Camp directors around the region were anxiously waiting for guidance from the state as to whether they’d be able to open this summer and what sort of guidelines would be in place.
But in the end, many didn’t even wait for Governor Chris Sununu to lay out his official protocols. A number of local camps made making the difficult decision to cancel camp for the summer, while others are moving forward as planned or offering a portion of the programming.
The state released guidelines for both day and overnight camps last month that must be followed to ensure that camps can go on, while keeping the safety of everyone at the camp at the forefront.
Staff in both day and overnight are required to wear masks and observe proper hand washing and sanitizing. Meal times should be staggered and staff and campers must go through screenings upon arrival. For overnight camps, daily screening and temperature checks are required, as are enhanced medical staff requirements.
Dropoffs and departures should be staggered and campers should not share equipment or personal items. Groups should be limited to 10 or less – including staff and campers – and avoiding large gatherings is recommended.
Jaffrey Parks and Recreation Program Manager Sarah Hooper said camp is opening on its scheduled date June 22. She said “a lot of hard work and research went in to making the decision to proceed.”
Camp will look different, Hooper said, as groups will be limited to eight campers per two counselors and there will not be any field trips using the bus, but walking field trips will take place.
Hooper said all games and activities will be played while maintaining a physical distance of six feet and new protocols have been implemented. There are new dropoff/pickup procedures, hand washing and sanitizer before and after every activity, and no more than eight children in a group.
“We felt it was important to have a summer camp this year to provide a fun childcare option for parents beginning to return to work,” Hooper said.
Last month, Tod Silegy was hopeful he’d be able to hold his yearly soccer camp, which consist of four separate weeks across three locations.
Silegy made the decision to adjust his schedule for this summer by moving forward with his two weeks in Peterborough, but canceled the other two weeks in Chesterfield and Walpole.
The Peterborough camps will consist of two half day weeks, from June 29 to July 3, and July 6-10, with camp running from 9 a.m. to noon with strict guidelines to ensure safety.
Jenna Spear, camp director for the Harris Center, sent out a letter to families on May 27 announcing the cancellation of the Hancock organization’s summer camp, prior to the state’s announcement that camps could in fact open.
“We felt families really needed to know, as did our staff,” Spear said.
She said it was a long process to come to the final decision and did so based off of the guidelines put forth by the CDC
In the end, Spear just didn’t see how to move forward with camp in a way that would be both safe and allow for campers to explore and learn in a way that mirrors the Harris Center’s mission.
“Our goal is really to foster a group fascination with nature,” Spear said. “It’s exploring together, not exploring separately. Camp is about building connections and that’s hard when you’re seven years old from six feet away. The joy of being at camp just wasn’t going to be possible.”
And it was not an easy decision to make.
“One of the best parts of our job is camp,” Spear said. “I was very sad about the thought of the month of July without camp.”
Tammy Fortune, director at Camp Wa-Klo in Dublin, was emotional in her video announcing that the all girls overnight camp would not open this summer. She was disappointed for all the campers and their families, she felt horrible for her staff and she was sad for herself.
Her mom Virginia Maurer was a camper at Wa-Klo in the 50s and took over as owner in 2005. Fortune first started going in 1996 and has been a part of it ever since, taking over as owner last year after serving as director since 2016. So as sad as it was, Fortune knew it was the right one.
“It was definitely a very difficult decision,” Fortune said. “Other camps will successfully run this summer, but for me and my camp, the safety of everyone and the unknown is what swayed me to close.”
She didn’t wait for the Governor’s announcement because families needed to know because for so many, camp is a large part of childcare for the summer.
“There weren’t any guidelines that would make me comfortable running Wa-Klo this summer,” Fortune said.
In more than 20 years involved in summer camp, this will be the first summer Doug Sutherland, executive director at Brantwood Camp in Greenfield, will not be at camp.
“Believe me, making this decision – while we believe it to be the right one – has not been easy,” Sutherland said in a letter to camp families.
Sutherland began the letter by saying “It deeply saddens me to write this post. It was my sincere hope that any communication with the Brantwood family would be filled with excitement about the coming summer. But that is not the case… After reviewing all available information on how best to screen, contain and hopefully prevent the spread of Covid-19 in camp environments, we just could not see a safe way to run camp.”
Peterborough Recreation Director Lisa Koziell-Betz decided to cancel the first four weeks of the department’s summer camps and the rest of the summer is on pause, as she expects to make a decision about the final four weeks by the end of June.
The decision came before the Governor’s criteria was released, but Koziell-Betz said “I don’t think it would have changed it totally for us.”
The pool at Adams Playground is currently undergoing maintenance and a decision has yet to be made on opening that facility and/or the children’s playground.
Matt Caliendo, Nature’s Classroom Adventure Camp Director at Sargent Camp, looked at every possible way to have camp this summer. In the end there just wasn’t a possible way.
