Tradition in Action: Reflections Through the Environmental Awareness Lens

This past weekend, I had the privilege of helping plan and execute the 75th Anniversary Open House at Camp Ehawee alongside an incredible team of colleagues, volunteers, alumni, and staff. Over 300 people gathered in celebration; community members, Girl Scouts, alumni, elected officials, and families all coming together in one shared space.

And while the weekend celebrated new beginnings, including the ribbon cutting of Camp Ehawee’s new Aerial Sports Program Area featuring a two-level high ropes course, climbing walls, and a 500-foot zipline, what stood out most to me was something much older:

Tradition.

In Compass of Awareness, the fourth lens is contextual and environmental awareness; understanding how environments, culture, rituals, traditions, and shared spaces shape human behavior, identity, and connection.

Camp Ehawee was a living example of that.

Throughout the day, people participated in activities that challenged resilience and fostered presence. Some tested themselves on the ropes course or target sports. Others paddled through the canoe slough, walked the trails, made SWAPs, sat around a fire making s’mores, or simply slowed down long enough to just be.

But the most powerful moments came through shared tradition.

We listened to alumni camp staff speak about how camp shaped who they became. Current staff reflected on the impact of carrying those traditions forward. Senator Brad Pfaff spoke about the promise he sees in Girl Scouts and the power of camp experiences. Campers shared what camp means to them today. Our CEO spoke about her commitment to preserving and evolving these experiences for future generations.

And together, we participated in traditions like Green to Blue and Circle of Friends.

Traditions like this matter because they anchor people to something bigger than themselves. They create continuity across generations. They remind us that environments are not just physical spaces; they are emotional ecosystems built through stories, rituals, relationships, and repeated experiences over time.

As I shared during the ceremony, resilience is rarely built in a single moment. It is developed through meaningful experiences, supportive relationships, challenge, reflection, and the opportunity to try again.

Camp creates those conditions intentionally.

A ropes course is never just a ropes course. A campfire is never just a fire. A song, a trail, a ceremony, or a closing circle may seem small on the surface, but over time they become markers of identity, belonging, courage, and growth.

That is the power of contextual and environmental awareness.

When we intentionally design environments rooted in connection, challenge, tradition, and belonging, we shape not only experiences, but people.

For 75 years, Camp Ehawee has done exactly that.