! Screen D Or HYPAR SHADE SYSTEM Sudbury, Ontario Weather Stats Temp. June average: 21 C July average: 26 C August average: 23 C Summer of 2015 experienced higher than average temperatures 84% of the time.* UV Index Sudbury is accustomed to seeing UV index ratings of 5-10 (Moderate to very high) during summer months. * Relative Humidity The average daily relative humidity for June is 66%, July is around 67% and 72% in August.* Daily Sunshine Sudbury experiences an average of 15 hours of extremely bright sunlight daily throughout June, July and August (hours that sun is not obscured by cloud).* About Us During summer months, the City of Greater Sudbury provides essential day camps to more than 2,000 residential and visiting youth between the ages of 5-16. These camp programs offer affordable and convenient recreational experiences to children within a structured environment. Our passionate and qualified supervisors are dedicated to providing a safe environment for children of all backgrounds to engage in active, exciting and creative play. Through these programs, children will have the opportunity to fulfill personal goals and acquire the skills necessary to provide a strong foundation to help prepare them for future life experiences. For more information about our camps Please visit www.greatersudbury.ca/camps *Temperature & UV: http://www.myweather2.com/city-town/canada/ontario/sudbury/climate-profile.aspx?month=6 *Relative Humidity: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/wind/cl6068150/caon0664 Sunlight: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/forecasts/statistics/suncloud/cl6068150/caon0664 pg. 1
Sun Safety in Greater Sudbury At our City of Greater Sudbury Day Camps we believe that outdoor activities are a key part of a healthy lifestyle. By educating youth about sun safety we are helping parents to foster positive lifelong sun safety habits. Cindy Dent, Manager of Recreation INCORPORATING SUN-SAFETY INTO OUR PROGRAMS The City of Greater Sudbury was excited to learn about and participate in the Sun Aware Camp Program offered by the Melanoma Association of Canada. The safety and welfare of our summer camp participants and staff are very important to us and we will continue to strive for safety excellence. The pre-season assessment provided by this program offered us an opportunity to audit our current policies and identify where we had experienced success with sun-safety practices and highlight areas that needed more attention in the 2015 season. The results of the audit were used to create a baseline from which we could measure future progress. The audit also allowed us to create a strategic plan to implement best practices that were not yet in place. Our strategic plan focused on three main areas; updating policies, enhancing training, and improving the delivery of information to staff, parents and campers. UPDATED POLICIES Three main changes were made to sun-safety policies this past year affecting: sunscreen application, daily itineraries and daily monitoring requirements. Sunscreen application at camp was moved from recommended to mandatory, with signed parental consent, for all staff and campers, unless an allergy was indicated. Parents were asked to apply sunscreen to their campers each morning prior to camp and to send sunscreen with their child to camp each day. Again this year, camps were supplied with bulk sunscreen to use in the event that a camper did not have their own supply. 2
The City of Greater Sudbury provided me with considerable training about sun safety. This involved both inperson and on-line learning methods. Through these training sessions, I was able to acquire a lot of knowledge on this topic, including but not limited to: the correlation between UV intensity and sun damage; the required quantity and frequency of sunscreen application; indicators of heat stroke and what to do in these scenarios; and the importance of shade and UV-blocking apparel (such as sunglasses or hats). Connor B., Junior Supervisor at the Sports Sampler Camp The frequency of sunscreen application was also specified in the updated policy to include every two hours during the day or following any water-related activities. Another notable change to our policies included the scheduling of daily camp activities around peak UV hours. Activities between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. would utilize shade whenever possible, schedule water break more frequently and move to another site when no shade was available on site as with our Sports Sampler Camp. Finally, a policy requiring daily monitoring of weather conditions by staff and campers was created. Each camp was required to create and display a UV index wheel with instructions for each rating category and implement the recommendations into daily activities. More checks and balances were also created this year to ensure that policies were being followed at each site. Staff were required to document each sunscreen application and any