“This is truly an emotionally charged letter and one that I never wanted to write. With great sorrow, I am announcing the closing of Adventure Camp for summer 2020,” Caliendo posted on the camp’s website. “In the last three months I have spent a great deal of time trying to come up with a way for camp to happen for our families and campers. The value of summer camp for young people is real; I understand it and am a part of it. Camp has shaped me into the person I am today and brought me to where I am now, and I wish it could happen this year more than ever.”
In announcing the closure of Camp Wildwood in Rindge, director Becky Gilles wrote “It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that we announce that Mass Audubon will not be opening Wildwood Camp for the summer of 2020… This was not an easy decision to make. The health and safety of our campers, staff, and community have always been our top priority, and given the COVID-19 crisis we know this is the right thing for us to do.”
After research and discussion, Gilles said the conclusion was made that the same camp experience that’s been known on Hubbard Pond would not be possible this year. But used her letter as a way to inspire.
“Things are hard right now, but remember: camp is a place where we do hard things. Doing hard things is how we learn courage, resilience, self-confidence, and grit, and adopt a healthy “growth mindset”,” she said.
Fortune said that “safety is such a large part of what summer camp is” and there were just too many what ifs and variables to consider, especially with 140 kids throughout the summer and upwards of 80 staff members.
“We didn’t know enough to move forward,” Fortune said.
As Fortune put it, camp directors prefer to be in control and everything surrounding the coronavirus pandemic would not allow for that.
She also didn’t want to open and realize that camp just wasn’t anywhere near the same as it had been in the past.
“You want to make sure you still have that camp magic,” Fortune said.
Spear said the camp typically has about 70 kids per week and under day camp guidance that would have meant separating into about seven pods that wouldn’t have been able to interact with each other and even within a pod they’d have to stay away from one another.
She said the staggered drop offs would have been challenging and there just wouldn’t be enough staff to properly conduct the daily medical screening.
Having use of only four toilets would have forced a continuous disinfecting process and in the end all that extra work would have taken away from the campers.
“There were too many hurdles to make it the joyful nature experience we want children to have,” Spear said.
With all the guidelines, Koziell-Betz wasn’t sure camp would be all that fun for the kids. She hopes as the state begins to open up more that it will allow her to consider salvaging what is left of camp.
“I’m hoping the guidelines get lifted a little more,” she said. “The restrictions are immense. It would have taken a lot of work to cut down.”
For Caliendo, the restrictions put in place proved to be too much.
“It pains me to add another disappointing cancellation to our camp community’s summer schedules. If we could make camp happen, we would. Unfortunately, the guidelines presented by the CDC, ACA, and the state are far too restrictive to make it possible to run a quality camp experience in line with our core values,” he wrote.
He pointed to three factors in the decision: the camp experience will just not be the same; the safety and health of campers, staff, and camp families is of utmost importance; and running summer camp would cause Nature’s Classroom to lose money, even if there are no issues with COVID-19.
Anthony David of Peterborough was all packed and ready to go for his fifth year at Pierce Camp Birchmont in Wolfeboro. Then he got the call that the camp would not be opening.
“They just felt the requirements didn’t feel like they could make it fun,” David said.
There were lots of Zoom meetings prior to the cancellation where they learned about how there would be no days off and had to stay on the grounds, but David was prepared for the new look and feel of camp this summer.
“We were all ready to do it,” David said.
He understands the decision, but it has now left him without a summer job, something that’s not easy to come by.
“It’s a tough situation to be in,” he said.
He’ll miss seeing the campers, many of which he has watched grow up over the last four summers, and his fellow staff members that have become close friends.
It was also hard telling the staff that the Harris Center was canceling camp, Spear said, as all five of the lead counselors are teachers in local schools and junior counselors are high school students.
Koziell-Betz said that even if they can open, it will come down to one thing – staffing.
“A lot will depend on the number of our staff that are available,” she said.
Fortune said it’s hard to imagine a summer without camp. Especially what it means for so many kids.
“The part that gets me is there are certain kids that need camp,” Fortune said. “For some, camp is their safe haven and that was the toughest part about making the call, those kids that need Wa-Klo.”
Spear said the thing she’ll miss the most is Bobcat. It’s a game played after lunch every day that involves all the campers and it’s one of the best parts of her day wandering by and seeing all the kids together.
While Fortune doesn’t exactly know what things will look like a year from now, she has every intention of being back next year. This is the first time in Wa-Klo’s 83 years that camp has not been held.
“Now I have two years to plan the best summer in 2021,” she said.
As Spear looks forward to next summer, she isn’t giving up on 2020. The plan is to put together some pop up events for families that will be done so in a way that the Harris Center naturalists can teach and families can be responsible for maintaining social distancing.
Caliendo has turned the page and is ready to make 2021 a great one.
“The plan is to come back with a tremendous BANG for summer 2021,” Caliendo wrote. “As a relatively new camp director, one very positive part of these last few months is the connections and resources I have gained among the New Hampshire Camp Community. I feel like I am so much more prepared than I ever was to learn, grow, and build our camp program and I am excited to rebuild and create a fabulous comeback for summer 2021.”