A reflection on Summer 2022 at Camp Sealth, 

As I reflect back on this past summer, my first as the new Summer Camp Director, I feel such joy and gratitude that I led a team that made such an incredible difference.

To so many of our campers and staff, camp this summer represented another step towards normalcy and healing.

Thanks to our careful mitigation of COVID, we were able to resume longstanding specialty programs including our sailing camps and our trip and travel excursions.  We also brought the iconic Da Boata back cruising campers to their island home away from home.  Along with these happy returns of the familiar and beloved came new and exciting additions to Camp Sealth.

Equity Action Fund donors sponsored over 40 campers of color on full scholarships – kids who might never have experienced overnight camp were able to stay in cabins, create their own tie-dye, ride horses, and sail. Nearly 90 campers throughout these 8 weeks were able to participate in fully gender-inclusive cabins, including our first LGBTQIA2S+ affinity camp: Proud 2 Be Me, where 24 campers got to spend the week in community with others of shared identities and experiences.

We led restorative justice training and provided mental health support for both campers and staff. We saw incredible growth too in the representation of our staff – different cultures, nationalities, races, and identities – all of who poured themselves into the young people we served. All these changes are vital to our values of inclusion and community and to welcoming people of all backgrounds.

Most of all, for me this summer brought out how truly our camp community mirrors our Puget Sound shores. While the sands and shoreline may shift – weathering waves, storms, and change – I am proud that Camp Sealth is still a safe space for our campers to learn about themselves and others and be shaped by their experiences in the natural world.

with Work, Health, and Love,

Meaghan “Burro” Baumgartner (she/her)
Summer Camp Director