Why Camp Education?

The world is changing rapidly. Serious issues have emerged that affect our children, and our future.

These big issues are ours to solve!

Camp Education International invites you to help take responsibility for solving them. If you are an educator, youth development professional, camp professional, coach, parent, or anyone who wants to build a better world and help children today develop into healthy, resilient adults, join our organization now and help us tackle what's in front of us all - solving for the concerns and challenges our children face right now, worldwide.

A group of children sitting on a play structure

Reasons Every Child Need Camp Education

Physical Health

Camp education helps to prevent increasingly common physical health challenges in youth, such as:

  • Childhood obesity
  • Childhood myopia
  • Sedentary lifestyle
About Childhood Obesity

Since 1990, obesity has quadrupled among children and adolescents (5 to 19 years of age), according to a 2024 study from the World Health Organization. While there are many factors contributing to this major global health crisis, one of them is simple and straightforward: children and adolescents are not spending enough time outdoors, moving and exercising their bodies.

Camp Education provides what children and adolescents increasingly need: children and young adults are consistently and progressively active, at a time when their developing bodies and minds need this most.

Children and adolescents walk, run, hike, explore, move, and play - for the majority of the day. This in in contrast to the short dosages of physical education time designated for that purpose during a traditional school day, an important distinction.

About Childhood Myopia

According to leading researchers at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, myopia, an eye condition where someone cannot see objects far away clearly, has emerged as a major public health concern, specifically with regards to children and adolescents. More than one in three children and teenagers worldwide are now shortsighted, with the prevailing theory that screen time is directly responsible.

Young people need "far work" with their eyes, and "far work" can only take place outdoors. For countless generations, humans have spent more time outside than inside, and it is only in the last few generations that this has begun to significantly shift.

During a typical activity day providing camp education, participants are focused (literally) on all kinds of different stimuli, among them other children, terrain, targets (for archery and similar activities), landmarks (during hikes), obstacles, objectives, and the broader immediate environment.

Camp Education specializes in "far work" for eyes: children and young adults are outdoors, concentrating and focusing on a variety of engaging tasks, keeping their eyes (and brains) healthy.

Camp activities as solutions

  • Encouraging active lifestyles through hiking, swimming, and team sports.
  • Promoting outdoor activities that reduce screen time and encourage exposure to natural light, helping mitigate myopia risks.

Mental Health

Camp education promotes mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

About Isolation & Depression

According to the World Health Organization, globally, one in seven 10-19 year-olds experiences a mental disorder, with depression, anxiety, and behavior disorders being most common. While there are many factors contributing to these trends, one of the primary drivers is simply the lack of time and opportunities for children and teenagers to spend time together in an increasingly isolated world.

In the United States, a team of researchers from the University of Utah published the National Camp Impact Study in 2002. As it relates to the rise in isolation and depression, they found:

  • Youth who reported high levels of engagement at camp generally also reported high levels of belonging, supportive youth-staff relationships, and opportunities for action-based and – to a lesser extent – reflection-based experiential learning.
  • Youth who had higher quality camp experiences reported higher levels of affinity for nature,willingness to try new things, social awareness, independence, and grit than youth who had lower quality camp experiences.
  • Youth who had higher quality camp experiences in terms of engagement, belonging, youth-adult relationships, and experiential learning also reported higher levels of appreciation for being present after camp.

Camp Education is a powerful solution for children and adolescents experiencing isolation or depression: children and young adults thrive when they are together for sustained periods of time, initiating and building relationships, feeling connected, and developing intrinsic motivation.

Camp activities as solutions

  • Building resilience through outdoor challenges and team-building exercises.
  • Offering mindfulness and relaxation activities like yoga or journaling.
  • Providing spaces for self-expression and peer connection to reduce isolation.

Social Development

Camp education promotes healthy social development by minimizing challenges such as:

  • Bullying (including cyberbullying)
  • Lack of empathy development
  • Social isolation
  • Comparison culture

Camp activities as solutions

  • Promoting inclusive group activities that foster teamwork and empathy.
  • Teaching conflict resolution and emotional intelligence through guided interactions.

