Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons^™

Using Single-Case Participatory Action Research As A Methodology To Explore Appalachian Summer Camp Communities, Barry A. Garst, Nancy K. Franz, Brian Peters, Chris Smith, Sarah Baughman

Barry A Garst

Community educators have long known the value of direct experience in the learning process. Participatory action research extends this philosophy to the realm of research. This article examines the value of involving front line camp staff, members of the camp community in Appalachia as practitioner researchers with university scientists in studying the type and conditions of transformative learning in young adult camp staff. A young adult who was a camp community member assisted the researchers with methodology, data analysis, data interpretation, and dissemination of findings. This resulted in a more accurate, richer, and thicker description of the camp community member’s …

Parent Anxiety Causes And Consequences: Perspectives From Camp Program Providers, Barry A. Garst, Ryan J. Gagnon, Troy Bennett

Barry A Garst

Although out-of-school time experiences such as camp contribute to youth development, youth in-volvement in these developmental experiences is largely dependent on parents who determine which activities are appropriate for their children. A contributing factor to parents’ decisions to send their child to camp is the amount of risk and non-clinical anxiety that parents associate with the camp experience, yet little attention has been paid to these issues, particularly from the perspective of camp program providers. It is unclear to what extent parent anxiety is an operational and pro-grammatic concern for camp program providers. Informed by risk perception and parent involve-ment …

What's The Problem Now? Director's View On Campers, Staff, And Training Priorities, Christopher Thurber, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

Relationships form the heart of the camp experience. Dynamic programs, beautiful settings and lofty missions have little value without sterling leadership (staff/camper relationships) and warm friendships (camper/camper relationships). For this reason, a well-trained staff that promotes camper connections is the lifeblood sustaining your camp. In turn, having happy campers in healthy relationships augments retention rates, enrollment and parental satisfaction, all of which strengthen the overall business and pleasure of running a camp.

Residential Summer Camp: A New Venue For Nutrition Education And Physical Activity Promotion, Alison K. Ventura, Barry A. Garst

Barry A Garst

Millions of children attend residential summer camps each year. However, few studies have examined the potential of camps for obesity prevention efforts. Research in the domain of positive youth development has shown that camp programs as short as one week have both short- and long-term positive effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy and other youth outcomes. The objective of the present study was to highlight the potential of resident camps as promising venues for the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity behaviors in the children who attend.

Building A “Healthy Camp”: Strategies That Worked!, Barry Garst, Mary Marugg, Sandra Thomas

Barry A Garst

Three years ago, the camp community placed a capstone on a significant accomplishment by completing the largest, most comprehensive study of camp-related injuries and illnesses ever undertaken. This “Healthy Camp Study” involved close to 300 day and resident camps in monitoring camper and staff injury and illness events over the summer for five years from 2006 through 2010. With leadership from the American Camp Association and the Association of Camp Nurses, and through support from Markel Insurance, the Healthy Camp Study not only provided data that camps can use to benchmark and compare their own rates of injuries and illness, …

Camp Directors’ Beliefs Regarding Nature-Deficit Disorder And Camp, Penny James, Karla Henderson, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

We asked what camp directors believed the role of camp to be in fostering nature-based experiences for campers. The majority of camp directors believed that fostering children's connection to nature requires purposeful programming, that opportunities to connect with the natural environment at camp are important for children, and that camp plays a more important role today in fostering children's connection to nature than in the past.

Benchmarking Professional Development Practices Across Youth-Serving Organizations: Implications For Extension, Barry A. Garst, Sarah Baughman, Nancy Franz

Barry A Garst

Examining traditional and contemporary professional development practices of youth-serving organizations can inform practices across Extension, particularly in light of the barriers that have been noted for effectively developing the professional competencies of Extension educators. With professional development systems changing quickly, particularly through online education and blended learning opportunities, benchmarks need to guide new research around best practices in professional development. Although many program providers have not established benchmarks for professional development, a few cases exist. This article examines the current state of professional development practices of youth-serving organizations and offers recommendations for improving Extension professional development practices.

