Why Camp Is Worth It- The Value of GRP

As a parent, former camper, board member, and Senior Mentor at Green River Preserve, I have experienced the value of camp at every stage of my life and from many different perspectives. At its heart, camp gives young people the chance to grow, learn, and become more fully themselves. Campers are encouraged by their friends, supported by counselors and mentors, and inspired by the natural world around them. They return home with greater confidence, independence, and a stronger sense of what they can contribute to their communities and our planet.

Green River Preserve is possible because of the vision and generosity of the Schenck family, who preserved the headwaters of the Green River, and Sandy Schenck, whose commitment to sharing the inspiration of the Green River valley with children led to the creation of a nonprofit summer camp. Today, we remain committed to our mission to inspire environmental stewards through a joyful connection to nature. That mission comes to life primarily through summer camp at GRP, as well as through our School of Environmental Education, Expeditions, and other outreach programs.

What makes the GRP experience special is not simply the setting or the activities. It is the community, the attention, time, and space children experience while they are here. They live in small cabin groups, spend their days with skilled and caring adults, take healthy risks, solve problems together, and experience the freedom of being away from screens and familiar routines. A child may remember a specific moment on a mentor hike, a song at council fire, or a day at the farm, but the deeper value is in the confidence, friendships, and sense of belonging that GRP creates.

We also recognize that camp is a significant investment for families. It is important to be clear what tuition supports and how we align our budget. Camp costs what it does because the things that make it valuable—skilled people, abundant time, small groups, a protected place, nourishing food, and responsible care—are also the things that make it expensive to provide.

Our largest commitment is to people. About half of our operating budget supports the counselors, mentors, nurses, kitchen staff, program leaders, and year-round team who make the experience possible. Staff members are carefully selected and extensively trained because good camp experiences depend on trusted relationships. Small cabins and a high staff-to-camper ratio allow adults to know each child, notice when someone needs support or encouragement, and help campers stretch beyond what they thought they could do.

The rest of the budget supports the setting and systems surrounding those relationships. We prepare fresh meals, care for the farm, maintain trails and buildings, provide equipment and transportation, operate the Health Hut, carry insurance, and steward thousands of acres of forests, streams, and mountains. Roughly another quarter of our budget goes toward food, the farm, the property, utilities, and transportation. Health, safety, insurance, program supplies, and the administration needed to run a responsible nonprofit make up the remainder. None of these pieces stands alone; together, they create the safe, joyful, and deeply personal experience GRP is committed to providing for its community.

Being a nonprofit means that the resources we receive are directed back into the mission rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. We work carefully to manage rising costs, maintain the Preserve, compensate staff responsibly, and keep tuition as low as we can without diminishing the quality of the experience. We also compare our rates with peer camps and remain committed to delivering an unusually small, personal, and nature-based program at a responsible price.

Just as important, we do not want the full cost of camp to be a barrier to a child who would benefit from being here. GRP provides more than $100,000 in scholarships each year, and we hope to meet even more need through donations, partnerships, and the growth of our scholarship resources. Families can also use payment plans, sibling and early-registration discounts, work-trade opportunities, and other forms of support. We encourage families to ask. Learn more about financial aid and scholarships here.

Camp is worth the investment because growth is worth investing in. So are trusted relationships, time outdoors, independence, belonging, and the chance for a young person to discover a more capable and generous version of themselves. We appreciate your shared commitment to Green River Preserve, our mission, and our community.

Our responsibility at Green River Preserve is to strengthen the quality of that experience, manage our resources effectively to advance the mission, and keep working to make camp available to more children.