• Philosophies of compassion, nonviolence, empathy, and intentional mentorship. A compassionate and caring community is more likely to be an inclusive and welcoming one. We have a 280+ page staff philosophies manual that outlines the ethos of Augusta and the mentorship and community approaches that we strive for at camp. Some core domains of these philosophies include:

• • Compassionate Communication (NVC) – a fundamental philosophy of our community, this is an approach to communication that emphasizes empathy and curiosity for others and offers a model of communication. Each of our staff engage in over 40 hours of dedicated learning and practice to this approach before camp, in addition to other communication skills.
  • Success Counseling – this is an approach to counseling/mentorship that focuses on affecting the heart and mind of a camper rather than simply a behavior. Children (and adults) are walked through the problem-solving process so they understand how their emotions, needs, and behavior are all linked to the present outcome, as well as a more desirable one. Success Counseling models and promote empathy and connection between people, and promote that in our worldview.
  • Empowerment, Agency, and Elements of Flat-Hierarchy – Without getting into the jargon, we promote, train, and practice ideas that aim to empower us towards action – intrapersonally and interpersonally. Among these is our commitment to flat-hierarchy, in which anyone in the community can propose ideas to the community and join in discussions about them. We also have several formal, structured, all-staff instances of community dialogue each year in which anyone is invited to open up conversations on any topic relating to the community (e.g. DEIB, policies, guidelines, processes, etc.). These act as starting points for proposing and making action.

For more on the philosophies of our camp, see one of our director’s websites: Partnering with Parents

• [Some] Concrete Actions related to DEIB:

• A Research and Development DEIB working group mapped out tasks for improving our approach to DEIB in 2021/2022 – 28 hours

• This webpage was created – and reviewed through our community consensus process – to name and share our approach and philosophy on DEIB – 22 hours

New staff manual pages and 2 new staff trainings (DEIB and Neurodiversity) were created – 30 hours

• • Food Accomodations and Options – Our kitchen offers mostly-organic, freshly prepared food that caters to most if not any diet for campers and staff. From vegan to gluten free to multiple allergies, we commit to creating quality offerings so that all at camp can be equally nourished. This includes a diverse, well-stocked salad bar multiple times a day.
  • Hiring Diversity – We hire staff who are committed to upholding Camp Augusta philosophy and values, and who respect the diversity among our community. Such diversity includes, but is not limited to, differences in racial, cultural, religious, geographic and ethnic origin; economic status; sexual orientation; age; and physical and learning (dis)abilities. Roughly 25-50% of our staff come from another country in any given year. We often have staff from England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Russia, Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, and New Zealand.  Staff have come from countries such as Kazakhstan, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Ukraine, Hungary, Sweden, and many, many more. The differences among staff are recognized as a core community strength.
  • Staff Application – Our staff application is more extensive and humanistic than any other we know of. It often includes 9+ pages of personal reflection, in which our trained app reviewers dig – through multiple rounds – into the heart, mind, and spirit of the applicants. We emphasize staff alignment with the ethos and pedagogy of camp, and select candidates based on factors such as openness, curiosity, diversity of life experiences, and love of children. Two out of three application reviewers review the app without ever seeing the applicant.
  • Staff Training – Before ever stepping foot on camp, our staff receive 40+ hours of staff training in camp’s philosophies (see above), and are scaffolded and supported by returning Augustans along the way. Staff arrive to a 3.5-week staff training – the longest [that we know of] of any camp in the USA – with about 300 hours of training and community building. Staff are trained and encouraged to hold a space for fellow staff and campers that acknowledges tough, unfair, or frustrating situations, and promotes expression like this in a valuable way.
  • Flat Hierarchy – As described previously, staff are encouraged to proactively bring ideas and proposals for change and evolution within camp to anyone else in the community.

