Camping experiences hold tremendous opportunities to build Developmental Assets. They take young people away from their everyday environment and, at their best, create an asset-rich experience for the campers, linking them with caring adults and older youth, engaging them in stimulating, challenging activities, developing leadership skills, and cultivating positive peer relationships. Though individual camper experiences varied, a major study of camps by the American Camping Association found that, overall, children, parents, and camp staff all reported improvements in positive identity, social skills, physical and thinking skills, and positive values and spirituality.
Consider these ideas for integrating asset building into day camps and overnight camping programs:
- Create ways for young people to get to know each other. Include getting-to-know-you activities and community-building activities.
- Be clear about boundaries and expectations. Some camps do not allow young people to bring any electronics, while others allow specific times for young people to use electronics. If young people balk at your boundaries, have solid explanations that you can give them.
- Recognize that some young people may not have much experience with camping. They may resist trying certain camping activities because of their inexperience—or their fear of failure.
- Encourage young people to write to their families (even if it’s just a postcard) during weeklong or longer camps. Provide stamps and postcards for young people who may not have brought these items. (Some camps even have certain times when young people are allowed to e-mail home.)
- Integrate a service project into your camp activities. Campgrounds often require a lot of maintenance and care, so create a service project for the campers.
- Expect camp counselors to be role models. Train them about this critical aspect of their role.
- Use your program time to promote asset building. Build in time to discuss and reflect on activities from an asset-building perspective.
- Create camping opportunities that challenge young people to build on their skills. If you’re located on a small lake, consider offering a “cross-the-lake” swim at 6 a.m. for your campers who are experienced swimmers. (Ensure their safety by having a lifeguard accompany their journey by following them in a boat.) Or create archery competitions.
- Engage young people in leadership roles in your camp. Experienced campers can be mentors for first-time campers. If your camp has a diversity of ages present, have older young people teach children certain skills or lead occasional activities.
- Emphasize an experiential educational aspect to your program. If you’re located on a lake or river, have young people analyze the water quality. Or dub young people as tree detectives as they learn more about the mysteries of tree biology and forestry. Or have young people identify the different birds and animal tracks.
- Train staff, volunteers, camp counselors, and young people in the asset framework. Encourage everyone to build assets for each other.
- Empower young people by giving them choices during activities. For example, if you have a craft activity, consider having two or three possible outcomes that use the same materials. (Or offer two to three different crafts.)
For more information on camps and asset building, see the edition of Search Institute Insights & Evidence focused on camping and assets titled Sorting Out What Makes a Difference: Youth Development Findings from Camp Settings (PDF).