Is There Common Ground? An Exploratory Study Of The Interests And Needs Of Community-Based And Faith-Based Workers, Pam Garza, Stephanie Altman, Eugene Roehlkepartain, Barry Garst, Deb Bialeschki

Barry A Garst

In the spring of 2007, ACA religiously-affiliated (RA) (n=89) and secular camps (n=214) from across the country participated in a study entitled “Is There Common Ground?” conducted by ACA, the Search Institute, and the National Collaboration for Youth. The ACA focus in the project was to explore the core competencies of staff working in both types of camps as well as their interests in and concerns about working together. The camp sample included a diverse set of camps, representing resident camps (64 percent); day camps (16 percent); and both resident and day camps (19 percent). Christianity was the most common …

Paying Enough And Training Right! A Snapshot Of Salary, Benefits, And Professional Development Practices In Camp, Troy Bennett, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

Since 2006 ACA has conducted camp business research using a three-year cycle to identify industry benchmarks and to begin to identify trends. This research provides an evidence base for camp business practices. Some studies target the compensation and benefits provided to full-time camp directors, other full-time staff positions, and seasonal staff. Provided below are some key findings from ACA’s recent study, as well as some trends over time.

2011 Explore 30 Camp Reading Program Impact Report, Barry Garst, Cass Morgan, Deb Bialeschki

Barry A Garst

The Explore 30 Camp Reading Program is a national initiative created by the American Camp Association (ACA) to target youth literacy in camps. The specific goal of Explore 30 was to build organizational capacity (and align advocacy efforts) around summer reading and literacy. In the summer of 2011, 218 day and resident camps across thirty-six states signed up to participate in Explore 30 — serving more than 360,000 youth. Camps integrated Explore 30 into their camp sessions through either structured or unstructured reading opportunities supported by Explore 30 reading materials. A formal summative evaluation was conducted through a paper-pencil camper …

An Exploration Of Developed Forest Camping Experiences And Meanings In The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

Developed forest camping has received little attention in the recreation research since the late 1960s and early 1970s. Changes in socio-demographics, technology, and the publicâ s expectations for amenities over the past forty years suggested that the nature of the developed camping experience may have changed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand the modern developed forest camping experience and associated meanings and the influence of technology on developed forest camping. In-depth interviews were conducted in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area with thirty-eight camping groups in three campgrounds which varied in their level of development. Developed forest …

Adolescent Leadership Skill Development Through Residential 4-H Camp Counseling, Barry Garst, Jeremy Johnson

Barry A Garst

Camping is a 4-H delivery mode and context for positive youth development. Research suggests that 4-H camping may enhance the life skills outcomes of adolescents who serve in leadership roles. The study reported here was to explore the lived experience of 4-H camp teen counselors and to better understand the leadership and life skill outcomes of 4-H camp participation. Eleven focus groups (n=68) were conducted with 4-H camp teen counselors from across Virginia's six 4-H educational centers. The results indicated that 4-H camp participation positively affected teen counselors by helping them to develop leadership-related knowledge, skills, and behaviors.

Development Of A Comprehensive New 4-H Extension Agents Training Program Using A Multi-Module Approach And The 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, And Competencies, Barry Garst, Joseph Hunnings, Kathleen Jamison, Jewel Hairston, Robert Meadows

Barry A Garst

Following significant budget reductions in 2002, Virginia Cooperative Extension explored strategies to meet the professional development needs of new 4-H Extension faculty and staff. The Department of 4-H Youth Development created a training program to teach youth development competencies consistent with the national 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies (4HPRKC) taxonomy. Written and verbal evaluations from participants in the New 4-H Extension Agents Training Program suggested that the training was informative, interactive, and responsive to participants' needs. This program is a potential model for other Extension programs that serve the professional development needs of new 4-H Extension faculty and staff.

The Impact Of Camp Employment On The Workforce Development Of Emerging Adults, Mat Duerden, Peter Witt, Barry Garst, Deb Bialeschki, Tori Schwarzlose, Kara Norton

Barry A Garst

The literature indicates a workforce readiness gap exists for both high school and college graduates. Findings suggest that employment in residential camp settings is one way to encourage positive workforce development. While a large body of literature supports the developmental benefits of camp for youth, fewer studies have investigated the impacts of camp on camp staff. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of camp employment on the development of workforce-related skills and to identify the elements and processes of camp employment that facilitate or impede this development. Given the deficiencies noted in the readiness of …

Engaging Youth In Environmental Sustainability: Impact Of The Camp 2 Grow Program, Laurie Brown, Barry Garst, Deborah Bialeschki

Barry A Garst

Engaging youth in organized efforts to promote environmental sustainability has important implications for young people as well as for the communities in which they live. Youth engagement in general is critical to positive youth development (Gambone et al., 2004) and summer camps are uniquely situated to engage youth in the issues related to environmental sustainability. Training youth to become environmental stewards, defined here as environmentally conscious leaders who promote environmental sustainability in others, is a promising approach to engaging youth in this critical issue. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Camp 2 Grow, a program …

Healthy Camp Study Update: Ten Promising Practices Of A Healthy Camp, Barry Garst, Linda Erceg, Susan Baird, Sandra Thompson

Barry A Garst

Camps don't have to wait for an outbreak to occur to update their camp health practices. An important key to developing a sound knowledge base about health and safety conditions is careful monitoring of the factors that cause significant injury and illness events in camps. New information about promising practices of a healthy camp is available now from the Healthy Camp Study, and camps can take advantage of what the camp community has learned to implement proactive health care strategies.

