OUR STORY
WE ARE WAUKEELA
CAMP LIFE
JOIN OUR FAMILY
A group of visitors arrive at Waukeela Camp in 2025, come into one of our morning assemblies and are surprised by the audience of campers sat in front of them. They represent a true reflection of the incredible cross section of our population on Planet Earth with campers of every description singing joyfully in unison.
Our visitors sit down next to at least 20 different campers and ask them about how they feel about being part of the Waukeela community and although the choice of words differ, the sentiments don’t. They don’t have to fit in, they belong; they feel loved; they feel listened to; they feel respected; they feel equally important & significant to anyone else at camp; they know & feel that the Directors, Senior staff and counselors are there to help them grow; Waukeela is a place that helps them understand & believe deeply in who they are. Upon leaving Waukeela as young adults, they are ready to face life feeling secure about themselves.
Waukeela is committed to fostering a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community where everyone—regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or background—feels valued, respected, and empowered to be their authentic selves.
THE DREAM
The Path to Achieve the Dream
As Directors of Waukeela Camp, Gill & Graham Moore, are committed to ensuring that our entire operation takes into account the incredibly diverse nature of our world’s population. We are resolutely committed to welcoming any human being regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, neuro-diversity, socioeconomic status, language, ability, age, religious commitment, or political perspective into our wonderful camp community.
By recognizing & understanding the root causes of disparity and through our policies, procedures & actions we will promote justice, impartiality, and fairness in our systems and resources with particular focus on providing equity for those people from populations that have been and remain underrepresented among practitioners in the camping industry and marginalized in broader society.
Throughout our tenure as Directors, we will ensure that all people who enter through our gates are welcomed, included, listened to, and empowered to have a voice. As a matter of priority, we are working on redeveloping all our camp management systems in order to ensure that Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is a daily conversation and central to all our wider aspirations for Waukeela.
LGBTQ+ Inclusion Policy
Waukeela is dedicated to the healthy development of young people. At the heart of this mission is providing a space in which each member of our community feels safe to explore and accept who they are. Therefore, we make it our duty to eradicate the discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping of the LGBTQ+ community within our own. We understand that the world can be a tough place for LGBTQ+ youth and we strive to provide a safe haven for the healthy development of these identities; as well as to create allyship through solidarity and care.
Historically, Waukeela has been a welcoming place. However, little has been made explicit. Through the years, many members of our community have been LGBTQ+ and have discreetly served as role models of acceptance. Today, to create a more inclusive environment and to honor the efforts of those in the past, we must make this acceptance explicit.
Gender
Our Affinity Group
Waukeela has been a camp for girls. In more recent years, we have more consciously aspired to become a sort of affinity group for girls to experience the safe space they many times lack in the outside world. Every summer we become witnesses of how powerful it can be for girls to come together in a positive environment that teaches them to stand up for, embrace and lift each other. However, we recognize that not all members of our community identify as a girl. We recognize that this affinity group has never been just of girls and that trans boys and gender-nonconforming people have been a part of our community for many years. At this moment, we do not wish to change the nature of our affinity group, we wish to continue to be a female-oriented community, however, we find it crucial to recognize those who are outside of femalehood as valued and important members of it.
Gender
Current Waukeelites
When members of our community no longer identify as girls, we welcome them with open arms, and we honor and admire their path. Once a Waukeelite, always a Waukeelite.
During the Summer
Due to the unique space campers find themselves in when they are at Waukeela it is not uncommon for them to feel safe enough to share things they have never shared before or come to realize things they have never realized before. During a camp session, if we are made aware that a camper is questioning their gender identity we assess the situation maintaining the camper’s wellbeing at the forefront of any decision we may take. All staff members are asked to notify their alley heads if a camper has confided in them, as with any other situation, the alley head, the counselor, the members of senior staff, and the directors will work together to come up with a plan moving forward.
Sexuality
In the past, Waukeela has had a strict no-sexuality-talk policy between campers and counselors. While this policy protects the privacy of counselors, it has acted as a way to deter conversations about sexual orientation, forcing counselors and campers alike to hide an important part of their identity. Moving forward, we will train counselors on how to have these conversations. Making it clear that it is ok for counselors to share their sexual orientation if they feel comfortable doing so. We believe counselors are some of the most important role models in campers’ lives and we don’t want to continue a culture of secrecy that reinforces shame and rejection.
During Staff Education Week, all of our staff goes through extensive training on the values we hold as a community. We establish an acceptance policy with our staff who are expected to maintain it throughout the summer. We also expect all our campers to maintain an open mind and we do not tolerate any acts of discrimination or disrespect.