In a world where children are pressured to grow up faster and faster, there’s at least one place where childhood is respected, valued and preserved just a little bit longer.

At Camp Augusta, a few miles north of Nevada City, children ages 7 to 16 canoe in Lake Vera, swim in the Yuba River, gaze at stars, sing campfire songs, learn archery and more. They stay in rustic cabins set in more than 80 acres of towering pines, oaks and madrones.

The vision statement of Camp Augusta is: “To reclaim and foster the beauty, wonder, awe, potential, and innocence of childhood.”

Augusta’s director, Dr. Randy Grayson, holds a doctorate in social, developmental and organizational psychology and has been involved with camp life for more than 22 years, first as a camper, then as a counselor, then as director.

While Grayson prepares for next year, he reflected on what children learn at Augusta.

“They are learning to relate. They learn how to be without their parents, in a new environment, away from home,” he said.

Many children have a computer and a television in their rooms and spend 40 to 45 hours per week with TV or similar media.

“A lot of what we do here, we do for contrast. In their life at home they have TV, video games, cell phones and 13 year-olds reading Cosmo. There is a huge focus on appearance and relationships for the girls. And for boys, they can’t talk about their feelings and have to be the ‘tough guy’.”

“They are e-mailing, texting and using cell phones beginning at age 10,” Grayson said. “Here, the only electronics they can bring is a flashlight. Without electronics, they connect with each other.”

The 90 campers in each session are looked after by 52 staff members, a very high ratio of staff to campers, he said. The staff receives three weeks of training, the longest training in the country, Grayson added. (The average camp staff training is six days.)

Fun without electronics

The camp’s return rate is in the top 1 percent for both campers and staff.

At the end of the day during “Evening Embers,” the campers and their counselor gather around a candle and talk about the day. “In evening embers, they learn to listen to other people and to talk about their own challenges — what used to happen in families,” Grayson said.

“They are only competing with themselves, not with each other. Our motto is ‘challenge by choice,’” Grayson said.

Here are some comments from a group of boys about what they liked about camp:

“I like the evening embers time,” said 10-year-old Luke. “I’ve learned how to listen to others and to know when it is time to joke around and when it is time to be serious.”

“I’ve learned how to be a better person, make friends better and to trust my friends,” said Conner, 10. “Everybody’s really friendly.”

“I’m learning about nature and how to have fun without electronics,” 10-year-old Willie added.

17530 Lake Vera Road 

Nevada City, CA 95959

(530) 265-3702 

www.campaugusta.org