look like?

It was  trudging through the trenches and deciding on overnight programing and the cost involved in running it. We ended up doing 8 weeks of day camp and no overnight camps. We had two weeks to move from 90 staff to around 35 staff. 50-100 Campers came over an 8 week period. Each week it grew.

What was too costly for overnight camp?

• Bunk style beds were not 6 feet apart, and it would require extra space AND extra labor.
• We would have had to build barriers around the beds - that would take away from the whole camp experience
• Cleaning supplies were limited at the time and we were unsure if we would even have enough supplies to get through the whole summer
• The dining hall was not social distance worthy, How would we serve meals in very tight settings, Small area would equal round the clock meals and there weren't opportunities

What innovative adjustments did you make this summer?

• We kept kids in pods/small groups (around 10-14 kids) and rotated through different activities together throughout the day
• We wiped down things like crayons, archery equipment, new playground ball at the end of every activity period.
• Campfire and Chapels were split in half
• Brought in fun ideas for teaching kids how to stay safe without it being a scary experience.  We had "social distancing officer" and made up a song talking about social distancing , and some counselors were attached with suspenders and a hula hoop to make it fun
• College-aged counselors wore masks the best of all of us and kept others in check with mask wearing
• We made pool noodle trains from front to end to keep distance
• We provided counselor and camper level awards for doing a good job with distancing
• We had a contract tracing plan but never had to use them and we remained COVID free as far as we know.

Tell us a little about what summer staff looked like as far as living quarters and schedule?

• Our housing setup was reduced from 4 to 2 people per cabin
• The counselors were spaced out 6 feet at each corner of the cabin
• Staff stayed with the same roommates all summer long. There was no swapping cabins.
• When there were free evenings sometimes we'd have campfires, and all camp games just for the counselors
• Staff was still allowed to go off site on Wednesdays and on weekends

In addition to day camp, what other things did you do for programming?

• We offered horse trail rides open to the public which was very successful
• On weekends we would host family or friends for retreats and cabin rental
• We offered climbing adventures - family friends could come climb the tower
• We even had camper families come for family vacations!

Do you have anything else to add?

Overall, it was a success and we all missed overnight camps and don't want to have to revisit the decisions that had to be made, but it pushed us to be stronger. There are many processes we will keep well after the pandemic.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned not to be afraid to start fresh and think differently. We had to start from a blank slate, decide there are things that can't be done anymore and move forward.

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• College kids are amazing and resilient. You can learn a lot from them. I had a mix of past campers and past cap staff and new staff people. They wanted to be there and they were willing to do.

What would you to give hope to 2021?

It is hard to keep hope but at the same time we know this industry survived some really hard things...so I think we just have to hold on to hope and know that things will get better. I entered camping at the beginning of the recession and everyone said I was crazy, but it has gotten better. COVID was so unexpected, but we dig ourselves out and we can learn from each other.