Outdoor camps can open this summer, according to the phase two restrictions in the state’s coronavirus plan. But like many businesses and organizations that are already up and running, summer camp will be different this year.
Baltimore’s Child checked in with Jane LaMonica, general manager at Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center in Parkton, to find out how staff is preparing for their reopening on June 15. LaMonica has been with the Genesee Valley for 37 years, but says preparing to welcome campers this summer is unlike any other experience.
Genesee Valley is certified through the American Camping Association (ACA), which worked with the Centers for Disease Control to create national guidelines for safe experiences. To start, the camp will take only 80 children a day, or half of its usual 150 students.
A nurse with the Maryland Department of Health has already toured the camp and checked any indoor facilities that would be used in the case of inclement weather; all must be large enough for social distancing.
Morning check-in
As campers arrive each morning, staff will check their temperatures before they even get out of their cars, says LaMonica, who purchased personal protective equipment, thermometers, hand sanitizer, mist sanitizer and other supplies. Every counselor will have a special pandemic pack with supplies, too.
In the past, there was always a large group welcome on the first day of camp. Now children will be assigned right away to a counselor and a small group.
“Kids will stay with that counselor the whole day,” LaMonica says. “We look at it like their household and they will stay with that household for the whole week.”
Households stick together for the ropes course, swimming, archery, arts and crafts and other camp activities. Throughout the property, there will be hand sanitizer stations. Bathrooms will be cleaned every two hours. And everyone must wear a mask if they have to go indoors for any reason, or if they cannot maintain social distancing outside.
Behind the scenes
There are a lot of changes, LaMonica says, but she has been readying for months. Camp staff “decided to be proactive so we could hit the ground running if we got the go-ahead to open.”
And, LaMonica admits, she really wanted to reopen. She has worked onsite all spring and says it’s been too quiet.
“I am so used to hearing kids laughing and screaming and having a great time out here,” she says.
Kids won’t be able to greet their friends with a hug; they will have to use their words and express their feelings.
“But this is kind of how you have to be now,” she says. “We have to be aware of our space and other people’s spaces and respect that.”
And while taking fewer campers is hard financially for Genesee Valley, “we feel it’s important to get these kids socially acclimated again,” she says.
Are your kids going to camp this summer? Tell us what you have planned. You can email our editor Jessica Gregg at [email protected].
