PHILOSOPHY
When it comes to our campers, our top priority is that everyone who joins us for the summer has an incredible experience, full of positive, growth filled moments that inspire and serve as a catalyst for the creation of enhanced self worth, lifelong friendships and cherished memories.
Joy
Pure joy is the reason behind everything we do at Borealis Adventure Camp. We want campers to not only feel incredibly joyous about what they're experiencing, we aim to give them the gift of understanding how they can find joy in everyday life too.
Joy comes in many different forms, and that's quite possibly the greatest part of its beauty. From swinging in a hammock while watching the clouds pass, to sharing time with an incredible friend at campfire, to achieving your own version of perfect in the activity you've chosen that day, it's all about the feeling you get deep down inside that spills over into the experiences you have. And at camp, that helps us form incredibly deep friendships and fantastic memories that stand the test of time.
Safety
We recognize that in order for our campers to reach their full potential for self-discovery while at camp, the environment has to present them with a level of personal safety that enables them to lean into the interactions they have with the activities, mentors and fellow campers that surround them.
That doesn't mean that we've taken challenge out of our activities however, and we certainly can't remove the discomfort that sometimes comes with simply being humans meeting new people and trying new things. But, we do ensure that campers feel supported and safe navigating those moments in as positive a manner as possible.
Respect
For nature, our fellow humans and most importantly, ourselves. We empower our campers to be themselves in a way that contributes positively to their emotional well-being, and by association the emotions that surround the activities they participate in and the relationships they build.
Community
We take the time to get to know the background and interests of campers who we'll share the summer with. It starts with a detailed enrollment process, followed by as many video calls between your camper and a director as needed to ensure the relationship is built on personal connection right from the get go.
And when it comes to our campers time at camp, we go the extra mile to build a strong community. Completely on purpose, the design of our daily schedule naturally enables campers to meet new people and try new activities, while still finding themselves surrounded by their cabinmates for core experiential moments throughout each day they're at base camp.
Our staff play an incredibly important role in how our camp community comes together year after year, so it's probably no surprise that we spend a ton of time identifying talented people and getting to know what makes each and every one of them a great fit with our philosophy. It's also why we go the extra mile to retain them when they continually prove their commitment to our campers.
Stewardship
We believe we have a great responsibility as mentors in a camp setting to showcase how our attitudes and behaviors can have a positive influence on not only our own personal outcomes, but the world we live in. We do this by choosing to be as conscientious as possible about how our choices impact others and the planet.
We actively source locally and responsibly produced food for our menu, utilize renewable energy production, and focus on producing the least amount of waste possible to carry out the activities involved in running camp. It is our wish to not only be the leaders our campers deserve in this regard, but we also hope to cultivate a larger community uptake of these practices in the camping industry.
Social Responsibility
What good is a world where we don't consider the needs of our fellow humans? We don't think it's too good at all, and because of that we intend to share the camp experience with underprivileged members of the communities where we live, work and play, who wouldn't have the opportunity to attend camp without receiving financial assistance.
To this end, we have committed to working with community organizations to identify and cover tuition for underprivileged kids who demonstrate the positive traits we covet at camp in their daily lives. It's one additional way that we lead by example and have a positive impact on our world in the process.
Those selected to receive a scholarship will benefit from a multi-year funding model, which will cover the cost of camp attendance for more than a single summer, allowing them to become valued members of our camp family.