The camp community understands that participation in camp produces a variety of impacts; what is less understood are the causal mechanisms leading to outcomes. In the past, research on the camp experience treated causal mechanisms as monolithic; this commentary argues that a weakness in existing camp research is the assumption that…

In the Czech Republic there has been a growing interest in education in nature ["výchova v prírode"] in connection with accreditation as a field of study. Outdoor experiential educator Jan Neuman, who died in April 2021, was instrumental in the development and formalisation of Czech education in nature programmes over the past 50 years.…

Today's environmental challenges present us with the opportunity to enhance our ability to hear the voices of the more-than-human world. This was an aptitude that was central to our ancestral practices. Efforts to develop pedagogies that redirect our ways of being in the world are emerging under the broad title, "wild pedagogies." This…

This article describes the author's experience as a specialist working at a nature-based sleepaway camp for children and their families in Antalya Geyikbayiri. The camp was organized by a psychotherapist and three expert instructors to enhance the connections between parents and children, other children and parents present, and with the natural…

Sea kayaking may be best understood through the insights and knowledge of people whose ancestors kayaked for survival. Greenland Camp, held over several days in late summer, is a kayaking event that draws paddlers from around the world to reconnect with one another and learn age-old and advanced skills of the Arctic's Inuit. Greenland Camp is a…

During the first third of the twentieth century, Barcelona turned into a metropolis with emerging industry. To confront the growing social problems, Barcelona City Council undertook a renovating educational programme focused on hygienic and natural principles as well as on new active teaching methodologies and progressive education. Thus, a…

Outdoor education programs have been shown to have a positive effect on the educational, physical and emotional development of youth. They are increasingly being used to foster a sense of community in schools and to provide students with learning opportunities related to the environment. This article describes an integrated outdoor education…

The Met Office has a long history of weather forecasting, creating tailored weather forecasts for customers across the world. Based in Exeter, the Met Office is also home to the Met Office Hadley Centre, a world-leading centre for the study of climate change and its potential impacts. Climate information from the Met Office Hadley Centre is used…

The summer provides a unique opportunity for children to further their interests in science, especially science in the out-of-doors. Once school is out for the summer, there is seemingly unlimited time, with no strict curriculum guidelines to follow. For students with a passion for the out-of-doors, summer science camps and school-based summer…

Over the course of three summers, Sierra Health Foundation hosted a weeklong summer youth development camp for REACH coalitions at its Grizzly Creek Ranch retreat facilities in Portola, California. Located 130 miles east of Sacramento, Grizzly Creek Ranch is set in the mountains of Plumas County and encompasses 1,500 acres of forests, streams and…

Camps have long addressed multiple components of young people's development, including spiritual development. In particular, transcendental communion with nature and the outdoors may provide one pathway for young people's spiritual development. The physical, mental, social, and spiritual growth of young people has been at the core of camps for…

An educational environmental youth camp was held comprising of fifty one 16-year old secondary students and facilitated by volunteers from the university and Friends of the Earth, a non profit organization in Penang. A weekend camp on youth action task program was held at an isolated beach packed with activities that were structured towards…

Written with the hope of improving communications within the outdoor/environmental education network, this catalogue lists 158 school boards or organizations and 40 camps in Ontario. It is organized by region and contains the following information for each group: Type of program (organized, incidental, residential, school based, elementary,…

Franki Lodge and her coworkers help run Toronto's Inner City Outtripping Centre (ICOC), an outdoor education program aimed at innercity youth. Started in 1995 to reduce conflict between rival gangs in Christie Pits Park, the organization has since grown to include the Paddle and Picnic program (day camps where kids, teens and even seniors canoe up…

Camp Tawingo (Ontario) started as a summer camp in 1961 based on the philosophy that through outdoor recreation and fun, children can learn about self, others, community, and nature. This philosophy has guided it through its growth into an independent residential outdoor center and an independent, small rural school for grades K-8, Tawingo…