“I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.”

Bill Gates

‘Going Green’ is a vague and intimidating term. We all know we need to do more to live sustainably, but how? Green Camps is proving that regular folks can easily reduce their environmental impact, regenerate natural systems, and powerfully advocate for the natural world we all love.

We’re starting with camps because the camp community is well positioned to adopt sustainability across its built environment, in its operations, and in its educational and recreational activities with campers young and old. We’re leading a national movement to empower individuals to implement green practices that offer high environmental, social, and economic value.

These are not just any green practices. These are green practices with high impact.

“I support Green Camps because they’re igniting greater environmental responsibility within the camp community and beyond. Campers learn about sustainable practices and take those lessons home. As a camp professional and a mom, I’m 100% behind Green Camps.”

Michele Branconier, American Camp Association

Our approach has proven traction in the camp community, and momentum is increasing. Over 50 camps have become Green Camps Members since our launch, and we plan to engage 500 new members by the end of 2022. In order to reach this critical mass, we’re making a significant leap over the next 2 years. We’re seeking strategic philanthropists and corporate partners willing to step in and help us ramp up our mission to reach every camp in America over the next five years.

Heavily reliant on the natural environment and always interested in reducing operating costs, the camp community has a vested interest in sustainability. We know that young people are longing for urgent and effective solutions. It’s time to live with nature, reimagine sustainable living, and engage the next generation of environmental leaders.

“Using Green Camps resources helped us clarify and create future goals for our camp’s green practices, and figure out where we excelled and where we needed to do more on sustainability. With help from a template, we were able to write our own Commitment to Sustainability.”

Kristy Andrews, Camp Wawenock

At Green Camps, we know that sustainability can be overwhelming. Where do you start? What do you do? How should you prioritize? There are thousands of sustainability solutions that could benefit a camp. That’s why we have developed an intentional community of change. The Green Camps Cloud Community serves as a project management platform, sustainability knowledge library, accountability tool, and experience-sharing forum – and that’s just to start.

A one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability is ineffective. Instead, the Green Camps Cloud Community facilitates sustainable change among camps by guiding them through the Green Camps Certification that sets them up for success to implement actions related to energy, water, waste, landscaping, food systems, and much more.

The Green Camps Cloud Community streamlines how camps, or any organization really, implement sustainable change and reach out to educate and engage campers. We’ve spearheaded an efficient and effective approach that doesn’t simply reinvent the wheel, but fundamentally changes how we understand, approach, and address environmental sustainability.

With support from Green Camps, camps are encouraged to establish Green Teams to lead sustainability efforts at their organizations, starting with Sustainability Policies. Green Teams then use the Cloud Community’s features and functionality to plan, implement, and manage green actions as well as rollout educational initiatives, which all meet their own camp’s unique needs.  

As camps plan and implement green actions, they submit case studies to share with the community. As this library of cases continues to grow, a wealth of knowledge on practical sustainability actions and their outcomes will help camps do more and better. These cases provide Green Camps with evidence of the benefits of sustainable living education and action.

More and young families are looking for organizations that support the environment, and more and more young people are demanding pro-environmental change. Green Camps Certification enables camps to highlight their commitment to sustainability and showcase the actions they’ve taken to make the world a better place

“I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the space that camps provide young people to be nurtured and empowered. At camp, campers of all ages live and lead with their values. I’m excited that environmental stewardship is one of those values being nurtured.”

Danny Sudman, Executive Director and Founder of Green Camp

We’ve been piloting our certification program with a handful of camps, and will be launching this program in 2021. Certified camps who are members of Green Camps will be able to access an assortment of additional benefits, including sustainable living education materials and reduced costs for green goods and services.

Sustainable living must become part of everyday life. Not an alternative lifestyle, but something we all do daily without thinking about it. Camps are a great place to instill a sense of responsibility for the planet, and inspire campers of all ages to turn that feeling into everyday action. By placing the overall wellbeing of America’s youth front and center, we nurture love and understanding of the natural environment and empower campers to take action to benefit people and planet.

Using the Green Camps Cloud Community to its full extent, member camps are not only encouraged to take green action, but to showcase their work to campers, too. Green Camps resources also provide camps with a wealth of ideas, templates, instructions, and the like to implement sustainable living activities and camper-led environmental initiatives. From learning about sustainable choices, such as swapping out Styrofoam for paper plates, to running energy-saving calculations, at Green Camps we make sure the next generation of leaders is ready to solve simple and more complex problems.

At Green Camps, we plan to engage camps across the U.S. and Canada over the next three years to ultimately contribute to a move sustainable America.

There are over 14,000 camps in the U.S. that host over 14 million campers of all ages every year. If we engaged this entire community in leading sustainable change, both at camp and at home, we’d be well on our way to a green future. As a donor champion of Green Camps, you are investing directly in sustainable change and the movement to empower the next generation of environmental leaders.

We know that carbon levels are at an all-time high, and any chance we have for recovery is only through collective action. Knowing this, and recognizing the shaky socio-political climate in the U.S. at the moment, local action is more important than ever. Regular folks need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to solve our most pressing environmental issues.

We invite you to join us in ensuring that camps across the nation, as well as every camper in the country, can access the tools and resources they need to take action.

Here’s where you can step in to become a Camp Champ! Camp Champs are donor activists who believe that the path to sustainability is a fiercely interconnected and committed one, rooted not only in engaging the decision-makers of today – but in empowering the next generation of environmental stewards.

Our goal is to raise $300,000 by the end of 2021. Each giving level will enable us to further build our online platform, fund our team, and support 300 member camps by the end of 2018.

• $5,000 helps us reach 50 camps through a camp conference with workshops and a Green Camps exhibition

• $15,000 helps significantly expand the Green Camps Cloud Community with more guidance, resources, and tools for sustainable action

• $30,000 helps us develop an eight topic educational entertainment program for camps

• $60,000 helps us bring our Executive Director on fulltime

We invite you to reach out and connect with one of our volunteer staff or board members to learn more about the vision, goals and objectives of Green Camps.

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