Meet Ailani and Kayla, Our Summer Camp Co-Directors!
Meet our Summer Camp Co-Directors—Ailani Ramirez-Pineda and Kayla Reeves, our creative experts behind this year’s season of adventure! Both directors discovered their love for nature at a young age and now aspire to share their passion with the next generation. Read on to learn all about Ailani and Kayla’s outlook and vision for this summer…
Meet our Summer Camp Co-Directors—Ailani Ramirez-Pineda and Kayla Reeves, who are hard at work creating a fun-filled summer for all our campers! This year, we’re learning all about sustainability, nature art, survival skills, and green STEM technology. Using their nature know-how, Ailani and Kayla are crafting experiences that blend fun with creativity and wonder for the natural world.
As long-time nature enthusiasts, they both look forward to sharing their passion with our incoming campers. Ailani explains, “Growing up, my family wasn’t as outdoorsy. I always wanted to be outside and loved animals.” She notes a core memory of a black ratsnake crossing her path, and ever since, Ailani has been inspired to learn about the natural world and share this love with others. Kayla also recalls her first memories that connected her with nature. “I grew up going to a sleep-away camp for 11 years and loved it. It’s where I learned that I’m happiest when I’m outside. I realized then that I wanted my whole life to look like this, where I’m outside everyday.” Since their childhood, both Ailani and Kayla have poured their hearts into environmental protection through various educator and camp counselor roles. Ailani served as Camp Co-Director last year, and Kayla spent several years in the field as a wildlife biologist before joining the RR team. They’re excited to continue instilling these values as co-directors this season!
Kayla and Ailani with a Marbled Salamander friend!
To our Camp Directors, Summer Camp means having fun outside, making new friends, and trying new things. It’s the smell of sunscreen and bug spray, climbing trees, rolling logs, and getting up again the next day to do it all over again. Summer Camp is a blast for so many reasons, but for both Ailani and Kayla, the impact it has on confidence and self-esteem is most important. Ailani explains, “I love when kids come out of their shell or become proud of something they were initially scared to do, like canoeing or hiking to Taco Rock.” Mud Day is also a fan-favorite activity that gets campers out of their comfort zone—it’s dirty but so fun! In addition to the confidence-building, Kayla also loves to see kids’ comfort in nature expand throughout the week: “That’s my mission—to instill this love of nature with others.”
This summer, they’re particularly excited for the new themes: EcoQuest, Art in the Wild, Survival Quest, and EcoTech Innovators. “This year, we’re encouraging campers to take ownership of projects, especially with the older kids,” says Ailani. “This will be a great opportunity to share their accomplishments at the end of each week.” Kayla can’t wait for Nature Art week because it will help kids become more observant and contemplative of their surroundings while also teaching valuable lessons in Leave No Trace.
Ailani and Kayla emphasize the value of spending time in nature. Getting outside boosts mental and physical health and forms the stewards of tomorrow. “Getting outside and connecting with nature is really good for you physically and emotionally—it helps you be more present,” Kayla explains. Not only that, connecting with nature also encourages protection and advocation. “Once you have that connection with nature, you want to protect it and start seeking opportunities to do that—whether it’s through summer camp, volunteering, donating, or making it your future career,” Ailani says.
One of the best ways to help the environment is to share what you learn because passion is contagious. Both Ailani and Kayla encourage campers to share their experiences with family and friends. “There is a lot of power in the individual. If we work together, there is a lot of positive change we can make,” Kayla notes.
As they journey into summer, Ailani and Kayla are excited to apply what they learned last year to increase support for camp counselors and ensure every child is set up for success. They want to remind incoming campers to get a good night’s sleep with a hearty breakfast, be prepared to get dirty, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Our Camp Co-Directors can’t wait to meet you all soon!
Register for camp to join in on the fun—you’ll make the memories of a lifetime!
