Climate change

Time -  In a warming world, summer camp is not what it used to be. The last 11 years have all been among the warmest years observed in instrumental record and perhaps at no time is that more apparent than in the summer. Summer camps around the U.S. are reckoning with how to safely prioritize outdoor play amid extreme weather—from wildfires, to record breaking temperatures, to stronger summer storms.

Most camps have always had plans in place for extreme weather. “This is not new for camps that are typically outdoors, in the summer, and in warmer climates,” says Henry DeHart, CEO of the American Camp Association (ACA). “There have always been days where the heat index has gotten high. Now, what’s happening is that the instances of this are increasing. From a camp planning perspective, whether you're dealing with five days of extreme heat in the summer or 8 or 10 days, you still have a plan to deal with it.”

But after flooding killed 28 people, including 25 campers, last summer at Camp Mystic in Texas, more and more parents are concerned about camp safety plans and security. “Every family I talked to during the off season, that was the number one question,” says Brooks Johnson, director of Brown Ledge Camp in Colchester, Vt.; over the past few years the Green Mountain State has also seen its share of flooding.