Ten Ways To Reduce Injuries And Illnesses In Camp, Barry Garst, Linda Erceg

Barry A Garst

When it comes to providing safe experiences for children, knowledge is often the most powerful tool an organization possesses. Knowledge about safe conditions and practices and the ability to identify areas for improvement are keys to ensuring the health and safety of program participants and staff and decreasing the likelihood of adverse health events. An important key to developing a sound knowledge base about health and safety conditions is careful monitoring of the factors that cause significant injury and illness events in camps.

Camp: A Perfect Place To Address Bullying, Jewel Hairston, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

Bullying is now being understood as a group phenomenon, as opposed to an event or exchange that happens between two or three kids. Bullying is a social problem where the whole bullying incident is supported by the bystander (Espelage 2003; Craig & Pepler 1997; Salmivalli et al. 1996). This is important because in most cases the symptoms of bullying are the focus of treatment while the overall problem remains untreated. To address the problem, intervention should be directed toward the participants and the witnesses (Salmivalli 1999). A "one-shot" training session for campers and teen volunteer counselors that focuses on tips …

2009 Camp2grow Impact Report, Barry Garst, Karla Henderson

Barry A Garst

Camp 2 Grow, funded through Lilly Endowment Inc., is an initiative created by the American Camp Association (ACA) to encourage and teach leadership skills among youth in nature-based settings. In the summer of 2009, twenty-four day and resident camps completed the Camp 2 Grow program,serving approximately 840 male and female youth. Camps served youth from five major metropolitan areas: Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, and Los Angeles. Youth completed lessons in the following core leadership areas: Leadership, Character, Teamwork, Building Relationships, Taking Risks and Getting Results, Problem-Solving, and Planning. Youth also conducted an environmental stewardship activity and were challenged to …

Undergraduate Student Internships In Natural Resources At Virginia 4-H Educational Centers, Jeff Kirwan, Barry Fox, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

Virginia has six 4-H educational centers that provide residential camping experiences for over 22,000 youth per year, the second largest 4-H camping program in the United States. These children may have many learning opportunities in the areas of natural resources and outdoor living skills. Beginning in 1995, the Chesapeake Bay Program in cooperation with the Virginia Division of Soil and Water Conservation provided funds for water quality instructors at each of the 4-H Centers. In 1998, the Virginia Forestry Educational Foundation began supporting a similar internship program for undergraduate students to serve as forestry instructors. Nearly 50 undergraduate students have …

"Growing Without Limitations:" Transformation Among Young Adult Camp Staff, Barry A. Garst, Nancy K. Franz, Sarah Baughman, Chris Smith, Brian Peters

Barry A Garst

A strong body of research has developed over the last decade regarding the developmental outcomes of camp experiences of children and adolescents. However, few formal studies have been conducted to determine how camp experiences lead to deep personal change in young adult staff. In this study, the authors used focus groups and an online survey to explore transformation among young adult camp staff. Specifically, they examined (a) how camp involvement promotes transformation in young adults, and (b) what conditions in the camp environment promote personal change. Staff reported that personal change at camp was related to the developmental outcomes they …

Consistency Of Developmental Outcomes Of 4-H Camp Experiences Over Time And Across Sites, Sarah Baughman, Barry Garst, Nicholas Fuhrman

Barry A Garst

The purpose of this study was to explore the developmental outcomes of 4-H camp experiences as identified by parents and guardians. The authors examined (1) the changes in youth life skill behaviors that parents/guardians attribute to a 5-day residential 4-H camping experience, (2) their perceptions of consistency in the life skills gained across multiple camps and years, and (3) differences in life skill development between male and female youth participants. Parents of campers ages 9-13 were randomly sampled in 2001 (n=363), 2004 (n=326), and 2007 (n=326) and asked to report changes in their child's behavior following camp. Results indicate an …

