Our Core Values

Our definition: Children often view the world with a sense of wonder and without judgement. Whenever possible, we try to suspend the assumptions we make about the way things “have to be” in exchange for curiosity.

What it looks like: There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm. When someone brings us a problem, we bring solution-oriented energy and a, “yes, and” attitude to find solutions. We have used this mentality for everything from the ways we navigated COVID-19, to the ways we create individualized success plans for campers and staff, to the way we jump enthusiastically into a wild and silly ideas just for the sake of fun. We don’t say “no” just because it’s sometimes easier. Instead we ask, “what if?” - and in that spirit of curiosity, we learn what is possible. This philosophy influences the way we approach and uphold many of our other values.

Our definition: The belief that the goal of inclusivity requires us to listen closely to marginalized voices, to pay attention to who is present and who is missing from important conversations, to ask critical questions about what makes a space truly welcoming to everyone, and to recognize that everyone deserves a place to learn about inclusivity without feeling shame for making mistakes.

What it looks like: We take continued opportunities to listen and learn from the marginalized voices within our community and beyond. We educate our staff and camper community, and encourage one another to speak up and offer gentle correction whenever someone says or does something that causes harm. We hold everyone in our community accountable for their words and actions, because we know that these things impact how welcoming our space will feel to others. We welcome all people from all backgrounds and experiences, as long as they are willing to learn, grow, and join us in pursuit of inclusivity.

Our definition: An intentional community is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a community built on purpose. Such a community asks its participants to slow down and consider the impacts our decisions have on others, and to seek concord, compromise, and respectful conflict resolution.

What it looks like: In some ways, intentional community is a catch-all that helps remind us to consider all of our other values. But it also means a generosity of spirit and energy to help one another feel welcome and able to enjoy camp. Whether it’s in the way we all pitch-in during camp’s work weekends, the way we treat all staff and campers with respect, or the way we try to consider who’s voices might not be in the room when we make a change or decision.

Our definition: We are all on a path of learning how to create a better summer camp experience, and a better world. We are committed to growing and improving, year after year.

What it looks like: We listen to our campers and try to implement the changes they bring us. We have daily community meetings and talk with the whole camp about what programs they want to see, what policy changes we should consider, and what facilities modifications would improve camp. Gender-inclusive cabins, menu changes, program offerings, and accessibility changes are all examples of changes that have been brought to our camp because of this commitment to listening and growth.

We also believe that, as individuals, we can benefit from this philosophy. Unirondack is a great place to make mistakes, learn and grow in a supportive environment where intentions and humility matter more than perfection. There is space for everyone to grow, and this is a space where campers and staff alike can pursue personal growth in a safe and affirming container.

Our definition: Levity is another way to say laughter, light-heartedness and humor - something that we believe can be a wonderful tool, even in serious situations. Humor is often used callously, to harm rather than help. We believe in the use of levity to find joy and relief in situations that are hard, but in ways that respect the hardships and emotions of ourselves and others.

What it looks like: The greatest example we have of this is in the way we endured the closing and re-opening camp in 2020. Our ability to find laughter in the tears was integral to our staff’s ability to endure and ultimately find the strength to creatively solve the many problems we faced between 2020 and now.

Moving forward from that moment, we still find space for laughter and joy in nearly everything we do - even, and especially, when it’s hard. We make space for ALL the feelings - the good, the bad, the confusing - to be expressed, witnessed, and cared for.

Our definition: To take time to fully consider the feelings, perspectives and needs of others when making decisions that impact them, or in managing conflicts at camp.

What this looks like: Maintaining empathetic care for all parties involved means considering everyone’s inherent worth as a human being. Whether it’s a camper or staff member who needs a corrective action plan, or a struggling camper in need of support, or a conflict that has no clear resolution - we always begin by coming from a place of empathy and try to build as much understanding as possible on all sides. From there, we can begin to find solutions that value and serve everyone.

Our definition: Oppression is the exertion of force by those with more systemic power over those with less - whether intentional or not. Examples of oppressive forces include racism, ablism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, transphobia, fatphobia, classism, and many more. These forces often dictate who does and does not have access to things like financial resources, fair treatment, the material necessities of life, respect, influence, education, self-esteem, credibility, safety, belonging, and so much more. Our commitment to anti-oppression is a committment to recognizing that these forces exist, that they are inherently unjust, and that each and every one of us is responsible for dismantling systems that uphold oppression.

What it looks like: We educate our campers and staff about oppressive forces, specifically from the perspective of those who are not heard. Sometimes this looks like offering organized social justice programs for our youth to help them learn to listen to others and advocate for themselves and their friends. Sometimes this looks like teaching a camper why it’s important to respect other people’s pronouns. Sometimes it’s about finding ways to remove the barriers that oppressive forces have put between people and their ability to enjoy outdoor spaces like summer camps.

Our definition: Simply put, autonomy is the right to self-govern. It is sovereignty over oneself. At camp we uphold and affirm our campers’ right to personal autonomy.

