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Hello, Wildwood families! 

Can you believe it? Another summer camp season has come and gone.  It feels like the summer just began and we are already putting away the canoes and closing down camp.  For many Wildwood campers, this summer was the first summer away to camp, while for others it was merely a return to a favorite summer spot.  Regardless of which was the case for your camper(s), we hope the experience was a fun and memorable one. 

As I am sure you were excitedly told upon picking up your child, your camper probably participated in many classic camp activities such as archery, canoeing and giant tag games across our large, open field games. 

But there’s a good chance that they got something even more valuable than a chance to catch a fish, hike up a wooded hillside, or try out our zipline — they got to step outside the usual home environment and practice some independence.  Campers were responsible for carrying out their own morning and evening routines and chose their own afternoon activities, and, in many ways, designed their own days while at camp.  Perhaps you’ve noticed some of this independence seeping into the home life since they’ve come back. (We’d love to hear about what you’ve noticed, via our parent survey, email at kevin@wildwoodctr.org, or at one of our upcoming events!)

Campers also practiced getting along with others.  Upon arriving in a cabin with different peers from different backgrounds, campers get to know their peers and go through much of the day with these same peers.  Sometimes conflict arises, and there were many instances of campers working through these difficult situations with the support of their cabin staff and gaining a new idea of someone else’s perspective. We’re curious if you’ve noticed any instances of a wider, more open mind since your camper got home.

We hope you’ll tell us about it–the good and the bad–at one of our events this fall! Whether you and your family attend a hike with our hike club, eat with us at Wildwood Family Dinner, or explore Wildwood trails at Electric Night Hike, we can’t wait to hear from you and see you in person!

Sincerely,

Kevin Anderson

Wildwood Camp Director

In 2021, Wildwood began the search for a new Camp Director. After months of searching, Kevin Anderson joined the team in February 2022, and he is already making a huge difference for Wildwood.

But it won’t be his first summer at Wildwood! Kevin worked as a counselor and seasonal staff at Wildwood for several years in the mid-2000s.

What are some of your early experiences in the outdoors? How did you get interested?

I was extremely fortunate to spend many weekends wandering my grandpa’s farm in western Kansas with my cousins or fishing and camping with my dad at the local lake. 

There was something special about the feeling of being out at these places and just interacting with the world around me, and I look forward to enabling youth from our community to have similar experiences at camp this summer.

How did you first find Wildwood? What was that experience like? 

I first heard about Wildwood from friends at college who had worked here as camp counselors, and I joined them as a counselor myself.

The experience was a blast!  I had an unforgettable summer, and it certainly changed my life for the better. Within a few months of leaving WIldwood, I was signed up to come back not only for the next summer, but also live on site and work the spring and fall outdoor school programs.

Can you tell us a little about your background?

For the last few years I have been pursuing a Master’s degree in Counseling from MidAmerica Nazarene University, and I worked at Kids TLC in Olathe for the last six years. 

I am beyond excited to be returning to Wildwood!  I cannot wait to do my part for Wildwood to continue offering the transformative summertime experiences. that meant so much to me when I first got to be part of Wildwood as a counselor over ten years ago!

What are some of your passions outside work? 

When not working, I love to camp, hike a trail, play disc golf with friends, or play a song on the mandolin (badly).

What are you most looking forward to in this position? 

A couple of things come to mind: first, I am most looking forward to seeing camp full of kids having fun playing games, catching fish, and splashing around in canoes.  I am also very excited to begin the community-building process that starts when our fantastic counselors arrive for their first day of staff training.

You might already know that we ask campers to take surveys while they’re at camp. But you might not know why.

We ask campers to take surveys for two reasons: so we can improve camp, and so we can make camp as impactful as possible. We want campers to leave Wildwood with a new enjoyment of being outside, enthusiasm for science, and social and emotional skills gained through cabin life.

Here are a few highlights:

At the end of camp,

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Other Insights

In addition to what campers learn, it’s incredibly important to us that campers AND parents are happy with the camp experience.

Last year, our parents and older campers (age 12+) also let us know how we can make camp better. Here’s what we learned:

P.S. If you’d like to volunteer as a photographer this summer, please let us know! Email Jane at jane@wildwoodctr.org or text at (913)738-9067. 🙂

A Note About Our Survey Data

In 2021, Wildwood capped overnight camp at half capacity to reduce COVID-19 risks, and served a total of 337 campers. Of those, 66 campers’ surveys could not be matched from pre- to post-, and were excluded from the data. 

The remaining 271 surveys were analyzed for camper growth in five areas: environmental literacy (particularly wanting to be outside and feeling connected to nature); responsible decision-making; self-management (being aware of and processing one’s emotions in a healthy way); relationship skills (conflict resolution, feeling connected to others); and social awareness (empathizing with others and reacting accordingly).

This summer, we were lucky enough to have father-son duo Justin and Matt Dreier create a new outdoor wall for Wildwood. Justin serves on the Wildwood Board of Directors, and Robyn, Wildwood’s executive director, approached him about the project.

Another volunteer–Kyle–had created an indoor wall for Wildwood, complete with led lights, and a fabric-covered logo. (Pictured below)

We loved the piece so much that Robyn asked Justin if he would be willing to take a shot at creating a weather durable version for the main campfire.

Justin and son, Matt took on the project, undeterred by the challenge.

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Potential camp staff have a lot to consider when taking a job at Wildwood. Whether the candidate likes kids, where camp is located, how much the job pays, and skills to be gained rank among the chief concerns.

In a seasonal job, we know that it’s also important for candidates to be able to leverage their experience to snag a new job or internship.

We want to make sure the experience is meaningful, fun, and useful as staff move into their future careers. To that end, we’ve included a few tips below for Wildwood camp staff (past, present, and future!) to add to their resume.

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