Summer 2020 Safety Protocols
and Parent Resources
The wellbeing of our campers and staff is of the utmost importance to us. Following are the current and planned protocols for summer camp as well as additional resources for parents
Changes to Summer Camp 2020
- Epic Day/Extended Care is canceled. This summer, our campers will be staying in small groups for the duration of the camp day, minimizing contact with other campers and groups. Epic Day does not fit into this framework and, unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to offer extended care at the beginning or the end of the camp day.
- Drop off and Pick up procedures: We have implemented staggered drop off and pick up times to reduce in person contact time:
Arrival: Your drop off time may change. Camp staff will meet you at your vehicle to do an in-person health check and receive your child. Please be aware check in can take 15 minute or more.
- 8:30-8:50 AM: Forest Village Camp and Forest Explorer Camp
- 9:00-9:20 AM: Pathfinders, Advanced and Specialty Camps
- 9:30-9:40 AM: Growing Wild
Departure: Your pick up time may change. Campers will stay with their groups during pick up and families will arrive according to the camps their kids are in.
- 1:30-1:45 PM: Growing Wild
- 3:00-3:20 PM: Forest Village Camp and Forest Explorers Camp
- 3:20-3:40 PM: Pathfinders, Advanced and Specialty Camps
If you are dropping off or picking up children of different ages, you will receive information prior to your camp week.
Photos: Ash Bailot
Travel Camps: Travel Camps can not provide van transportation. If permitted, we will continue these camps by coordinating drop off locations with families at local natural areas within 7 miles of Ithaca. This will require families to
Summer Camp Safety Plan: We have updated our summer camp safety plan in compliance with the Summary of Guidance for Child Care and Day Camp Programs. We have also utilized guidance from American Camp Association’s Field Guide for Camps on Implementation of CDC Guidance to specifically fit our summer program. We encourage you to review these. Our safety plan will be posted at camp and on our website during camp.
Inclement Weather: We are working with the Health Department regarding our inclement weather policy. It is possible that in the event of a severe weather forecast we will cancel that day of camp. Families will be notified of these cancellations via email (and possibly voicemail). In this case, our current policy regarding cancellations Primitive Pursuits makes due to inclement weather applies: If a single day of an ongoing program (such as a week-long camp) is canceled, no refunds will be made.
How to keep and make changes to your registrations: If you choose to keep your current
Transfer your camper’s registration now to another camp: Your full
Some camps and add-ons options would pose an unnecessary risk for virus transmission, and we have made the difficult decision to cancel some options for this summer: Cancelled camps and add-ons include:
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- Primitive Cafe (7/13-7/17 and 8/10-8/14)
- Climate Warriors (7/6-7/10)
- Growing Wild (6/29-7/3)
- Invisible Ones (6/29-7/3)
- Archer’s Apprentice (6/29-7/3)
- Van Transportation option from Cornell Cooperative Extension to 4-H Acres/FLNF on the following weeks: 6/29-7/3, 7/6-7/10, 7/13-7/17, 8/3-8/7, 8/10-8/14, 8/17-8/21, and 8/31-9/4
- All Epic Day
Additional Precautions
- Out of region restrictions: Due to different parts of NYS and other areas “opening” at different times, The State or County Health Dept. may limit registrations to families within a designated geographical area.The newly released (June 8th) guideline do not address this issue at all. At this time we are not aware of any such restrictions. We will keep you updated as guidelines emerge. If NYS or Tompkins County decides to implement such a restriction, your tuition will be refundable. However, if you can not attend camp because the region your camper is coming from implements such restrictions, your tuition will not be refundable.
- Monday health checks: Mornings at camp normally include a brief camper health check by our instructors. With these checks, we ensure as healthy a start to our camp week as we can. This summer we will be expanding these health checks to be compliant with updated Health Department regulations. We will have more information about this in the coming weeks.
- Reduced illness tolerance: We will have a low tolerance for any type of illness at camp this summer. We will send your camper home for stomach aches, headaches, coughs, fevers, etc. Please make sure your Account Portal lists up-to-date emergency contact information for at least two (2) adults besides the account holder. If your camper has known pre-existing symptoms, such as with seasonal allergies, we may ask you to provide documentation of the symptoms