Why Philosophy Matters
Augusta is exceptional among summer camps.
Most camps promise “fun.” We promise that too—but with purpose.
Camp Augusta operates from a foundation of deep intentionality, grounded in developmental psychology, educational research, and over two decades of camping expertise. Every program element, from our 150+ activities to our 3-week staff training, exists to serve our campers’ growth while honoring the magic of childhood.
What makes us different? We’ve thought deeply about the “why” behind everything we do. We document our approaches, evaluate continuously, and refuse to let “because we’ve always done it that way” be our guide.
Below are ten broad philosophies that make Camp Augusta’s cauldron so magical.
Empty phrases and marketing lingo fill the camping world. At Camp Augusta, we operate differently. Every aspect of camp—from how we structure activities to how we handle conflicts—stems from documented philosophy and deliberate design.
We have written frameworks for music, skits, storytelling, food, behavior guidance, competition, cabin activities, and hundreds more elements of camp life. Ask us about anything, and we can likely send you an intention document explaining our approach.
But we’re not rigid. We create structures that promote staff and campers to take ownership in the development and growth of camp, including integrating ideas from consensus and flat hierarchy. Every year yields new ideas, new proposals, new processes, and new ‘tries’ of things our community cares about. When something isn’t working, we change it. When something works brilliantly, we understand why so we can replicate and improve it.
This meta-philosophy—this commitment to knowing our “why”—informs every other philosophy on this page. Intentionality isn’t just what we do; it’s how we think.
Want a glimpse into our Models and Philosophies? Take a look:
100 Campers, Deep Connections
We could accommodate 125, 150, even 200 campers. Many camps do. We choose not to.
Camp Augusta limits sessions to 100 campers—a number that honors what psychologists call the “Dunbar number.” (Dunbar is the author of several interesting books) Research shows humans can meaningfully know about 150 people total. When communities exceed this, something precious is lost: the ability to truly see and be seen.
Camp Augusta has about 60 staff for every session of 100 campers. We have one counselor (in cabin) for every 5 campers. This incredible staff-to-camper ratio carries through to our clinics and activities (many of which have a 1:4 ratio limit), and campers can feel it every day. This is the highest ratio you’ll find at summer camps.
At Augusta, you’re not a face in a sea of children. The director chats with campers at meals. Staff know your name, your quirks, your growth edges. When 300 people eat in big ‘mess halls’, conversation becomes a rumble. When 160 people eat outside under the trees at just enough picnic tables of 8-10 people each, it’s a community gathering.
Living, Learning, and Growing Together
Modern life isolates us. We go from isolated homes to isolated cars to activities done alone or in small groups. Only 64% of Americans vote. Neighborhood block parties are rare. In fact, social involvement of all kinds is in decline across the United States.
Camp Augusta creates the antidote: true community.
Augusta is both a summer camp and an intentional community. Our dedicated staff aren’t just here to work a ‘job.’ They have ownership and personal investment in camp’s movement. We eat meals together, talk deep talks, share meaningful moments of growth, and get silly. Our core values aren’t just posted on a wall—they’re lived: “We are a creative, trustworthy, fun, community of servants focused on the mission and vision.”
Here, children don’t just coexist—they build real interdependence. Campers help clean their cabins, wash dishes, prepare meals, and beautify camp through CAPP (Camp Augusta Pride Projects). Not because they’re forced, but because this is their place. When you contribute, you belong.
Our hope? Children who experience true community here will find it and create it in their schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces for the rest of their lives. They’ll seek that special sense of community that they got to experience that is all too rare these days.
The Most Extensive Training in the Country
Everyone promises a “quality staff.” We invite you to examine ours.
Our Hiring Process:
- We have a 5 person hiring team that draw in 2500+ interest forms and 450 written applications
- Applicants write deeply and authentically through multiple rounds of questions, often 8-12 pages total (20+ pages isn’t that uncommon!)
