Camp Woodcraft guides young people as they explore pathways to purposeful lives by helping youth learn valuable skills that support their growth towards independence, making them feel safe trying new things through the support of positive relationships, and ensuring they feel valued and appreciated for who they are, what they bring, and where they are from. Camp Woodcraft achieves this by engaging youth in carefully curated activities and traditions surrounding outdoor education, hiring and training a diverse community of experienced counselors on research-based youth development and camp best practices, listening to our community and elevating youth voice to ensure the design and implementation of all our services are responsive to the diverse needs of those we serve.

There are few programs where young people from varying cultural, racial and socio-economic backgrounds are brought together with the aim of ensuring that all participants feel they belong; that they are all an important but integrated part of the same community. But at Woodcraft, we have always prioritized community and recognized the value of diverse cultural backgrounds. The entire team is trained and experienced in inclusion practices and how to create safe and supportive learning and growing environments.

At Woodcraft Rangers we also believe quality enrichment programs, including outdoor education, should be available to every child. That’s why a longstanding pillar of our Camp 4 All program is a sliding tuition model that ensures all families can participate. Camp Woodcraft staff have been acknowledged for their leadership in DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). Camp Woodcraft Director Helen “Curly” Santos is a national leader in DEI work within the broader camping industry, and many of our staff are year-round youth development professionals that come from communities as diverse as our campers.

Like all Woodcraft Rangers programs, the camp curriculum follows the CASEL (Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning) framework. Camp Director Helen Santos, in collaboration with Andres de la Peza, a national leader in healing-centered training for youth development, to co-create curricula that embeds these practices into every activity. As part of our commitment to inclusion, all campers sign agreements to honor the behaviors we know lead to a positive camp culture.

Woodcraft also partnered with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ Project HEAL, who leads the hospital’s trauma-informed and healing-centered work. The partnership designed and facilitated training to provide tools for creative, safe, and supportive environments for all children, though HEAL psychologists have observed that that healing-centered approaches are already present in Woodcraft’s work.

Camp Woodcraft is an all-gender welcoming community and follows all recommendations set forth by Scouts for Equality, pioneers in full gender inclusion. While our bunk units are defined by boys and girls, campers are welcome to elect which cabin in which they feel most comfortable and shower stalls are individual for the privacy of all campers. Mixed gender activity units combine bunk units for all daytime activities. Our camp team is also gender diverse with at least 50% identifying as female.

Camp Woodcraft is a leader in inclusion practices in expanded learning programs. Camp Director, Helen Santos can work individually with families before they register to determine if a child can be successful in the Camp Woodcraft setting and if so, what accommodations and strategies can be implemented to create the conditions for that success.

In 2023, Woodcraft also launched a first of its kind inclusion initiative in partnership with the Department of Developmental Services, the Frank D. Lanternman and Eastern Los Angeles Regional Centers with the goal of creating greater access for youth with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD), including autism, ADHD, and other neurodiversity, to engage in high-quality, integrated activities alongside their peers without developmental disabilities.

Led by Woodcraft’s Director of Inclusion, Robert Illingworth and a team of inclusion specialists, Woodcraft’s work will include:

• Training for staff
• Collaborative goal alignment with parents and schools based on unique student needs
• Regional Center partnership for increased access to additional services
• On-site responsive student and family support

Through a person-centered approach the team will build individualized supports so students of all abilities can fully participate in Woodcraft programs, feel supported and thrive!

Camp Woodcraft is accredited by the American Camping Association and our Camp Director, “Curly” is ACA certified. This accreditation means Camp Woodcraft follows the highest standards in safety, from staff qualifications and training to emergency management. American Camp Association collaborates with experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, and other youth-serving agencies to assure that current practices of accredited camps reflect the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operation. Camps and ACA form a partnership that promotes growth and fun in an environment committed to safety.

While outdoor education has a history of cultural appropriation, Woodcraft Rangers seeks to honor the original inhabitants of the land on which we host Camp Woodcraft through formal acknowledgement and the integration of program elements that teach these values authentically.

Camp Woodcraft is currently partnering with Cahuilla Band of Indians who are native to the land that Camp Woodcraft operates. Each week, Cahuilla youth participate in our camp program, and Cahuilla elders teach all youth about the history and cultural significance of the land through ritual, story telling, and songs.