The magic of summer camp is a strong sense of community.

Everyone that has been to camp will tell you about how unique their camp is, and I’m sure they all have their wonders, without ruining anyone's illusion, the magic of camp that everyone talks about is a strong sense of community.

Camp Scugog (in Ontario, Canada) goes a step further, beyond teaching you to string a bow, start a fire, make a friend or find your voice with every new skill learned, you realize it was always within your capacity.

As the number of skills grows so does your courage to further push yourself. You push yourself to learn more and better yet, prove your mastery by sharing those skills.

All this comes to a head when you find yourself neck-deep in a swamp and you're not sure how to get out, and the counsellor’s dark hand that reaches out to rescue you is not caked in mud, but instead has skin blooming with melanin. 

This is where Scugog thrives where others falter.

Incredible archers, fast and furious fire starters, climbers that defy gravity and biggest supporters all look like me

They’re a team filled with Black, Indigenous and other racialized groups.  

As a young Black kid, explaining to other Black and racialized peers why I love the outdoors has always been difficult. I could share 100 stories about how wonderful it is to feel connected to the outdoors and was generally met with apathy or, at best, feigned interest. They just didn’t get it.

I used to think that it was just due to inexperience.

They just needed to get out there and I could never understand why they wouldn’t. I understood how wealth factored in and having someone experienced to introduce you. What took much longer to recognize was that what really stopped them is the generational trauma that exists in Black communities when nature and the outdoors are discussed. 

The forest is where we fled for safety. And the stars, rivers, flora and fauna are what led us to freedom.

We were always in tune with nature.  The barriers were built by systemic oppression to keep us out; whites-only beaches, pools, and campgrounds, as well as hostile anti-BIPOC rural towns, kept us in urban areas. Sure we experienced racism in urban areas, but better a beating than a lynching.

Today, while whites-only spaces are not written in the storefront signs, it’s hard for the community to forget the community of Satilla Shores where Ahmaud Arbery lived or the terrifying experience of bird watcher Christian Cooper.

To add to the unease, many rural towns and communities throughout North America have not addressed their racial past in meaningful ways to create welcoming spaces for Black, Indigenous and racialized peoples. 

Things are changing though, albeit slowly. I’m comfortable driving through small-town Bancroft, Ontario at night, and stopping for a cup of coffee. I’ve met enough people on the Monck road to the point where I feel safe walking along its gravel road any time of day or night and could stop in for tea, coffee or a beer with one of the neighbours.  The Monck road is long though, drop me off at the other end of it and that comfort vanishes and is replaced with unease at best or outright fear.

The outdoors should exist for all, but I don’t believe it’s the coyotes, wolves or bears that keep us hesitant to engage: it’s the outdoor community.

Enter Camp Scugog stage left.

For many like me, Scugog, on the grand scale, did not remove the challenge of surviving in nature, nor can it remove the cold welcome of many rural communities, but rather helped to increase the confidence and courage needed to engage in the outdoors.

Scugog saw the need to rebuild competency in outdoor recreation and gave us the tools, training and safety to learn. 

Camp has never felt like a choice to me.

I mean that in the best way possible. At the age of 8 my parents dropped me off at the Camp bus stop and we all enjoyed the next 10 days immeasurably. From then on it never felt like I was choosing camp but rather camp chose me.

The community that Scugog creates is praised almost incessantly by those who have been a part of it. It creates a safe welcoming inclusive space, allowing everyone to experience what has been traditionally a space reserved for white middle to upper-class people.  And this is its most meaningful and impactful virtue.

To the young Black kids climbing on to the Scugog bus next summer: you are going to learn new skills, surrounded by unconditional love and support to claim your space in nature.

The outdoor’s are not a “white people thing”, your freedoms are not limited to the paved roads and street lights at the end of your stoop.

Claim your space in nature, as nature was never your oppressor. 

~ Kevan Nelson is a Recreation Programmer for the City of Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada

Note from Travis: Although we’re both Canadian and grew up at Ontario camps, Kevan and I met in Sochi, Russia at the International Camping Congress! We’re grateful to Kevan for him reaching out to share this article he wrote for Camp Scugog’s social media.