This summer is expected to be one of the hottest on record, and while camps have always had to crank up the sprinklers to beat the heat, climate change has forced them to be even more creative about how to keep kids cool – and pivot when extreme weather makes it too dangerous to be outside, multiple camp directors said.
Lisa Garcia, who oversees 65 day camps for the YMCA, said counselors have a lot of tricks up their sleeves when it comes to keeping little bodies cool. She said kids love it when they freeze a counselor’s T-shirt in a block of ice. The kids then melt it down with cups of water until the counselor can put it back on.
“We usually do it as a competition, because kids love a good healthy competition in the summertime,” she said.
The activity helps everyone cool off.
YMCA campers also build cardboard forts and throw water balloons at them. "Everybody gets a bucket of water with sponges in it and water balloons, and the idea is that you destroy the other castle and keep your own." Garcia said. “It's a lot of fun. It keeps it cool. And it's also super creative.”
She added that if it’s very hot, the camp may shift outdoor activities to the earlier part of the day, or take a field trip to an air conditioned museum or bowling alley.
Gothamist spoke to several summer camp operators about popular activities to beat the heat, and some of the new contingency plans they’ve developed.
“Certainly camps aren't immune to what’s happening with climate change all over the world,” said Alicia Skovera, executive director of the American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey. “Whether that's extreme heat or smoke or the possibility of a hurricane or flooding, tornadoes, you name it, camps have emergency plans for it.”
Camps in the city say they've moved more activities indoors due to summer heat.
Skovera said camps have had to make more use of the great indoors, including trash bag fashion shows. Kids cut trash bags into dresses and other outfits, decorate them, and walk the runway. Kids can create spotlights with their flashlights and play paparazzi.
Last year, many area camps got underway just as smoke from the Canadian wildfires forced campers inside for a few days. Several years before that, the summer was especially rainy. Meanwhile, experts say climate change is pushing temperatures up, causing camp to look a little different than it did a couple decades ago, with some of them investing in more shade or air conditioning.
Summer 2023 was the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in 2,000 years, according to one study. A New York City Panel on Climate Change said summers here will probably just keep getting hotter and wetter.
Skovera said camps should adhere to strict, pre-planned protocols around extreme heat. She said all camps with permits are required to have access to an indoor space, and when temperatures go above a certain point, counselors should shepherd children out of the sun.
“If there was going to be a campfire outside, maybe they’re bringing kids inside and they’re having ice pops in a cool area,” she said. “If there was going to a basketball game on the blacktop, maybe they’re bringing it into an athletic facility that is now indoors.”
Crystal Bobb-Semple, head of Mythik Camps — which operates the popular Camp Half Blood and Daring Girls, among others — said she’s definitely noticed an increase in the number of days with rain, poor air quality and extreme heat warnings over the program’s 15 years.
“The biggest thing for us is … having to go indoors more than in the past,” she said. The program has also reinforced training for staff to spot signs of kids overheating, such as lethargy, nausea, muscle cramps and intense sweating.
Parks Department spokesperson Greg McQueen said the agency is “very proactive” in canceling or rescheduling camp activities when it gets too hot. The parks department pivots whenever a heat advisory has been issued, which the city defines as a period when the heat index is 100 degrees or higher on one day, or 95 degrees or higher for two or more consecutive days.
Katie Duffy, director of camps at Asphalt Green, said she tries to keep parents updated about weather contingencies. She encouraged parents to inquire. “Ask those questions [about] what your camp is doing to make those modifications,” she said.
Duffty said parents can help by sending kids with cool clothes, water bottles, sun hats and their preferred sunscreen.
