4-H camp shares experience of operating during pandemic

Primitive Pursuits, a nonprofit 4-H youth development program in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, has a proud history of providing year-round programming and camps for kids.

When COVID-19 hit the county in March, Primitive Pursuits had to consider the possibility of shutting down operations. But staff have managed to keep programming going, helping kids connect with nature despite the pandemic.

Primitive Pursuits started in 1999 as an afterschool program in Dryden through the Rural Youth Services Department at CCE-Tompkins, according to its website. Founded by educators and nature enthusiasts Jed Jordan, Tim Drake and Dave Hall, Primitive Pursuits aimed at providing wilderness skills educations to kids.

“I came here to go to school and met a fellow student [Tim Drake] who was just really interested in nature connection and some of the outdoor survival skills that we now teach at Primitive Pursuits,” Jordan said. “We just started practicing together and realizing that one of the best ways to connect with the outdoors and to learn these really valuable life skills was to start teaching them to kids.”

Primitive Pursuits has grown significantly since then, providing summer programming starting in the early 2000s and teaching in primary schools and universities, expanding its reach to folks of almost any age.

Jordan explained that staff decided to offer adult programs around 2006 to better create an adult-youth connection and bring on new mentors for participating kids, which soon reached levels of over 200. Now, Primitive Pursuits offers a homeschool program, summer camp, afterschool programming, school field trips and more for about 1,200 participants annually.

“Yes, we teach about the environment. Yes, we teach them survival skills. Yes, we teach them outdoor skills and life skills,” Jordan said. “But the core of it is developing people’s own passion and relationship for the natural world and to give them a lifelong connection with nature.”

As it has for many in the county, COVID-19 forced Primitive Pursuits to adapt once again, and it wasn’t easy. As Jordan explained, there was considerable uncertainty due to the nature of the pandemic.

“Before the federal stimulus money came through and before we had our loan application in, … there was this financial uncertainty of whether we could continue,” he said. “But there was also the question of, do we want to do this because we could have all been voluntarily laid off and collected our unemployment. And we kind of had that discussion, … and it was pretty unanimous that we all just wanted to keep going.”

Primitive Pursuits switched to online programming, as Director of Marketing Megan Pugh explained.

“Our school breaks were canceled, of course, in the spring, and our homeschool and preschool programs went online with those communities, and that was kind of interesting,” she said. “The homeschoolers were doing things where our team would leave them little packets that they could pick up to do projects. It was super cute.”

The switch to virtual instruction was difficult transition due to the nature-centered focus of the organization, Jordan added.

“Taking an eight-year connection program, where connecting physically with the outdoor world is central, and trying to turn that into a Zoom call was a big challenge,” Jordan said. “We probably spend twice as much time, easily three times as much time delivering virtual programs than we would have done had we been doing the same things in person.”

As Pugh explained, for the staff who were used to being outside for their instruction, it was quite the change.

“It was really hard on some of them to make that shift and to be in front of a screen for as much as it required to pull off the planning and everything we’re going to do,” Pugh said. “And I think we had some moments where people weren’t sure if they wanted to do it because it was in front of a computer and they made a career based on wanting to be outside.”

Despite the challenges, Primitive Pursuits pressed on, and Jordan said staff were stronger for it.

“There was a lot of really deep camaraderie among the staff,” Jordan said. “There was another level of connection and appreciation with the families that we were doing those programs feeling like we were kind of getting through this thing together.”

In addition to the format challenges, Primitive Pursuits faced and continues to grapple with financial challenges.

“Things are a lot more expensive, where we have the same number of staff and half the number of enrollments,” Jordan said. “I think the reduction in staff is less than the reduction in enrollments. So, all of our camp tuition was decided on last fall, so it does not reflect the cost of running a camp right now.”

And that becomes an even larger challenge due to the uncertain future ahead.

“It’s very possible that any of our weeks could get canceled,” Jordan said. “If we have any outbreaks of the disease in the next few weeks or in the next eight weeks, the state health department could decide to close camps, and then, we would basically be returning all that tuition, and we wouldn’t be able to recover those costs.”

For now, Primitive Pursuits has continued its summer camp this year, albeit with a smaller enrollment and new safety measures. Staff hired a someone part time just to make signage to put all around the camp area, with a large handwashing station, constant sanitation and mask-wearing and staggered drop-off times for each age group. Activities offered have had to change too, veering away from high-contact games like capture the flag.

While the format and delivery of programs has significantly changed, what’s remained constant is the kids’ enthusiasm for whatever Primitive Pursuits has to offer.

“The one thing that’s super amazing about it is these little kids are hopping out of their car in their little masks, toddling over the hand washing station completely unfazed, chattering away to the counselor who’s walking them over, just happy as could be,” Pugh said.

As Jordan said, the pandemic made it all the more crucial to continue fulfilling its mission.

“We all felt like this work was more important than ever to keep people connected with each other and with the natural world during this kind of crazy time,” he said. “Something that makes our staff very unique is just the level of commitment to the mission and how important it is to each of us personally that we’re doing this work.”

Moving forward, Primitive Pursuits is committed to continue to be an inclusive program that adapts to whatever challenges come its way.

“That’s been one of the central mission pieces for us for the last four or five years, to continue challenging ourselves as leaders, just see where the holes are in our organization and to see what we’re not seeing,” Jordan said. “So, that continues to be my hope.”

Visit primitivepursuits.com for more information.