Camp & Outdoor
Look deep into nature and you will understand everything.”
— Albert Einstein
Camp Fire connects youth with nature to learn, explore, and play together, while developing a lifelong appreciation and respect for the outdoor environment. Camp Fire utilizes outdoor activities to stimulate the curiosity and desire to learn in youth.
Through Camp Fire outdoor programs, youth from diverse backgrounds develop important skills, such as socialization, self-reliance, problem solving, and an appreciation of and commitment to the natural environment. They make their own decisions, have fun, and seek adventures. Through a group living experience, youth learn more about themselves and others.
Camp Fire outdoor programs begin with selecting activities that grow out of the interests of the youth and the group of youth. Planning, decision-making, and both individual and group choices are important elements of all activities. Camp Fire provides trained staff to ensure that those choices encompass a balance of activities that allow for creativity and provide challenge and adventure.
Camp Fire Outdoor Programs include:
- Resident Camp: Programs which are generally five to seven days in length in which youth live at the camp with trained staff. Youth experience adventures and participate in a variety of activities such as hiking, swimming, archery, canoeing, horseback riding and environmental education. Camp Fire owns and operates resident camp programs across the country. The program content may be general outdoor activities or have a special focus or theme, such as sports, theatre, adventure, service-learning or grief sessions. Some camps are provided for specialized clientele such as youth with diabetes or special needs.
- Day Camp: An outdoor program provided by trained staff for most of the day and may include extended day program options to meet the needs of working parents. Camp Fire summer day camp programs may be scheduled for one or more weeks and may operate most of the summer. The day camp program may have a special focus or partnership such as sports, environmental, service-learning or special needs. Day camp programs may be provided in partnership with school districts, park and recreation, or other community organizations.
- Environmental Education: Programs provided to increase knowledge and awareness of the natural world. Camp Fire partners with schools, parks and recreation and other organizations to teach youth and adults how to learn about and investigate their environment and how to make informed decisions about how they can take care of it. Environmental education can be taught in a classroom, park, community building or camp. Many Camp Fire camps provide environmental education for local schools.