In 2009, Grace El-Fishawy was hesitant about attending sleep away camp in Chester, far from her home in New Haven. But by the end of her first summer at Camp Hazen YMCA, “I loved it,” she said.

El-Fishawy spent her days sailing, swimming, and bouncing on water trampolines in Cedar Lake. Her nights were filled with the camaraderie of fellow campers and counselors, making indelible memories with night hikes, canoeing at dusk, and time spent in the glow of a warm campfire before retiring to a nearby cabin.

A highlight of her evenings was making “banana boats stuffed with chocolate and marshmallows,” over the campfire, she says.

Fast forward 11 years later and today El-Fishawy, now a summer camp counselor at Camp Hazen, is helping to create a similarly positive experience for young campers—though this year, things will be different.

“If you told me that 11 years later, I would be here, I never would have believed you,” said El-Fishawy. “I was really shy. I think that’s how I learned that you need every type of counselor, talking to kids like me and making those connections.”

Although the special group and one-on-one bonding that occurs at camp each summer promises to remain the same with counselors and staff like El-Fishawy at Camp Hazen, activities and certainly the sleepover aspect of camp will be different this year.

On May 18, Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order No. 7PP, which suspended residential camp operations for the duration of the civil preparedness and public health emergency. Day camps can start their season on June 22.

For Camp Hazen, which has operated an overnight camp program for 100 years, “the choice was taken out of our hands when the governor issued an executive order,” said Camp Hazen Executive Director Denise Learned.

Camp Hazen has been caring for children of essential workers since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state. It plans to continue to offer the program, Camp Care, for the month of June.

For the summer, the organization will offer day programs for local families, expanding on its traditional day camp, which will be available for children starting with those entering 1st grade. Camp Hazen will also add a new program this year for teens, up to those entering grade 10.

“We will be providing critical childcare for families as parents are working on the front line, or are heading back to work,” said Learned. “And, we’re providing critical experiences for children, helping kids venture back into the world in a safe, structured environment with strong role models, and great outdoor activities.”

El-Fishawy acknowledges that it’s not one activity at camp that makes it “special and powerful,” she said.

“One of my favorite parts of camp is how well it’s able to adapt and change,” said El-Fishawy. “A lot of camp has remained the same and a lot of it has changed. I truly believe there’s nowhere else that I would trust more on how to adapt to the circumstances.”

At the Incarnation Center in Deep River, Executive Director Nancy Pilon says the cancellation of the overnight summer camp program, which has been in existence since 1886, is a first for the organization.

Parents from New York who typically send their children to the organization’s 750-acre campus for an entire summer are grappling with the situation, she said.

The day camp operations will continue, Pilon said, and “we know camp and we will continue to provide a great experience for the local community.”

Like all day camps operating during the pandemic, there are stringent rules and guidelines to follow in order to create a safe environment for campers.

This includes a health assessment with temperature checks upon each camper’s arrival. The number of campers per group will also be limited, and there will be increased cleaning of high touch surfaces like bathrooms.

Staff will have also received the appropriate training to help ensure these measures, and others, are implemented.

“We’re going to do everything in our power to ensure a safe, healthy and fun summer experience,” said Pilon. “We don’t want anybody, because of means or closed programs, to go without. And we don’t know what school looks like in the fall, so this is an opportunity for families to let their kids stretch their legs and have some fun.”

Nature’s Playground, A division of the Incarnation Center, recently began offering full-day childcare as the state implements a phased approach to reopening. This program will run until day camp is offered on the Incarnation Center’s campus.

“The kids are having a great time,” said Pilon. “I think they are happy to be outside.”

The care offered by Camp Hazen and the Incarnation Center will be invaluable this summer as towns evaluate whether to offer their traditional summer camps through park and recreation departments.

In Essex, Park & Recreation Director Mary Ellen Barnes says all of the department’s recreation activities have been canceled until July 1.

The department has not yet made a decision on the town’s summer camp, which has run for 30 years and has an attendance of about 45 children in grades K to 7.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” said Barnes. “We’re trying to see what is feasible and what is in the best interest of the kids.”

The town’s recreational sports facilities continue to be closed, except for the tennis courts on Grove Street, which opened on May 20 to Essex residents only with stringent rules.

“We’re working really hard to be able to allow what we can,” said Barnes. “Our ultimate goal is to bring back as much of our recreational programming that we can based on the Governor’s executive orders and [Centers for Disease Control] guidelines, when we feel confident that we can maintain those things.”