Tag Archives: camp

18 Camps, One Important Accreditation

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Hillary T.

campcounselorsAmanda Zoellner, who works at Wildwood, Mass Audubon’s overnight camp in Rindge, New Hampshire, sheds light on the importance of a summer camp being accredited by the American Camp Association.

What do camp directors do in the winter? Most Mass Audubon camp directors coordinate and teach other sanctuary programs during the school year, but they also spend significant time preparing for the upcoming camp season—including maintaining their camps’ American Camp Association (ACA) accreditation.

All 18 Mass Audubon summer camps are ACA-accredited (that includes day camps and our overnight camp, Wildwood). Accreditation helps our camps reach a higher level, beyond the minimums required by state licensing. Accredited camps uphold up to 300 standards for camp operation, program quality, and the health and safety of campers and staff. For a large organization like Mass Audubon, the standards help ensure consistency among our diverse camps—each has unique attributes, but all adhere to the same standards.

ACA accreditation is a valuable tool to assist camp directors in thinking critically about our programs, continually refining our policies and procedures to ensure smooth, safe operations, as well as quality camp experiences for campers and staff. The ACA standards are updated regularly as the best practices for camp operations evolve, and camp directors are guided by the standards as they plan programs for the upcoming summer, hire staff, and participate in professional development.

Every three years, each accredited camp hosts an accreditation visit. After reviewing the camp’s written materials before the summer begins, a team of ACA-trained visitors spends a day at camp to observe the program in action. A camp’s accreditation visit is an exciting day for camp staff and for its ACA visitors. The visitors verify that the camp is upholding its standards and following appropriate policies and procedures, but it’s also a welcome opportunity for our camp staff to introduce others to the programs we are proud of, and to learn from our peers in the camp professional community.

I’ve volunteered as an ACA accreditation visitor since I was trained in 2007 and have visited several camps each summer since. Several other Mass Audubon camp professionals are also trained as visitors, and we agree that accreditation is a worthwhile process, for visitors as well as for the camps being visited. I have never visited a camp without learning about something I can take back to my own camp—and when you love camp like I do, it’s just plain fun to see other camps! When it’s my camp’s turn to have an ACA visit, I am always proud to share the programs at my camp.

Learn more online about ACA accreditation, or speak with the camp director at your nearest Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuary!

Lazy, Hazy Days of Camp

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Mass Audubon

These are the first weeks of summer camp at many of our wildlife sanctuaries.

Seeing all the campers with their lunches in tow, I can’t help but remember my own summer camp experience. Growing up in Maine, I was no stranger to the woods and, to me, camp was an extension of the woods at the end of our street—a place to run and play, build forts, dig in the mud, and eat plenty of blueberries. Whether the kids who come to our camps have spent tons of time in the woods, or are kids for whom nature is new, I’m jealous of their hours outside and the treasures they are about to discover.

Where else can you create and eat edible dirt, make goop, run, yell, get dirty, and hang around with some the coolest people you’ve ever met? While campers quickly learn that counselors are to be listened to, they are also not quite “adults” in the eyes of the campers, they are much, much cooler! And they are also the only people I know able to rival the campers in energy level. If you’ve seen the counselors in action, you know how much they do over the course of a day and how high their enthusiasm and energy level is.

Visiting camps is part of the job for me—a part I love—and what I get to see is amazing. Camp is a place where both kids and counselors can be themselves. I’ve had staff tell me that this was the first time that they’ve found a place where their love for nature was appreciated and shared, and not made fun of. I’ve seen kids who were terrified of bugs competing with other kids to catch the most dragonflies. I’ve also met many, many kids whose knowledge of critters not only surpasses mine, but I think some of our teacher-naturalists’ too!

And when I meet campers like this one—proudly showing off his camp patches and telling me how many years he’s been at camp and how much he loves it—I am proud to part of an organization providing these kinds of experiences for thousands of campers each summer.

Have you or your kids gone to a Mass Audubon camp? Share your experiences with us in the comments section!

For more information about our network of 18 day camps and our overnight camp Wildwood, visit our website. There are still spaces available at some of our day camps across the state and at Wildwood.