THE GOOD PLACE
Removing Obstacles with Barrier-Free Summer Camp
Camp Easter Seal aims to give campers with disabilities “the best week of their year.”
By Lana Hall
(Above) Camp manager Steve Grove. (Below) Fun time at Camp Easter Seal. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CAMP EASTER SEAL
Little Manitou Lake is revered by local Indigenous communities for its healing properties due to its high salt content. The lake and its sprawling shoreline have been the home of SaskAbilities’ Camp Easter Seal, Saskatchewan’s only barrier-free camp, since 1956. Nestled in 100 acres of parkland, Camp Easter Seal provides outdoor summer camps for youth, children and adults with disabilities, free of charge. The property has a dining hall, 14 temperature-controlled cabins, an aquatic centre, plenty of indoor programming space, and a medical building affectionately referred to as “the pillbox.”
While at first glance the facility may look like any other camp, its real magic lies in the way it removes — to the extent that it can — the limitations campers may normally encounter in a world designed for people without disabilities, such as staircases, busy streets, loud noises.
“It’s pretty significant when the campers can come and they don’t have to worry about any of those things that they experience out in the rest of society often,” says camp manager Steve Grove.
The facility features many of the same activities one might associate with any camp: swimming, ball hockey, music, arts and crafts — but with some modifications. Pools are shallow and equipped with ramps. Some playground swings can support an entire wheelchair. Basketball hoops and mini golf setups can be adjusted and moved around to accommodate campers with a range of mobilities. There’s even a treehouse that is accessible by wheelchair. And a few years ago, the camp acquired several programmable mats that make specific instrumental or animal sounds when controlled by a camper’s hand or foot pressure.
“Even if they can hardly move anything except for their upper body… they can move their arm four or five inches and be making music with that movement. And they’ve never been able to do that,” says Grove.
“[A disability] just becomes such a background piece in their existence, because they’re doing all the fun things that camp offers: building campfires or making s’mores. They’re singing the songs; they’re watching the skits.”
Grove says his goal is to make sure his staff, his campers and their families and care attendants “have the best week of their year” while at Camp Easter Seal.
“I say we compete with Christmas. But for the most part, we win — because our people don’t need more stuff. What they need is engagement. They need activities. They need those things that are normalizing to a child or a youth, or even an adult.” CAA
“[A disability] just becomes such a background piece in their existence, because they’re doing all the fun things that camp offers: building campfires or making s’mores. They’re singing the songs; they’re watching the skits.”
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(From left) Camp manager Steve Grove; Fun time at Camp Easter Seal. | PHOTOS: COURTESY CAMP EASTER SEAL
(From top) Camp manager Steve Grove; Fun time at Camp Easter Seal. | PHOTOS: COURTESY CAMP EASTER SEAL
Little Manitou Lake is revered by local Indigenous communities for healing properties due to its high salt content. The lake and its sprawling shoreline have been the home of SaskAbilities’ Camp Easter Seal, Saskatchewan’s only barrier-free camp, since 1956. Nestled in 100 acres of parkland, Camp Easter Seal provides outdoor summer camps for youth, children and adults with disabilities, free of charge. The property has a dining hall, 14 temperature-controlled cabins, an aquatic centre, plenty of indoor programming space, and a medical building affectionately referred to as “the pillbox.”
While at first glance the facility may look like any other camp, its real magic lies in the way it removes — to the extent that it can — the limitations campers may normally encounter in a world designed for people without disabilities, such as staircases, busy streets, loud noises.
“It’s pretty significant when the campers can come and they don’t have to worry about any of those things that they experience out in the rest of society often,” says camp manager Steve Grove.
The facility features many of the same activities one might associate with any camp: swimming, ball hockey, music, arts and crafts, but with some modifications. Pools are shallow and equipped with ramps. Some playground swings can support an entire wheelchair. Basketball hoops and mini golf setups can be adjusted and moved around to accommodate campers with a range of mobilities. There’s even a treehouse that is accessible by wheelchair. And a few years ago, the camp acquired several programmable mats that make specific instrumental or animal sounds when controlled by a camper’s hand or foot pressure.
“Even if they can hardly move anything except for their upper body… they can move their arm four or five inches and be making music with that movement. And they’ve never been able to do that,” says Grove.
“[A disability] just becomes such a background piece in their existence, because they’re doing all the fun things that camp offers: building campfires or making s’mores. They’re singing the songs; they’re watching the skits.”
Grove says his goal is to make sure his staff, his campers and their families and care attendants “have the best week of their year” while at Camp Easter Seal.
“I say we compete with Christmas. But for the most part, we win — because our people don’t need more stuff. What they need is engagement. They need activities. They need those things that are normalizing to a child or a youth, or even an adult.” CAA