Welcome to Camp Ahead: The Futurology of the Summer Camp Industry

In this inaugural episode of the Camp Ahead podcast, Joe Richards, KJ Williams, and Jess Elfring-Roberts dive into the concept of future-proofing the summer camp industry. They discuss the importance of mental time travel, scenario planning, and preparing for larger global issues like climate change, financial instability, demographics, and migration. The hosts share their personal experiences and outline the goals for the podcast, emphasizing the need for proactive thinking to ensure the long-term success of camps.

This episode sets the stage for exploring how the camp community can adapt and thrive amidst uncertainties.

00:58 Meet the Hosts
01:51 The Concept of Future Scenarios
03:46 Pandemic Reflections
06:43 Proactive vs. Reactive Planning
30:08 Thinking Big: Managing Smaller Challenges
31:10 Climate Migration and Its Impacts
33:12 Demographic Shifts in Camping
38:09 The Importance of Collaboration

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Episode Links:

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Our Hosts:

Jess Elfring-Roberts - Executive Director, Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers

Joe Richards - Executive Director, Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility

KJ Williams - Camp Director, Phantom Lake YMCA Camp

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Sponsors:

A huge thanks to our sponsors for making this possible.

Campify:

Is creating your camp schedule a headache? Does it limit the experience of campers or staff? Campify is software that does the heavy lifting for you - taking care of group, elective, and specialist scheduling based on your custom scheduling rules.

Interested in learning more? Visit campify.io/CampAhead to schedule a demo or create a free trial today.

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