- 2-hour interviews conducted by our PhD director
- We have an at least 45% return rate, so hire about 40 staff a year
- This is the most extensive selection process of any camp we know
Our Training:
- 75 hours of pre-camp onboarding
- 450+ pages of pre-summer manuals and readings
- Hours of video curriculum on child development, emotional intelligence, and camp philosophy
- 4-hour discussions on manual content before training even begins
- 3+ weeks residential training (3x longer than most camps)
- Daily mentorship system throughout the summer (max 1:9 staff:supervisor ratio)
Our Standards:
- Staff trained in Compassionate Communication “NVC” model, Success Counseling (steeped in CBT and REBT tools), Challenge by Choice, emotional intelligence frameworks
- Every staff member has a detailed biography on our website—radical transparency
- Most staff are older than typical camp counselors (minimum age 19), bringing maturity alongside playfulness
Our Leadership:
- Our director, Randy, holds a PhD in developmental, social, and organizational psychology with 20+ years in camping
- Senior staff include program directors, village leaders, and mentors who guide daily
The result? Staff who don’t just supervise—they inspire, guide, and grow alongside campers. Staff who understand why we do what we do. Staff who make Augusta what it is.
Scientifically-Grounded Growth
Camp Augusta isn’t designed around trends or “what kids like.” It’s designed around how children actually grow.
Evidence based ‘best practices’ (including in mentorship) inform everything we do. We draw from research on emotional intelligence, resilience, motivation, community dynamics, and healthy risk-taking.
Anti-Canalization:
Developmentally, think of a canyon with high walls (culture) guiding water (person) along a path. Travel—especially to unfamiliar places—creates “anti-canalization,” shaking up normal experiences and creating insights otherwise unavailable. Camp Augusta intentionally creates this stretching experience, from sleeping under stars to living with people you don’t initially like to being awakened each morning creatively.
Challenge by Choice:
We embrace three zones: Comfort, Growth/Challenge, and Danger/Panic. We never push campers into their panic zone. Instead, we offer encouragement to step into their growth zone—where real learning happens. Campers set their own limits, learn to trust their judgment, and discover they’re capable of more than they imagined.
Internal Motivation:
We’re not part of the “high self-esteem” movement that praises children for existing. We create genuine challenges where achievement stems from internal motivation and real effort—not empty “good job!” praise. Campers learn that failure is safe here, doesn’t define them, and teaches resilience.
Emotional Intelligence:
Staff are trained in Compassionate Communication, Success Counseling, and frameworks for helping children identify, experience, and express emotions healthily. We model emotional literacy. We are committed to avoiding coercing and punish as a means of behavior management; we coach and guide.
Camp is fun. But it’s also a laboratory for growth—designed by people who understand how that growth actually happens.
Magikeering the Magic
At its heart, magic is the opening to wonder (how did they do that?!), the entreatment of wish (I’d love to be able to do that), and visceral surprise that reminds us what we know is small compared to what we don’t know.
But at Camp Augusta, magic isn’t something you observe—it’s something you create. We call it “Magikeering.”
Special Wakeups:
Every single morning, campers are awakened in unique, magical ways. Not alarms. Not shouting. Creative invitations to the day: a meteor strike simulation, a guitar serenade with hot tea in bed, a treasure hunt that starts before breakfast. We have hundreds of different wakeups, with new ones created each summer.
Evening Programs:
After dinner, the whole camp participates in storied adventures. Not just “let’s play dodgeball,” but immersive experiences: “Nature’s Wrath,” “Nightfall,” “Frontiers” Themed openings, challenges, heroes, villains, smoke, flags, epic quests. Where else do 140 people play make-believe in an engrossed, interactive adventure? EP’s are meticulously crafted by dedicated staff in the off-season, and won’t repeat at Augusta for at least 7 years (and only the best ones).
Playstation:
Not Sony’s gaming system—Augusta’s spontaneous creativity hour. Staff manifest unique visions daily: pretend to be very old for an hour, perform science experiments with twists, create spur-of-the-moment art, play games from 50-2000 years ago that most children have never seen.
