Blog

Families have chosen Maine camps for their children for more than a century.

Learn about camps from the inside! Camp directors and staff, plus parents, address everything from beating homesickness to favorite camp foods to how camp fosters resilience and independence, all in blogs dedicated exclusively to Maine summer camps.

Beating the Bugs: Mosquitoes, Ticks and Other Unwelcome Youth Camp Guests

Beating the Bugs: Mosquitoes, Ticks and Other Unwelcome Youth Camp Guests

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Kevin Prevost makes his living helping Mainers enjoy the outdoors – by helping reduce unwanted guests like mosquitoes and ticks. Among the clients served by his business, Top Leaf Tree, LLC, are more than half a dozen youth camps across the state. And those camps, says Prevost, are dealing with the consequences of a very wet spring, along with an early snowpack last winter. The result: abundant insects. Camps, however, are rising to the challenge, through a variety of strategies to beat the bugs and keep kids healthy.   According to Prevost, camps’ focus on parents’ “peace of mind” often leads them to choose organic over synthetic pesticide application. In addition, he says, camp leadership is also sensitive to the...
High Resolves Brings Program to Maine Youth Camp Staff

High Resolves Brings Program to Maine Youth Camp Staff

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Across the state, young adults and their mentors are gathering at scores of youth camps for annual staff training. As they anticipate the arrival of campers in the coming days, these staff members are building community and learning skills for engaging with, supporting, and teaching the campers who will travel from near and far for their summer camp experiences.
Pre-Camp Preparations: The Challenges and Satisfaction of Staff Training

Pre-Camp Preparations: The Challenges and Satisfaction of Staff Training

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As Maine youth camp directors head into June, their preparations to welcome campers move into high gear. That includes getting ready for staff members — some new, some veteran — to arrive for pre-camp training. Whether it is a few days or more than a week, staff training sessions help equip camp employees with the skills, insight, and confidence to provide a positive experience for the youngsters they serve.
Youth Camp Directors, Legislators, Share Insights and Information in Hall of Flags Event

Youth Camp Directors, Legislators, Share Insights and Information in Hall of Flags Event

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When representatives of the Maine youth camping industry make the trip to the State House, it is often with a particular issue in mind, an item of business for which they are advocating or to which they are opposed. But on May 1, more than 20 Maine youth camp directors, plus a handful of business members of the non-profit membership organization Maine Youth Camp Association (MYCA) set up tables and displays in the State House’s Hall of Flags. Their goal: to simply meet legislators, answer questions, and offer a look into the vast benefits of youth camping in Maine.
Annual New England Camp Conference Offers Camp Professionals Education and More

Annual New England Camp Conference Offers Camp Professionals Education and More

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As Maine’s hundreds of camp professionals look ahead to summer — hoping to fill remaining staff positions, communicating with families, and crossing their fingers for warm weather and snow melt — many also set aside a few days in late March to attend the annual conference of the American Camp Association New England. The 2019 gathering, held March 28-30 in Manchester, NH, brought together approximately 900 camp personnel from throughout New England, says ACA New England Executive Director Bette Bussel. Vendors promoting a broad range of products and services at the conference Expo brought that number to nearly 1000, Bussel says. Between 80 and 90 presenters offered workshops over the three-day conference.
Hello Camp, Good-bye Technology: Staff Adjustment to a Low-Tech Summer

Hello Camp, Good-bye Technology: Staff Adjustment to a Low-Tech Summer

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Summer at camp in Maine means many new experiences: new friends, first-time activities, living away from home. For campers, it also means leaving devices like phones and computers at home. But staff members also have an adjustment when it comes to technology. While their summers at camp aren’t completely device-free, staff members experience a marked – and, in many cases, ultimately welcome – reduction in screen time. For young adults in their late teens and early 20s, accustomed to socialization via text and social media, working at camp presents adjustments beyond living in cabins, teaching and guiding youngsters, and collaborating with fellow staff.  Low-tech summers, camp directors say, can present challenges for staff members used to having a phone at...
Dozens of Maine Camps Gathering Sunday in Portland: Spreading the Word About Summer Fun

Dozens of Maine Camps Gathering Sunday in Portland: Spreading the Word About Summer Fun

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As snow melts, mud emerges, and daylight savings time offers kids more outdoor playtime, families are beginning to think of summer. So are Maine’s hundreds of youth camps, which offer scores of opportunities for youngsters of all ages and interests. On Sunday, March 24, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Maine Summer Camps, a nonprofit organization supporting youth camps throughout the state, will hold its annual Maine Camp Fair at East End Community School in Portland. Representatives from 60 Maine youth camps will gather at the school, located at 195 North Street in Portland’s East End, to share information, enthusiasm, and expertise about their programs. The variety will be broad: from golf camp to aviation camp to music to science to...
Leaving Technology Home: Campers’ Adjustment to Being Unplugged

Leaving Technology Home: Campers’ Adjustment to Being Unplugged

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It happens all over Maine. Every summer, children arrive at youth camps throughout the state for a few weeks — or a full season — ready to undertake adventures, be with friends and role models, and learn or advance skills. And at most camps, kids’ experiences are completely tech-free. Phones, laptops, iPads — they all go home with Mom or Dad. Camp in Maine is unplugged. But what about that transition? How do kids adjust when they’ve spent a school year connecting with each other via social media, when they text each other constantly, when phones are social lifelines?
Hiring Camp Staff, Part II: The Challenge of the “Internship Climate” for College Students and the Camps Who Want to Hire Them

Hiring Camp Staff, Part II: The Challenge of the “Internship Climate” for College Students and the Camps Who Want to Hire Them

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As college students look ahead toward post-graduate careers, they face pressures from all sides. From a financial standpoint, many young adults have incurred student loans, making the importance of a secure job both during school and after graduation even more essential. In addition, college students often believe that a successful career demands a lock-step progression of experiences on the way to that first job. Accordingly, while young adults pursue their studies, they increasingly feel pressure to participate in a professional, often major-related, internship to help pave the way toward that just-right position after college is over.

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