changes to schedules based on weather conditions. These logs were then sign-off by Senior Supervisors on a weekly basis. ENHANCED STAFF TRAINING We rely on our camp staff to implement policies into daily activities and to relay information to campers and families who use our programs. At the City of Greater Sudbury, we understand that well trained, competent and engaged camp staff are crucial for service excellence and directly impact the overall camp experience for youth. With the additional resources provided by the Sun Aware Camp Program, we were able to provide more information to staff, more frequently, and used more teaching methods to deliver our sun safety messages. Staff attended an interactive sun safe workshop during their training week hosted by the Sudbury and District Health Unit. Staff were then able to test their knowledge through the on-line Sun Safety training for camp staff available through the Screen Me! site. UV bracelets and printed resources, provided by the Melanoma Association of Canada were then distributed to staff and campers. Knowledge and practices were again tested with our UV Index contest. Feedback from staff regarding their sun aware training and overall knowledge was positive. 3
Getting the message out IMPROVED INFORMATION DELIVERY Our strategic plan recognized the need to ensure information was delivered in a timely manner, that the messages remain constant and accurate and that it was accessible to staff and campers. All of our parent information packages were updated to include more standardized messaging about sun safety in an easy to read format. All guides were made available in both official languages and were available in paper or electronic versions. Each family received a camp-specific Parent Information Guide upon registration. A City of Greater Sudbury camp website was created to make information more accessible and accelerate delivery time. Our camp website included camp-specific information, FAQs, Tuck Shop, Contest and Prizes, Itineraries and Camp Documents. Staff memos and parent newsletter were also used to reinforce sun safety messaging this year. Our guides include information about policy changes including sun-safety initiatives; what to bring to camp including sun-smart clothing, and sunscreen application permission forms. Contests and Prizes UV Index Contest As part of our ongoing efforts to educate youth about sun safety, each City of Greater Sudbury day camp site was tasked with creating and submitting a photo of their new UV Index Scale. Submissions were judged based on creativity, informational value, teamwork and overall appearance. Ice Cream Party Winner The Adamsdale Playground site was awarded the ice cream party for their UV index scale. Pizza Party Winner The St-Denis playground site was awarded the pizza party. To view other submissions, please visit: www.greatersudbury.ca/camps 4
James Jerome Sports Complex Located in the heart of the City, bordered by protect marsh lands, steps away from our world-famous Science Centre and scenic serenity to patients recovering at our local hospital, one will find the many playing fields known as the James Jerome Sports Complex. Through high school sports teams, I had played on these fields and had experienced first-hand the effects of the sun at this complex. As a camp counselor at this site, I was worried that the campers might experience the same effects. Even with many water breaks and frequent sunscreen applications, some campers experienced sunrelated issues. These incidences could have been avoided with a shade structures at the complex as it would have allowed the campers to get frequent breaks from the sun while still being involved in the group/team. Connor B., Junior Supervisor Sports Sampler Every year, the CGS day camps host three outdoor city-wide events for all the children in the program to gather at one site. This year a Pan-Am Sports day was organized for the James Jerome Sports Complex as one of these citywide events. However, the decision to move the event to another site had to be made due to the potential for sun-related injuries as a result of lack of shade at this site. Emily W, Special Event Coordinator SHADE SAIL SYSTEM SHADE CANOPY NEEDED The James Jerome Sports complex receives more than 130,000 players and spectators each year. This site is also home to more than 300 campers each summer including the City of Greater Sudbury s Sports Sampler Camp. Campers are able to utilize: a full-size and mini soccer pitch, three tennis courts, baseball diamond, accessible play structure and an artificial turf field. This site could greatly benefit from a shade structure. As no shade is available at this site, campers at the CGS Sports Sampler Camp were moved to an indoor site daily during peak UV index times. A Shade Sail at this location could be installed adjacent to the playground, in the centre of the complex, and provide much needed relief from the direct sun for campers, field users and spectators. 5