Overviews the philosophy and theory of camp experiences and discusses the special benefits of camps, including experiences that can lead to significant life-changing outcomes, sound educational goals, a sense of psychological and physical safety, and helping children to deal with social problems such as the degradation of the environment and human…

Camping or other outdoor experience is seen as an alternative to incarceration for youth-at-risk, matching the excitement of the street-gang society or peer group, while simultaneously giving youth-at-risk a sense of the reason for teamwork, adherence to a group-respected value system, regard for skills and abilities of others, plus a…