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 Camp 2 Grow is an environmental leadership and
stewardship program developed
by the American Camp Association through funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc.
The Camp 2 Grow Environmental Leadership Program teaches middle and high-school
aged youth fundamental leadership knowledge and skills in a nature-based setting.
The nucleus of the program is LifeKnowledge® - a cutting-edge leadership
curriculum created by the National FFA organization with environmental stewardship
applications designed to be integrated into a typical camp schedule and completed
within a two-week period.
Based on a solid educational model and tied to national education standards,
each lesson includes learning objectives and applications, step-by-step instructions
for easy delivery, and an intentional scope and sequence that will help youth
develop essential leadership competences. Camps can customize the Environmental
Leadership Program by selecting additional lessons most appropriate to achieve
camp-specific goals.
Because of Camp 2 Grow . . . .
- children will experience leadership outcomes in the areas of teamwork,
responsibility, friendship skills, community citizenship, independence, and
social problem solving,
- children will complete projects to improve the environment in their
camps, homes, and communities.
- camps will gain access to resource to improve program quality-
including a cutting edge environmental leadership curriculum and an observation
based quality assessment tool.
- communities will be improved through environmental stewardship
projects completed by engaged youth as leaders,
- a national infrastructure for camper scholarships will be developed
to support youth development and leadership.
- more children will be able to attend camp and experience the wide
range of positive developmental outcomes that result from the camp experience.
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Getting Involved in Camp 2 Grow
Any day or resident camp can buy-in to the Environmental Leadership Program
and gain full access to the leadership lessons by registering at http://ACA.lifeknowledge.com then
clicking on the Camp 2 Grow tab.
Grant Funding: 35 day and resident camps meeting specific criteria (see below)
received grant funding for the pilot during the summer and fall of 2009. If
you're
interested in funding to implement Camp 2 Grow during the summer of 2010, and
your camp meets the criteria above, please contact Andrea Stearley at astearley@ACAcamps.org or
call (765) 349-3305.
Grant Funding Criteria
- Camps must be currently accredited by the American Camp Association
- Camps must serve campers from one of the following U.S. metro areas: Indianapolis,
Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Chicago.
- Camp directors (or their designees) must attend a regional face-to-face
training to learn the delivery of the curriculum.
- Camps must agree to conduct the Environmental Leadership Program during
the summer of 2010.
- Camps must be able to access online information and resources while youth
are at camp.
- Camps must agree to have both youth AND staff evaluated at the end of the
summer.
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Campers Making a Difference! (A community of practice for kids!)
 Camp 2 Grow Success Stories
ACA has developed a “success stories” web page where campers
can share the highlights and successes they're experiencing in the
Camp 2 Grow program. Blogs, photos, and even videos are perfect for
this web page!!!
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Partners
- National FFA
The National FFA Organization is dedicated to making a positive
difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier
leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. ACA
collaborated with FFA to integrate leadership lessons
and customize environmental stewardship applications into Camp 2 Grow.
- National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)
NRPA is the leading advocacy
organization dedicated to the advancement of public parks and recreation
opportunities. ACA and NRPA collaborated
to develop an online course called Connecting Children
and Nature, available
to participating camps in the Camp 2 Grow program.
- Hooked on Nature (HON)
Hooked on nature provides resources, workshops, and
training that inspire and empower people to develop joyful, loving, lifelong
relationships, with each other and the natural world. ACA is distributing
Hooked on Nature's Nature Circle Cards to camps participating in Camp 2
Grow.
- Children and Nature Network (C&NN)
Co-founded by Cheryl Charles PhD,
Richard Louv (author of “Last
Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit-Disorder”)
and others, the Children and Nature Network links nearly 10,000 local leaders
and individuals and 270+ programs working to reconnect children with nature.
ACA is partnering with C&NN on the national NatureRocks campaign as
part of Camp 2 Grow.
- ecoAmerica
Nonprofit environmental agency that establishes strategic partnerships
with corporations, NGOs and government and develops large-scale, innovative
engagement marketing programs focused on moving mainstream Americans closer
to the environment, focusing on people rather than issues. ACA is
partnering with C&NN on the national NatureRocks
campaign as part of
Camp 2 Grow.
- National Park Foundation (NPF)
The National Park Foundation is the national
charitable partner of the National Park Service. ACA and the NPF are collaborating to provide
youth with a range of environmental stewardship opportunities, from ACA's
home and community-based Camp 2 Grow program to the NPF's Parks Challenge
Program.
- The David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality (formerly HighScope
Educational Research Foundation)
The Center leverages its research, training
and technical assistance capacities to help out-of-school time agencies build
quality accountability and improvement systems that enhance professional
skill sets and change outcome trajectories for youth. The Center is working
with ACA to develop a Camp Quality Assessment (CQA)tool that will allow program
staff (or external specialists) to conduct evidence-based research on programs
using observation and interviews. The
CQA allows for the development of an overall camp program quality profile.
- University of Utah, Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
ACA has
collaborated with Dr. Jim Sibthorp to create a nature-based component to
the newly developed Camp Quality Assessment (CQA). This supplemental component
to the CQA measures (through observation and interview) the level of nature-based
opportunities in the camp setting and activities, especially those opportunities
that contribute to the development of a child’s emotional connections
to nature.
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Resources
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