Cabin Activities:
Campers are asked: “If you could do anything—anything you could imagine at camp that’s not a regular activity—what would that be?” Then we make it happen. Hundreds of unique cabin activities have been born from this question.
Evening Embers:
Before bed, cabins gather for contemplative conversations. Not just silly cabin bonding, but deep questions: “I wonder” games, goal-setting, discussing mistakes and growth, star-gazing reflections. This is where depth and transformation happen.
Story Experiences:
At breakfast on the first full day of camp, every cabin reads through a list of fifty-ish titles of what sound like adventure books, full of characters and surprises, and maybe cartoon monsters. They’ll end up with one of their own, and the rest of their session has…surprises in store.
This is serious fun—joy that matters, fun with depth and meaning. When children leave Augusta, they don’t just remember games. They remember wonder.
150+ Ways to Explore and Excel
Oh sure, we have climbing towers, ropes courses, canoeing, archery, horses, riflery, arts and crafts, mountain biking, and more. But we’ve got much more than that; we specialize in opportunities children can’t easily find near home (or anywhere else).
Unique Offerings:
Atlatl. Aerial silks. Blacksmithing. Ninja training. Fire spinning. Glass torch art (lampworking). Lathe woodworking. Sword fighting. Balloon sculpture. Paper marbling. Beekeeping. Tree climbing. Aerial bungee. Primitive skills. Parkour. Kalimba. Mountain Boarding. Native flute. Bite and Sting cream. Circus whip. And many, many more.
Over 150 clinic activities total. Even if a camper stayed nine weeks, they couldn’t try everything.
Leveled Progression:
Fourteen activities have structured level systems (Archery, Climbing, Ropes Courses, Mountain Biking, Riflery, Mountain Boards, Horses, Canoe, Fire-Spinning, Throwing Range, Sword Fighting, Whip, Aerial Silks). These graduated skill groupings allow campers to advance meaningfully, unlocking new opportunities/curriculums/challenges as they master skills. Two-week sessions (with ‘courses’) especially allow for greater progression.
Camper-Driven Choice:
Campers sign up daily for activities they want to try. Maximum class size is 10, with many capped lower for quality. Every clinic block offers 20-30 options. The goal? Children approach the signup board with excitement: “Oh wow, what shall I choose here?!”
Challenge by Choice:
Campers are never forced beyond their readiness. We offer helpful advice and encouragement, but respect personal limits. It’s not our place to push campers further than they’re capable of—though we create environments where they often surprise themselves.
Balanced Exposure:
Arts, adventure, equestrian, circus skills, field games, outdoors/nature, performance arts, diverse target sports, water activities, and Augustan uniqueness. This diversity enlivens the passion to be a student in life, both at camp and beyond. At camp, it’s more difficult to be siloed into a type than to become multi-talented.
Living Among Old-Growth Forest
Camp Augusta sits on 80 acres of heavily forested land with 200+ foot old-growth trees. This isn’t a place where children “visit” nature. They live in it.
Open-Air Living:
Cabins are open-air. At night, candles often provide the only light. The only electricity children use: flashlights and bathhouse lights. Campers eat outside at picnic tables under the trees. Deer walk through camp regularly. Thousands of stars blanket the sky.
Water Everywhere:
- Lake Vera: Serene morning mist, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, giant rope swing, frogs and fish
- The Falls & Secret Pool: Natural waterfall swimming pools on-site
- Yuba River: Just around the corner for river adventures
- Hot Rocks & Deer Creek: Our beloved Deer Creek runs through camp, and among its many nooks is a place smooth rocks hold their heat from the sun well into the evening…a favorite spot for play and exploration.
Under the Stars:
At least once per session, campers sleep outside under the stars. Many do overnight trips, camping with minimal environmental impact.
Sierra Nevada Biodiversity:
We’re in one of Earth’s most diverse temperate conifer forests. Nature education happens organically—not just in “nature class,” but in daily living.
