This blog was written in partnership the CHANGE Health Community Program.
For kids, summer camp is often something to look forward to. While COVID-19 has greatly impacted summer camps, the CHANGE Adventure Camp designed a program that allows kids to be outside, play games and learn about nutrition and meal preparation—all while maintaining physical distancing.
The CHANGE Adventure Camp is a week-long summer camp designed to teach kids and youth skills for healthy living in the context of fun and adventure. At CHANGE Adventure Camp, living a healthy life includes learning about nutrition, engaging in meal preparation and connecting with nature. CHANGE is excited to welcome children and youth, ranging from seven to 13 years old, to their summer programming.
CHANGE started running outdoor activities two days a week for two to three hours in an afternoon. These afternoons were filled with games, events and being outside in nature, and it was a chance for kids to safely reconnect with their friends and neighbours.
On the last day of camp, the kids engaged in a cooking lesson led by the CHANGE nutrition coordinator over Zoom. Families received the ingredients before the cooking lesson and the nutrition coordinator lead them all through a recipe that she has developed, which included sushi, pita pizzas, ramen noodle bowls or vermicelli noodle bowls with tofu. While these cooking lessons looked different than CHANGE’s previous in-person meal preparation programming, it was still a fun and effective way to engage the kids in making their meals and learning about knife safety, nutrition and independence in the kitchen.
“We had a blast being able to see past camp participants, meet new people and make new connections,” says camp director, Brittney Kryzanowski. “One young participant told her mother, we were having so much fun that she wanted to live at camp with us!”
For the remainder of the summer, CHANGE has been fortunate enough to partner with the Family Connections Center (FCC) in Stony Plain. FCC is allowing CHANGE to use their building as a hub for the next round of CHANGE Adventure Camps. Having access to the FCC building will enable CHANGE to offer in-person camp activities from Tuesday to Thursday with access to washrooms and an indoor space if the weather is not cooperating.
To make their camp as accessible as possible, CHANGE will be providing bussing to and from the FCC building in Stony Plain from an Edmonton community each week. There are also opportunities for low-income families to participate, reach out to learn more.
Upcoming camp dates:
Lendrum camp
July 28 to 31, 2020
McDougall and St Bernadette camp
August 4 to 7, 2020
Belgravia McKernan camp
August 11 to 14, 2020
Stony Plain/Spruce Grove camp
August 18 to 21, 2020
For more information regarding registration, pricing, sponsorship or how CHANGE is maintaining COVID-19 protocols and procedures, please email changeadventurecamp@gmail.com. More information about the summer camp and other CHANGE Health Alberta programming can be found at campchange.ca.
