[Closing campfire at Camp Kern]
[Campers singing song]
[Camper drinking water]
[YMCA Camp Kern executive director Todd Brinkman bringing water and popsicles to campers]
Todd Brinkman (interview): “It’s kind of that summer dream, right? Like you think of the summers and kids hanging out and it’s hot.”
[Brinkman handing out popsicles]
Todd Brinkman (interview): “We’re always looking at how do we keep the kids safe. And so one of those pieces that that and whatever that environmental change might be that’s important, how that’s gonna affect them. Like we’re talking about the sunscreen and keeping them hydrated, things like that I think becomes crucial.”
[Campers sitting in shade]
[Campers playing gaga ball]
[Camper with water bottle in hand]
Todd Brinkman (interview): “Parents are definitely looking for plans, that there is ways for them to get out of the sun. Is there breaks? Is there ways that you’ve kind of thought about it and made sure that you have implemented activities that aren’t, you know, only outside in an open field? And they want to make sure that there is other options. So we do have air conditioning in every one of our buildings. Every cabin has air conditioning and heating now, so that’s, you know, a piece that, that I think is an attraction for the parents to know that even at night, they can cool down a little bit.”
[Campers playing cards in shade]
[Water bottle]
[Cards in camper’s hand]
Todd Brinkman (interview): “One of the questions we ask the parents at check-in is, did you bring your water bottle? Right? And so that’s something that maybe wasn’t happening, you know, five, ten years ago.”
[Campers in pool and lifeguard]
[Lifeguard’s umbrella]
[Campers in pool]
Lizzy Johnson (interview): “This week we’ve been visiting the pool more often, taking frequent water breaks. We have a lot of shade around camp. We’re really lucky that half of our camp is woods. So we have spent a lot of time in the shade doing that.”
[Camper eating a popsicle]
Lizzy Johnson (interview): “I know I get really hot really easily. And I know that kids, especially younger kids, don’t know how to deal with the heat as well. They haven’t learned that life skill. So every time we’re, like, walking across camp because we’re, we have a pretty big camp. We’re like 480 acres. So moving from one end to the other can be very hot, especially on a week like this week. And definitely, frequent shade breaks. Frequent water breaks. You know, it’s really concerning, how hot it’s been getting, but we have a great facilities.”
[Campers walking down a trail]
[Sunlight reflecting off of a lake]
Alison Tothy (interview): “Often for very active kids who are just running around, a lot of them don’t take a break. And it’s up to us as the adults watching them to make sure that they take a break and take a rest and cool down. You know, a lot of kids, if we, you know, as we’ve experienced as parents or teachers or counselors or whatever that is, they’re just like, you know, zero to 100 nonstop the minute they wake up. And, if there are a lot of activities, they want to participate in them all. And we just have to slow them down a little bit and pay attention.”
[Campfire ring]
Tom Rosenberg (interview): “The American Camp Association, it’s really been focused on helping camps prepare for climate change and the impact that it has on the way that you program camps outside, and how you adapt to these challenges.”
[Counselor with campers]
[Campers using battery-powered fan to keep cool]
[Campers during campfire program]
Todd Brinkman (interview): “The essence of what camp does, I don’t think changes at all. Right. They’re coming outside to make new friends, to build relationships with nature, with each other, and with a peer mentor of an adult. Having these kids have a counselor in their cabin, that’s one of those things that they remember, right? They’ll remember that counselor and they remember that moment. And I don’t think the weather is going to change that. You know, dates and times aren’t going to change that. That’s going to stay around.”
[Counselor leading camp song]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.