Black Folks Camp Too!

First and foremost, let’s go ahead and say it: Green River Preserve’s community is currently made up of a white majority. The person writing this blog is white. If you’ve had a look at our year-round team page, you’ll see a lot of white men and women. That being said, we are grateful that in recent years, we’ve had the privilege of expanding our seasonal team and camper base to include more and more individuals from communities of color. We reached out at the beginning of this month to our Black camp families who have offered to provide testimony about their childrens’ experience at GRP, and one mother responded with the following:

With this support, we are dedicated to moving forward mindfully and intentionally to cultivate a community where everyone is invited and welcomed. Here’s what we’ve been up to on that front:

Recently, every single member of our year-round team gathered together (including our operations-focused crew of managers: Facilities, Farm, and Food Service) and completed training to earn Green River Preserve certification with Black Folks Camp Too. You’ll see our Unity Blaze proudly displayed on our website, indicating that Black folks can feel confident that they belong here. Why the blaze?

It’s an unfortunate reality that historically, the dense woods and lush green spaces we celebrate at GRP have not always been safe places for people of color across the United States. Our team now carries a greater awareness of the generational trauma associated with remoteness in the outdoors. We better understand the work required to rebuild trust and confidence between white and Black folks in the woods. That being said, EVERYONE belongs in the outdoors. We know that all humans benefit from connection to nature, and we want to do our part to increase not only access to educational and recreational opportunities in nature, but actual inclusion. We are extending invitations, not simply opening the door.

One way we invite new campers is through our community partnerships. We are grateful to collaborate with Wayfinders, Edisto Island Land Trust, Opendoors, Kids In Camp, Camplify, the American Association of University Women, who advocate for our programs, supporting families who would not otherwise have access to summer camp in everything from funding to forms & paperwork.

We know that campers thrive when they see people who look like them on staff. As of this week (early February), 30% of our Counselor, Mentor, and Support Staff in 2025 are folks of color. One of our counselors of color is a camper turned staff member! We have also begun to recruit directly on job boards oriented toward minority populations with experience in the outdoors and environmental education. Our seasonal staff complete training in restorative justice, trauma-informed caregiving, and how to support campers from diverse backgrounds. We teach that there is not typically a one-size-fits-all solution to behavioral concerns, and we meet challenges with curiosity before judgement.