Environmental Stewardship:
- Composting and measuring food waste at every meal
- Extensive recycling (we generate as much trash in an entire summer as an average family of 4 does in a year)
- Minimal-impact camping practices
- Teaching outdoor living skills and environmental awareness
Why does immersion in nature matter? Studies show time in nature reduces stress, improves focus, enhances creativity, and builds environmental connection. At Augusta, nature isn’t an amenity. It’s home.
92% Organic, Scratch-Made, Everyone Included
When parents learn about our food program, they’re often stunned. This isn’t typical camp food.
Our Standards:
- 92%+ organic ingredients
- Freshly prepared from scratch using authentic ingredients
- Locally sourced produce, dairy, bread, and meat whenever possible
- No fryer. No candy. No iceberg lettuce. No tater tots.
- Healthy cooking techniques: steaming, roasting, grilling
- Highest-quality oils and sweeteners
Radical Inclusion:
We strive to include every dietary need: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, allergen-free. Not “we’ll try”—we do. Every meal. Every day. Alternative options are freshly prepared with care and consideration, not afterthoughts or ‘go see the salad bar’.
Scratch-Made:
Entrees, desserts, pizza dough—made by hand. Sauces, salsas, dressings, soups—made from whole ingredients, not containers. We have a proportionally larger kitchen staff than other camps because we put hours of preparation into meals.
Daily Options:
Full salad bar at every lunch and dinner with house-made dressings, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein options. Fresh fruit available throughout the day. Daily desserts (made in-house). Twice-weekly local Coco’s Ice Cream visits with 30+ handmade flavors.
Camper Input:
Weekly feedback from campers about what they liked, disliked, and how meals could improve. Menus evolve based on what the community wants.
Why It Matters:
Food is community. Food is care. Food teaches values—about sustainability, health, inclusion, and respect for where our nourishment comes from. Breaking bread together creates belonging.
Our Kitchen Mission: “We pledge to provide whole food that is nutritious, healthy, alive in flavor, aesthetically pleasing, and presented reverently to our guests and staff.”
Extending the Augusta Philosophy Home
Camp is important. But families are central.
We don’t see camp as separate from the rest of children’s lives. We see it as a partner in their development—and we actively partner with parents to create continuity.
Parent Involvement:
While we carefully preserve camper independence and autonomy at camp, we also recognize our role in the community of our families. Parents who ask for follow-up information about their camper, especially those facing growth challenges, hear from staff with years of mentoring experience. Our work isn’t transactional. We’ll give you our honest take about how your child is doing and where their growth areas are.
Wookies:
Hand-painted “wood cookies” presented at closing campfire. Each features the camper’s name and something that playfully highlights their personality. These are unique pieces of art that campers display in their rooms for years.
ParentingTuneUp.org:
Our director created a comprehensive website for parents covering behavior guidance, serious play, media and children, character development, self-esteem, communication skills, the heart of camping, integrity, and much more. It’s our “pet project” to help families continue the growth that happens at camp.
Check it out here.
Family Camps
Did you know that we host family camps? We love bringing the camp fun and ethos into the whole household, and many families return for years upon years because of what they find here.
Continuous Improvement:
We seek feedback constantly. Campers and families evaluate camp. Staff travel to other camps for benchmarking. We hold nightly “knowledge management” meetings and an end-of-summer symposium. Year-end reports span hundreds of pages. Tradition guides us, but evaluation keeps us excellent.
Transparency:
We share our philosophy documents. We explain our approaches. We invite questions. When parents understand our “why,” they can reinforce these principles at home—and adapt them to their family’s unique needs.
Augusta doesn’t end when campers leave. The growth, the community values, the creativity, the emotional intelligence—these travel home with them, especially when families are equipped to nurture what was planted.
Experience Philosophy in Action
These aren’t marketing promises. They’re lived realities, refined over 20+ years and continuously improved through evaluation and deep intentionality.
It’s impossible to capture all of Augusta’s philosophy in one page (or even one extensive website), but if you want to read even more, check out some of these pages:
And if you think Augusta may be for you, submit interest for your camper or apply to work here.
Join the family!🧙♂️