​Moving Forward After Acadia

After our incredible experience at Acadia, we came home, unpacked, and slept for a few days. Then we thought, "We can do this again." While doubling our camps for 2022 would have made sense in the world of math, we decided to host eight instead. Was it hard? Yes—because even with a working model, we still had to convince national parks to allow us to come during COVID. We reached out to multiple parks, and eight of them said yes (one agreeing just a few months before we went).

We began meetings with each park to plan on a grander scale, working through logistics for food, travel, lodging, programming, supplies, and more. But it worked—it really worked. All of the rangers were extremely excited to make this happen. We made plans for Niobrara National Scenic River, Bryce Canyon, New River Gorge, National Mall, Acadia National Park, Mammoth Cave, Crater Lake, and Great Smoky Mountains. We designed our website, advertised the parks, and on January 1st, we opened up applications.

Within two weeks, we only had about 25 applications, and I was crushed. But we hung in there, and by February 10th, we had over 250. There were a few roadblocks. My goal was to make sure that everyone could afford camps, so we priced them lower than they actually cost. This was a great idea, but it caused us some problems later on. No matter the obstacles, we had a wonderful summer.

We welcomed 197 campers to STEAM in the PARK 2022. We encountered canoe trips, prairie dogs, paddle boarding, Potomac cruising, tide pools, cave tours, volcano swimming, and salamanders. It was another magical summer. I think we are on to something.

One of the most rewarding outcomes has been building up a community of humans who believe in our work. This incredible community is now helping us make this happen, providing support, resources, and encouragement every step of the way.

Continued tomorrow.