Education Challenges

Camp education addresses shortcomings of current educational systems such as:

  • Learning gaps
  • Pressure to excel
  • Lack of access to quality education
  • Overemphasis on standardized testing

Camp activities as solutions

  • Providing creative and experiential learning opportunities, such as STEM workshops or arts programs.
  • Offering scholarships and accessible options for underserved communities.

College Preparedness

Camp education prepares students for college by addressing challenges such as:

  • Lack of awareness about college options
  • Insufficient soft skills (e.g., communication, time management),
  • Unpreparedness for independence
  • College admissions stress

Camp activities as solutions

  • Promoting inclusive group activities that foster teamwork and empathy.
  • Teaching conflict resolution and emotional intelligence through guided interactions.

Fear for the Future

Camp education addresses personal and global fears of the future, such as:

  • Uncertainty about career prospects
  • Climate change and global crises anxiety
  • Loss of hope in societal progress

Camp activities as solutions

  • Programs on resilience, adaptability, and goal setting to instill confidence.
  • Leadership and problem-solving activities that encourage proactive thinking.
  • Inspirational guest speakers or mentors who share success stories.
  • Collaborative projects that show tangible outcomes and build hope for impact.

Identity and Self-Concept

Camp education provides teaching and support to cope with personal identity challenges, such as:

  • Body image issues
  • Gender identity and acceptance
  • Racial and cultural identity struggles
  • Pressure to conform 

Camp activities as solutions

  • Creating inclusive and affirming spaces for self-expression.
  • Celebrating diversity through cultural nights and personal achievements.

Community Engagement

Camp education addresses modern challenges with youth community engagement, such as:

  • Decline in volunteering
  • Reduced sense of belonging
  • Lack of role models
  • Community disconnection

Camp activities as solutions

  • Incorporating service projects into camp programming.
  • Building a sense of belonging through team-based activities and mentorship.

Device Addiction

Camp education combats challenges brought on by modern technology, such as:

  • Excessive screen time
  • Negative impacts on sleep and concentration
  • Reduced family and peer interaction
  • Comparison culture
  • Social isolation
  • Cyber bullying
About Excessive Screen Time

Total time spent in front of screens is increasingly recognized as a serious global health concern. In The Anxious Generation, author Jonathan Haidt summarizes this problem very effectively, as follows:

"The Anxious Generation offers an explanation by telling two stories. The first is about the decline of the play-based childhood, which began in the 1980s and accelerated in the ‘90s. The loss of free play and the rise of continual adult supervision deprived children of what they needed most to overcome the normal fears and anxieties of childhood: the chance to explore, test and expand their limits, build close friendships through shared adventure, and learn how to judge risks for themselves.

The second story is about the rise of the phone-based childhood, which began in the late 2000s and accelerated in the early 2010s. This was precisely the period during which adolescents traded in their flip phones for smartphones, which were loaded with social media platforms supported by the new high-speed internet and unlimited data plans."

Camp Education is the solution to this global health challenge: children and young adults are outside, unplugged and active, benefitting from the sustained, play-based experiences accessible to previous generations.

Camp education addresses both issues at once: creating high-quality educational environments typically held outdoors that are grounded in experiential play (informal, group-based, creative and innovative activity), without screens or devices (most summer camp programs do not allow smartphones and other similar devices).

Camp activities as solutions

  • Offering digital detox programs with engaging offline activities.
  • Encouraging healthy tech habits through workshops and guided discussions.
  • Providing collaborative, hands-on activities that build relationships and minimize reliance on screens.

Demographic Pressure

Camp education mitigates modern demographic pressures and challenges, such as:

  • Declining birth rates
  • Reduced desire for parenthood
  • Negative perceptions of parenting
  • Lack of family-oriented community spaces

Camp activities as solutions

  • Highlighting the joys of family and community through family-oriented programs and multi-generational activities.
  • Offering parent-child camps that strengthen bonds and provide positive role modeling for family life.
  • Promoting the value of nurturing and community responsibility through group leadership roles.
  • Celebrating stories of thriving families and communities to inspire confidence in parenting and family-building.

Bring Camp Education to your organization

CEI provides curriculum and training in what to do and how to do it for youth development professionals who want to bring Camp Education to their camp, school, or other youth organization. 

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