• [Some] Concrete Actions related to DEIB:

• • Creating, proposing, and refining a new DEIB statement for our website and manuals – complete – 4 hours
  • Created a new set of community guidelines in regards to intentional messaging and cultural appropriation – complete – 5 hours
  • Creating new onboarding training materials (manual and in-person trainings) for our staff in regards to DEIB and neurodiversity – in process – est. 30 hours
  • Create 2 hours of in-person staff training lessons on Neurodiversity and DEIB at camp – in process – est. 20 hours

Review our lesson plans and feedback of the previous year to promote inclusivity – especially in regards to culture, race, gender, etc. – in process – est. 20 hours

• • 2:1 Staff to Camper Ratio – When situations arise at camp that seem exclusive, unfair, or unwelcoming, we make the time to have the conversations about them per our success counseling approaches above. This type of mentorship is our top priority at camp.
  • Evening Embers – Evening embers are nightly, intentionally crafted cabin group times that tend to be reflective and developmental – often promoting some aspect of emotional intelligence and group bonding. 
  • Explicit Guidelines – We have developed written guidelines promoting compassion and connection in our community. These include guidelines/policies on:
    • Competition – Healthy competition exists for campers to set goals, achieve or fail those goals, and then set new goals/strive for existent goals. We utilize competition that inspires and excites, while aiming to avoid ‘unhealthy’ competition that disconnects, discourages, or excludes.
    • Media – We minimize media references – especially harmful ones – to disassociate from cultural messages that are commonly exclusive and to create an open, ‘blank’ space.
    • Messaging – Our evening programs have themes, stories, and worlds that aim to be inclusive and welcoming to the diverse backgrounds and interests of our staff and campers, and that promote cultural messages that align with our philosophies.

• [Some] Specific Actions of the Past Year:

• • An Intentional Messaging guideline was added to camp that includes lessons learned and our orientation towards programmatic messages – complete – 8 hours
  • Several of our Evening Programs were revamped to have themes that were more welcoming and inclusive, per the guidelines above – complete – 20 hours
  • Writing an explicit gender transition policy for our campers and staff – in progress – est. 14 hours

While maintaining our inspiration and commitment to all we have written thus far, we also want to realistically acknowledge that we operate within organizational parameters and within a communal ethos, mission, and set of guidelines. In our endeavors to create a rich tapestry of experiences, we consider the experiences of all in addition to the experiences of some, and aim to incorporate our DEIB efforts in a way that is consistent with and enhances our overall mission. 

Examples of context and considerations that offer some of our organizational parameters:

• Demographics – The camp and outdoor education world is [currently] overwhelmingly white and privileged. We can and will take measures to diversify this norm, and ultimately our demographics are shaped by who applies, accepts positions, and what families apply to come to camp. In addition, we are currently in debt, and likely will be for years. Though it is a financial aspiration of ours, we don’t currently have a scholarship program.
• Accessibility – Camp is located on hilly terrain, with woodchips, in nature. The schedule is full from 7:30 am to 10:00 pm (or longer for staff) and many of the activities require some degree of physical exertion or capability to safely take part in.
• Staff Culture – We deliberately spell out the mission, ethos, and pedagogy of Augusta to all who apply, and hire staff who have considerable alignment with them. We select first and foremost for staff who we believe to have strong capacities for our approach to mentorship, which includes our assessment – through their application – of their emotional intelligence, affinity for compassion, and approach towards mentorship. And, as employers, there are expectations of performance and limitations to the amount and nature of support and effort that we can put into making a staffing relationship ‘work’.
• Camper Experience – While we strive to offer a thoroughly supportive and meaningful experience for all campers, we must also consider how all campers’ camp experience is affected by cabin mates or fellow campers. We have limits in terms of hours, resources, and measures that can be taken in response to the behaviors and needs of campers. Despite numerous approaches to create a supportive and inclusive environment that works for all campers (e.g. parent contact, a series of conversations, accommodations, etc.) , we have made the choice to send campers home early because of these limits.
• Policies and Guidelines – We have certain explicit and implicit agreements about what is appropriate within the community and organization. This includes guidelines on how we hold competition, clothing/dress, drug use, social media references, and more. We are forthright and welcoming of conversations about these, yet must also hold these as community and organizational agreements.

Gender and Identity – Our summer camp programming is currently divided into four villages that are separated by age and gender. Parents are able to discuss and choose what village is the best fit for their camper’s needs based on their gender identity, but there currently is no village that is not gendered.