Camp Life

When I started as a volunteer for a kids’ camp, I had no idea of the fulfillment I would find. Originally, I volunteered at the zoo because I had a passion for tigers. After my first season at Safari Zoo Camp, I realized my passion for kids was just as strong.

Mentoring the campers during their week’s stay, identifying their passion and fuelling their energy hooked me for years of joy. And six years later, my career has taken a major turn: last year, I quit my job to work full time for the camp as Camp Director and Wildlife Educator. 

Our campers come from diverse backgrounds, from both privileged and hard-knock lives. Building trust, friendship and respect with each one is a challenge I thrive on. Though we spend only a short time with them, the fact that they continue to return year after year speaks, I think, to the huge impact camp has on their development and their sense of belonging in a safe place of love, concern and attention.

Each camper is unique and treated individually, and the reward we share in are caring relationships based on respect. My added reward, when kids leave, is the hug—and occasional tear—that tells me they’ll miss camp (and me!). These campers are family now. Without the camp experience I would never have found my personal desire to be a positive influence in children’s lives, to offer them all that I can. 

Not that it’s always easy—and it’s definitely not predictable! I recall two campers who were my biggest challenge when it came to rules, behaviour and attitude and with whom I am now the closest. I had to repeatedly re-enforce rules with one of the girls, who later cried and told me she wanted/needed rules, that rules meant I loved her and that at home she didn’t have any rules.

When parents drop their kids off at camp, their concerns are primarily “Where do they sleep?” “What do they eat?” and “What activities are provided?” But the bigger question is: “Will those to whom I’ve entrusted my children have what it takes to nurture them and foster their growth and development?” When all is said and done, a child’s experience is ultimately impacted by a camp that they can call home rather than by the accommodations, food or activities provided!

A rewarding camp experience awaits your child at Safari Zoo Camp