Beginning With The End: Day Camp Training By Design, Barry Garst, Linda Pulliam

Barry A Garst

Based on the needs assessment conducted by ACA in the fall of 2003, several critical needs were expressed by day camp directors. These included: managing camper behavior, managing staff behavior and motivating staff, camper health and wellness, human resources and personnel, and risk/crisis management. Because most day camps in Virginia are required to be licensed, few day camps choose to be accredited. Unfortunately, VDSS requirements emphasize health and administrative standards with little emphasis on conduct of program and staff training. With day camps under the same umbrella as day care centers, training that is offered to day camp staff is …

How Healthy Is Camp? Exploring Early Results From The Surveillance Study Of Injuries And Illness, Linda Erceg, Barry Garst, Gwynn Powell, R Comstock

Barry A Garst

This article explores what was learned from the Healthy Camp Study during the first two years of the study (summers of 2006 and 2007). Although we'll have a more complete picture after the next three years of the study, we are already gaining important information about where camps might target prevention efforts. Before you read about these results, think about how your camp currently benefits from this exciting study. Have you participated in either or both of the past two summers? Did you know that participation is free and that you can still enroll for next summer? Did you know …

The Benefits Of Camp Employment: More Than Just Fun And Games, Mat Duerden, Barry Garst, Deb Bialeschki

Barry A Garst

Many employers are concerned about the readiness of the emerging workforce1. Emerging adults themselves share these concerns, as evidenced by results from a nationwide survey in which 46 percent of high-school graduates currently in the workforce and 39 percent of individuals currently in college reported feeling a gap between what they learned in school and what was expected of them on the job2.

Investing In What's Important: Five Tips To Guide A Professional Development And Training Plan, Barry Garst

Barry A Garst

At a recent camp conference, a between-session conversation among several directors focused on organizational budget cuts and the lack of travel dollars for adequate continuing education.

Be intentional about camp staff training. Photo courtesy of Cheley Colorado Camps in Estes Park, Colo.

This is a common scenario for organizations big and small. Tighter budgets can correlate to diminished continuing education and training plans for frontline staff, managers, and directors.

Yet savvy camp professionals know that maintaining a strong knowledge base and skill set, as well as documenting the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, is important for both productivity and …

Research: Family Camp Impacts On Family Functioning, Barry Garst, Sarah Baughman, Nancy Franz, Richard Seidel

Barry A Garst

Families are a foundational structure of society that play a critical role in the health and well-being of communities. Every aspect of the American family is experiencing change, including the number of adults who marry, the number of households that are formed by married people, the number of children that are conceived, and the number of non-family households (Nock, 2005). Considering these trends, programming to strengthen family relationships is particularly relevant and urgent. Research suggests that family camps — typically a residential multi-day camp experience designed for children and family members — can play a role in enhancing family functioning …

Camp 2 Grow: Teaching Leadership And Environmental Stewardship To New York City Youth, Barry Garst, Christopher Chavez

Barry A Garst

Within the movement to connect children and nature, there is a growing sentiment that if children fail to develop attachments to natural spaces and places, society will ultimately fail to raise the next generation of stewards who will care for and protect their environment. Challenging youth to be leaders and stewards is an integral part of the camp experience, with many camps serving as living laboratories for the teaching of youth leadership using a variety of approaches.

Identifying 4-H Camping Outcomes Using A Standardized Evaluation Process Across Multiple 4-H Educational Centers, Barry Garst, F Bruce

Barry A Garst

While camp participation has been found to positively affect youth, statewide 4-H camp evaluation is often difficult because camps are conducted at many different sites over a large geographical area and far away from their land-grant university. In cooperation with six regional Virginia 4-H educational centers, the State 4-H Office implemented a standardized evaluation process to identify 4-H camping outcomes. Camper and parent/guardian surveys identified multiple life skill benefits as a result of 4-H camp participation. Additionally, the study provided further support that collaboration between university faculty and field staff is a powerful tool for Extension programming.

Examining Youth Camping Outcomes Across Multiple States: The National 4-H Camping Research Consortium (Ncrc), Barry A. Garst, Allison Nichols, Jill Martz, Niki Nestor Mcneely, Laura Bovitz, Denise Frebertshauser, Suzanne Le Menestrel, Jill Walahoski

Barry A Garst

The impact of residential camp participation is needed for camps focused on a variety of outcomes including education, summer fun, prevention, and youth development. One system, the Cooperative Extension Service, conducts 4-H residential camps in most states nationwide every year. These camps, though offering educational enhancement and fun activities, are focused on youth development, incorporating a framework called the essential elements of positive youth development. The National 4-H Camping Research Consortium (NCRC), a group of Extension specialists and county-level educators, designed and piloted assessment tools for 4-H camps that can be used at any camp that focuses on youth development. …