School’s out for summer! It is officially that time of year where students switch out their backpacks for beach bags, their pencils for popsicles, their schoolbooks for sleeping bags and head off to fun-filled summer camps. Yet with the break from schools, we are left with the question – how can the topic of student engagement in school health promotion live on throughout the summer months? Luckily, this concept is not restricted to the four walls of a traditional school structure, but expands and evolves into the variety of summer programs, activities and initiatives across Nova Scotia. It isn’t called Canada’s ocean playground for nothing! Summer camps have long been recognized as a place where children and youth can gain leadership and personal development skills as well as increase their competencies related to health and well-being. With many camps offering a variety of activities related to physical, social, psychological, and spiritual health with a foundational focus on child and youth development, they are an ideal setting to enhance and build health promotion practices all summer long.
There is no shortage of summer camps and programs across our province. With the help of the UpLift team, here are some great and unique featured options to ensure students continue to meaningfully engage in health promotion activities throughout the summer months. This list only scratches the surface of our ocean playground, with many more to be found online here.
Brigadoon Village: Brigadoon Village runs summer camps for youth living with chronic illnesses, adaptive needs, and bereavement. The weekly camps meet the medical needs of the campers paired with a fun-filled week of camping activities.
SeaSchool: With the mission to promote the maritime tradition of boats and the sea, SeaSchool involves various seafaring activities to build leadership, courage, leadership, responsibility, cooperation, generosity, environmental stewardship, and respect in youth.
Rising Roots: Rising Roots includes forest and nature programming for children and youth to “learn from the land.” Rising Roots provides an environment to play, learn and explore in nature for young people to build confidence, communication, creativity and more.
Camp de Jour: Camp de Jour is one of the only French-speaking camps in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The camp promotes the overall development of the Francophone community while providing an array of recreational, leadership and teamwork activities for children and youth.
Adventure Earth Centre: Adventure Earth Centre offers a number of recreational and outdoor camps focusing on nature and sustainability.
The Youth Project: The Youth Project offers three different summer camps for youth who identify as LGBTQ2S+ to participate in summer camp activities, including social support programing, queer-centered activities, fashion shows, swimming, crafts and more.
Canada Games Centre: The Canada Games Centre offers a wide variety of active camps that are aligned with the Sport For Life (S4L) model to increase physical literacy and keep children and youth active. Activities are related to the theme of the day and include programming in sports, arts, the outdoors, and youth leadership.
Ross Creek: Ross Creek aims to “give voice” through the arts by offering a range of art-based summer camp opportunities, including programs in dance, theatre, music, arts and more. Activities aim to enrich and build skills in creativity and play by meeting the development needs of children and youth at all ages.
Dalhousie Health Science Camps: Dalhousie offers health science camps to introduce African Nova Scotian and Indigenous youth to different health professions, including nursing, medicine, physiotherapy and public health.
Camp Tidnish: Camp Tidnish is an accessible summer camp for Nova Scotian children, youth, and adults with physical and/or learning disabilities. It offers a variety of activities to build independence and connect with others, including boat tours, art activities and swimming.
Here’s to a healthy and happy summer for all!