What it looks like: We try to give campers choice in as many things as we can when making decisions that will impact their experience. Camper have control over their program schedule, their cabin agreements, camp-wide community guidelines, camp policies, what they eat, what they wear, who they spend time with, and more. Whenever it is safe and possible, we allow campers to make their own choices, and we respect and affirm those choices.

Our definition: Camp should be accessible to people. This can mean physical accessibility (as in making camp more navigable for people with physical disabilities), but it can also mean financial accessibility, social accessibility, and other forms of needs-based accessibility as well.

What this looks like: We are making annual updates to the physical grounds of camp, we add captions to videos we make and photo descriptions in our social media posts. We have added a sound system in our dining hall for announcements, and lights to our bell system. We try to ensure that the floor layouts of our program spaces are compatible for wheelchair access. We provide cozy opt-out spaces and quiet spaces for meals and programs. We have added more accessible seating options to gathering spaces, ramps to all public buildings and several cabins, and a golf cart shuttle system to help people navigate the grounds more easily.

We also have robust campership programs and try to make sure that first-time attendees at camp feel socially welcome to our space by trying to limit our inner-camp terms and buzzwords and bringing people in the loop as much as we can so they can be a part of our community.

Our definition: While often a buzzword, to us it is anti-capitalist to believe in the worth of all people regardless of their level of production. And believe in finding ways to support someone’s ability to come to camp in ways that scale our camp fees to what someone can give - not what we can get out of them.

What it looks like: All of our programs have a sliding fee scale, we have a robust scholarship program, and we discourage negative self-talk with our campers and staff about their productivity.

Our definition: We recognize that Unirondack currently rests on land that was forcibly taken, and that most of our community members, staff, and leadership are actively benefiting from the colonization of those lands. For us, anti-colonialism means questioning the norms and assumptions that are part of the colonial mindset. It also means actively refusing to participate in the continued erasure and silencing of Indigenous peoples in the US today.

What it looks like: We have full camperships for Indigenous campers, with the belief that we should not charge Native people to access their ancestral lands. We try to steward the land in the ways the Haudenosanuee people did and still do, recognizing that the land does not belong to us, but is rather borrowed from both past and future generations. We make sure the summer camp traditions we have are not appropriating Indigenous work, names, and practices. We have removed many appropriative cabin names and symbols from camp. Lastly, we offer education to our campers and staff from Indigenous voices about the history and continued impacts of colonization.

Our definition: Restorative justice is a practice of handling conflicts and reconciling differences that does not punish, but rather gives people in conflict opportunities to share, listen, grow, and create their own reparative process.

What it looks like: When anyone in our community makes a mistake, we look at it as an opportunity to learn. And as long as the people involved are willing to reflect and learn, we will take the time to facilitate healing. We do not use punitive consequences with our campers or staff, and seek to ensure that consequences for mistakes support the goal of addressing and reducing harm and preventing repetition of things that have hurt.

Our definition: Radical Acceptance means accepting our emotions, our differences, and our experiences without judgment. In community, it means honoring differences in the many ways people find truth in who they are and what brings their life meaning. It means encouraging differences in opinion about camp and the greater world. However, we do not make space for beliefs or practices that cause harm or make camp unwelcoming, and we remain willing to engage in the nuance that this conversation creates.

What it looks like: Aside from safety concerns, we do not have dress codes. We encourage creativity and diversity in the ways that our community members express themselves. We allow room for people to make mistakes and respect everyone’s journey to learning. We actively challenge societal norms that lead us to cast judgment on one another, instead seeking to embrace the weird, the silly, and the unconventional.

Our definition: Supporting youth so that they can learn to embrace and trust their own wisdom, agency, and power to make change, regardless of age. Giving youth a voice and opportunities to make decisions for themselves and influence camp policy, procedures, beliefs, and work as equally as any other community member. Camper voice has continuously impacted the direction of Unirondack’s work.

What it looks like: Our daily camp council meeting gives campers an opportunity to reach camp leaders directly. We also give campers a voting role on our board of directors. Campers participate in maintaining and decorating camp using their own creative ideas to build beautiful spaces they can feel a sense of pride and ownership in. We challenge campers to try new things, and role model this by encouraging staff to do the same. We challenge ageist assumptions and language that reinforce the idea that young people’s contributions are less valuable. At Unirondack, we honor wisdom and capability at every age.

Our definition: We believe that we are part of nature, not separate from it. Nature is a set of relationships, and we must engage in those relationships with love and care. We also believe that we have a responsibility and a duty to care for the land - to honor it, to listen to it, to engage with it in the spirit of reciprocity. It is our goal to respect the natural world just as we would the people of our community. After all, it is a part of our community.

What it looks like: We educate campers on how to be stewards of the land. We teach campers about the wildlife around the lake, big and small, and we encourage campers and our community to consider the impact they have on the natural world when they leave. We talk with our campers often about energy use, food waste and the ecological health of our wilderness. We also consider our own impact on the environment as a business. Whenever possible, we select environmentally friendly options when making decisions about how to update our facilities, what products to buy, and which businesses to support.