Winning Back Mental Well Being at Summer Camp
Have you noticed how many conversations adults are having about limits for screen time for children and how the mental health of children is affected by the constant barrage of news on wars, famine, and global warming, plus TikTok, Facebook, and group chats?
Are you the parent of a child who missed a year of school, sports, community, and friendships during the pandemic? Does it seem that there’s a lot of talk about all of this but no solid answers?
I have one answer you might consider: SUMMER CAMP.
Okay, there are many camps for kids that offer athletic development, computer wizardry, and a host of skills aimed at college applications. But where do kids go to get away from computers, put away the technology, discover the splendor of the natural world, and just have fun?
Where do they go to learn about themselves as part of creation? Where do they go to learn about eagles and owls, honeybees and hummingbirds, the songs that rivers sing, and the family bonds among trees? Where do kids go to be still and listen to the wind, look through a telescope at the night sky, and move their bodies and spirits? Again, the answer is summer camp. Specifically, it is summer camp at Highlands Camp & Retreat Center in Allenspark, Colorado.
According to Jonathan Haidt, NYU Professor of Ethical Leadership and author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, in the last two decades, children have developed unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression because they are over-protected in the “real world” (meaning that their opportunities to play outside without excessive supervision are severely limited) and under-protected in the “virtual world” (meaning their access to the internet is near constant and parents struggle to monitor this.)
Professor Haidt asserts that children who participate in a “time away” experience—such as summer camp—in which smartphones, smartwatches, and laptops are not allowed are capable of weaning off technology and immersing themselves in human relationships with fellow campers. Their psyches begin to heal from the harm caused by social media, blossoming into non-anxious children who can then take these same skills back into the real world.
Once upon a time, summer camp at Highlands was an extension of church life. Church members sent their kids to camp for the adventures offered, but there was an expectation that their children would learn the fundamentals of the Christian faith while they were there. Back in their church homes after camp, these children were expected to become leaders in their youth groups, perhaps going on to college to study religion. Vocations in ministry were encouraged.
Times have changed.
Now, it is evident that churches are dramatically shrinking. Young adults no longer find church relevant to their lives, and if they’re not interested in going, they’re not going to make their children go either. Hence, church youth programs are diminished or absent altogether, and the urge to send kids to a Christian camp is almost completely gone.
At Highlands, we are less concerned with teaching children how to belong to a church than with teaching them how to participate in human society.
Learn more about their SUMMER CAMP.
We are convinced that children require engagement with nature, so we will guide them in its study and give them opportunities to explore it on their own.
We will ask that our campers participate in a service project on the campgrounds because we know that taking care of things that matter makes them matter more. This may be as simple as raking pinecones off camp pathways or keeping their cabins clean and clutter-free. The point is to generate pride in tasks well done. We welcome children of all faiths, ethnicities, genders, and identities, but smartphones and laptops must stay behind. Our hope for our campers is that through our program, they will gain a perspective on the world and their unfiltered existence through the lens of social media.
Highlands is comprised of a modern retreat center that can sleep 124 people, seven open year-round cabins, and six open during the summer. The summer cabins are home to our children and youth camps.
Highlands nestles on 300 acres of breathtaking beauty in the shadow of Long’s Peak, a “14-er” within Rocky Mountain National Park. We believe this land is sacred and take our stewardship of the land and resources very seriously. In January of 2024, we entered into a conservation easement, ensuring that the land will be protected from development in perpetuity. The animals who migrate across the property or call it home year-round are also protected by this easement. These include deer, elk, moose, black bear, myriad birds, and small mammals.
Highlands has partnered with regional conservation districts to carry out a significant forest restoration project to return the forest to its native condition. Highlands is also home to lush wetlands and a perennial creek. Botanists and wildlife experts will visit with campers each week to teach the critical importance of wetlands and wildlife habitats for species like bees and beavers. Who knows? We may inspire campers to participate in conservation efforts in their schools and neighborhoods back home.
At Highlands, we offer five separate weeks of summer camp where kids can be kids.
Our daily schedule for campers will include time to take their thoughts wherever they go. Imagination and curiosity are vital for children to grow into functioning adults, and Highlands provides this opportunity.
Mornings begin with a hearty breakfast, followed by a daily study of the many biblical texts that tell the stories of creation and God’s love for all creatures. Campers will gain new understanding of how the earth came to be and how the web of life was woven. They will learn that they are loved without limit; that they are made to reflect the imagination of God, as are their siblings: the moose, the aspen, the meadowlark the grasshopper, and the grass. Through this study they will come to see that all life on Earth, including the Earth itself, are worthy of their attention and care.
Next, campers will participate in physical activities that promote mental well-being as well as prowess in new skills. These activities will include hiking, kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boarding, archery, and rock-climbing. Appropriately trained adult guides will instruct campers in each endeavor, ensuring their safety as they participate.
After lunch, campers will have a period of quiet time to rest, read, reflect, write home, journal, or simply take a nap. Nothing is asked of them during this time but that they be mindful of the needs of their fellow campers.
Afternoons will be filled with visitors. Campers will meet birds of prey from The Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Ft. Collins, pollinators from the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, and a Certified Forester who will inspire them with tales of how trees communicate underground and show their resilience through foul weather and fires. An expert on wetlands will also visit, and she will introduce the campers to the specific ecosystem within the wetlands at Highlands. She may even lead the campers to take a peek at the newly-introduced pair of beavers that (we hope!) will be building their home along the stream that flows through the property.
Expression through art and music will nurture campers’ creative selves. Campers will be free to draw, paint, sculpt and make music to help in their reflection of all that they have learned. Different mediums allow each camper to express themselves in the manner that means the most to them.
After dinner comes more fun with camp activities such as games, scavenger hunts, talent shows, and of course campfires and s’mores. Evenings are a time for reflection, and vesper services or walking the labyrinth offer the opportunity for campers to share their thoughts about the day and what may have inspired them or given them a sense of accomplishment. Our hope is that among new friends, every child will feel the self-confidence to speak about what moved them or changed their thinking, or what they wish to ponder further.
One night each week, Campers will be invited to stay up a little later so they can spend time exploring the heavens with an astronomer and a powerful telescope.
Active engagement with nature is the core of what we offer at Highlands Summer Camp, but we know that for our campers, the best part is making friends. Through working together in team building activities such as our challenge course, campers will delve deeper into what it truly means to develop trust and relationships with others. Throughout their week-long stay, campers will grow in confidence with their peers, develop self-esteem, and learn that exercising their muscles, minds and hearts is best done among friends.
At Highlands, we believe that children need a sacred space for time away from the buzz and busyness of their daily routines. They need a place where they can play hard, rest well, and roll around in the glory of a mountain meadow. They need to wonder. They need to marvel. They need to slow down and breathe. They need to know that they are loved and made in the image of God and that it is in connection with one another that we learn more about ourselves and the world.
At Highlands, we will be their guides. We look forward to welcoming your children to a different pace.
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