HRM to hold summer day camps, beginning July 13

FALL RIVER: The Halifax Regional Municipality continues to monitor and respond to the rapidly evolving effects of COVID-19.

Following safety measures provided by public health, the municipality is now able to provide more details on the modified summer day camps for the summer. Day camps will be offered July 13 through to August 28. Camps will be offered at select facilities during the following sessions:

Weekday Mornings Camp: one week of three-hour morning sessions from 9 a.m. to noon.

Or

Weekday Afternoons Camp: one week of three-hour afternoon sessions from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The half-day camp option allows the municipality to maximize the number of participants while following public health protocol and ensuring safe physical distancing. All camps are $50 per week. Registrants are only able to attend one morning or one afternoon camp per week.

Many camp activities will be at outdoor locations, with some indoors. This will ensure that proper physical distancing is maintained. If the weather does not permit outdoor activities, then camps will be moved indoors, unless it is an exclusively outdoor camp.

Every effort will be made to provide inclusion support during camps where necessary. Due to public health directives, camp spaces and the limited number of inclusion leaders per site (two per site), it may not be possible to accommodate all inclusion requests. We will however, make every effort to accommodate as many requests as possible. Families/guardians will be contacted when inclusion supports are confirmed.

Camps are open to children between the ages of six and 12. Campers will be placed in small groups of seven participants with one camp leader and these groups will remain consistent throughout the camp sessions. A total of 35 campers throughout five activity stations per location will be in each session in the morning and afternoon.

Registration will open on June 23 for July camps, and the date for August registration will be announced at a later date. Participants will register at different times based on their community. Information on the modified day camp structure, facility locations and health & safety guidelines can be found at halifax.ca/camps

Please note: Camps for pre-school aged children will not be offered this summer due to difficulty maintaining physical distancing requirements for this age group. Virtual opportunities will be available for youth (aged 13-24) during the summer. These opportunities will include but are not limited to: employment skills (preparing your resumé), conversations on the environment, conversations on the upcoming municipal election, and the youth services plan committee.

The Youth Leadership program will not be offered this summer due to group gathering requirements and health restrictions. More information on youth programs can be found on www.halifax.ca/youth

For more information on summer day camps, visit halifax.ca/camps

Other recreation opportunities for rural programming and outdoor activities are under development and information will be provided on these activities at a later date.

For more information on municipal services during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit Halifax.ca/coronavirus.