Previously we have talked about the history of summer camps in Spain, and how from the 19th century to the present day it has helped millions of people to be educated, by learning and having fun at the same time.
Now we will talk about the origin of the children’s camps in Granada. Historically they were the continuation of the camps carried out by the Institución de Libre Enseñanza.
History of summer camps in Granada
The success of the summer camps, known as summer camps, was surprising. It even led the Minister of Public Works to declare them an educational initiative of public interest for the year 1892.
This fact had an important effect, because it encouraged civil and political associations at the end of the 19th century to implement other similar initiatives.
In Granada, one of the most interesting initiatives arose when the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country held a contest. The objective was to encourage the participants to debate and contribute ideas on how school colonies could be set up in Granada. This debate was intended to motivate this initiative and generate new ideas for the implementation of children’s camps.
A competition changes everything.
The competition was won by Berta Wilhelmi, who subsequently directed the Grenada camp. This camp gave impetus to another initiative that consisted of implementing the first unisex camp in Spain. At that time all the camps were separated by sexes, but from that moment on, it was noticed that the behavior of the children improved if the camps were held together instead of separately.
This led to the origin of the Grenadian children’s camps. The first one involved nine boys and nine girls who traveled there for 26 days of excursions and various outdoor activities. The purpose of this first camp was for the participants to acquire healthy habits and important values such as respect for property, order, love of work, teamwork and learning to show solidarity between both sexes. According to the records in Berta Wilhelmi’s memory, these objectives were achieved, and the campers were able to spend different days, learning and acquiring new values.
Summarizing, the origin of the Grenadian children’s camps began at the end of the 19th century, as a result of the initiatives of the city and people like Berta Wilhelmi. In the following years, summer camps in Granada were held every year and increased quickly.
Summer camps today.
Nowadays, what started as Granada’s children’s camps, represents all those children’s summer camps that are held in Granada and in the rest of the country. It is important to know the origin of summer camps, and particularly of children’s summer camps, since they are an important part of our society.
Year after year, in the vacation periods, it is surprising to see the large number of children and young people who are willing to continue their learning, making new friends and having fun in this process. It is definitely worthwhile to learn about the history of these camps, which will undoubtedly continue to grow steadily.
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