Summer camp brings feelings of nostalgia, excitement, and togetherness. It’s something that kids look forward to every year, and they see it as a magical time away from their everyday routine, and even away from technology.
Camp can teach kids vital outdoor skills, build lifelong friendships, and contribute to their development and perspective on life.
As a camp counselor, it’s up to you to foster those things — especially when it comes to teaching your campers the outdoor skills they need to improve their well-being. Spending time in nature is healing. It has positive effects on both physical and mental health. The more you’re able to teach kids about how they can take care of themselves outdoors, the more time they’ll spend there.
So, what can you do to create a fun and exciting camp experience, while immersing your campers in outdoor activities and educating them on how to stay safe?
Water Safety
Many camps across the country have a body of water kids can enjoy for swimming, canoeing, or other activities. Even if it’s a small man-made lake, it provides an opportunity to teach campers how to practice water safety. Some of the most common water hazards include:
- Drowning
- Riptides
- Heatstroke
- Human activities
- Animals/sea life
While you might not be in danger of those things in a controlled water environment, the skills kids learn to stay safe in oceans and lakes will remain with them in the real world for the rest of their lives.
One of the most important things to teach your campers is how to swim. By the end of the summer, they should be strong swimmers who know what to do if they get into rough waters. They should also recognize the importance of never swimming alone.
In addition to keeping them safe in the water, teach your campers how to protect themselves when they’re at the beach, hiking around bodies of water, or even at a local pool. Wearing sunscreen and staying hydrated are so important, and can keep them more alert and less tired/distracted from sun exposure.
Fire Safety
Nightly campfires are another major component of the classic summer camp feel. While sharing ghost stories and singing songs around the fire is fun (and don’t forget s’mores!), it should be a part of every camp counselor’s training to learn fire safety, so they can pass on those skills to their campers.
First and foremost, make sure your campers know the rules when it comes to outdoor fires. If they ever go camping or start their own fires, they should use a pit or designated area. They should also know how to properly build a fire, how to pay attention to changes, and how to properly extinguish it.
It doesn’t take long to teach kids about fire safety, and it’s a lesson that could keep them and their families safe as they get older.
Hiking Safety
You’ll probably hit the trails more than once with your campers, so make sure they know how to stay safe when they’re away from camp. Hiking is a lot of fun and a great way to encourage outdoor exploration. You can even turn it into an opportunity to go “treasure hunting” by bringing along a few metal detectors and teaching the kids how to use them. It’s another great life skill that can also teach kids about geology, biology, and electronics. They won’t even realize the science lesson they’re getting while looking for coins and jewelry.
Hiking safety starts with being prepared before you go and packing the right things. That includes:
- Plenty of water
- Sustainable snacks
- Ice packs to keep food safely stored
- Navigation tool
- A utility knife/tool
- First aid kit
When you’re on the trail, you can continue to educate your campers on what they should look out for and things they should avoid. As a camp counselor, every kid there is looking at you as a leader. Being highly educated on things like which plants to avoid and how to be aware of local wildlife is essential, as you’re teaching them things that could keep them from getting sick or injured. It’s not just important for the moment, but for the rest of their lives as they find themselves spending more time outdoors.
There are many things to take into account as a camp counselor, and your ultimate goal should be to create a fun, immersive experience your campers will remember forever. However, by taking some extra time to teach them outdoor vital skills, you’ll be doing your part to help them stay safe and enjoy the outdoors more often, even as they grow into adults. Keep some of the skills listed here in mind as you prepare for your next group. What you teach your campers today can have a lasting impact on their outdoor safety skills for the rest of their lives.
