Summer is a perfect time for engaging multiple generations in fun, meaningful outdoor activities. Intergenerational games, gardening, storytelling, arts, and nature walks, as well as more intensive summer camps, provide opportunities for social connection, physical activity, and the transmission of traditions and knowledge. This issue highlights examples of summer programs and provides resources that can help practitioners develop high-quality, relationship-based activities.

This newsletter is presented as part of Generations United’s Shared Site Learning Network which is made possible with support from The Eisner Foundation.

Odindi Youth Action Village Intergenerational Summer Camp

In Ypsilanti, Michigan, the Odindi Youth Action Village (OYA), created by father and son Akinbambo and Akintunde Oluwadare, brings elders and youth together to create a strong West Willow neighborhood and close generational gaps. 

Last year, OYA launched a free 12-week summer camp to foster stronger community bonds, provide structured activities for diverse age groups, and enhance the overall well-being of West Willow’s residents. With input from youth and elders in the community, the summer camp was designed to promote health, wellness, community cohesion, and intergenerational collective work. Read more.

National Parks and Recreation Association Intergenerational Initiative

The National Parks and Recreation Association, with funding from RRF Foundation for Aging, is engaging in an initiative to expand the availability of equitable and inclusive intergenerational programming in Parks & Recreation agencies and leverage their spaces to support social and intergenerational connectedness. To scale intergenerational connection interventions and approaches across the park and recreation field, NRPA has awarded grants to several geographically diverse local agencies. Read more.

San Diego County Intergenerational Gardens

There are nine intergenerational gardens in San Diego County, two of which are at community centers in County parks. During the past year, the County of San Diego’s Aging & Independence Services, initially supported by Older Adults Recovery and Resilience funding from the California Department of Aging, has provided gardening supplies as well as garden and nutrition instructors to host intergenerational workshops focusing on basic gardening, native plants, healthy soil, and rock painting. Community members of all ages are engaged in garden workdays and events that intentionally promote social connectedness. Read more.

Partridge Creek Farm

Partridge Creek Farm, situated in Ishpeming, Michigan, is a non-profit organization established in 2013. Their initiatives include extensive educational programs along with the management of four community garden sites and one 3.75-acre farm site. It provides local food access and intergenerational learning opportunities to connect the community with its food and one another. The Partridge Creek Community Farm is the 3.75-acre farm site located behind a Senior Housing development and is very close to the Ishpeming Senior Center and a middle/high school. During the summer, there is a weekly Farm Stand which attracts older adults and families. In addition, Skill Share workshops are offered in which community members of all ages share specific skills/ knowledge (e.g., fermentation, making kale chips, cooking). Read more.

Oxford Crossings Intergenerational Summer Camp

At the Oxford Crossings retirement community in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a one-week intergenerational summer camp is offered to 15-20 middle school students and 25 older adults. At the beginning of the week, older adults from the retirement community participate in an orientation that focuses on expectations and effective ways to interact with youth. Fostering mutual respect and empowering youth are key components. Youth are drawn from the broader community and Oxford Crossings staff. They also engage in initial training to sensitize them to aging issues and help them develop effective ways to communicate with older adults. Read more.

El Buen Samaritano Juntos Summer Program

At El Buen Samaritano in Travis County, Texas, middle school youth and older adults come together during the summer to build connections through storytelling, photography, and digital literacy. The Juntos program, initially funded through the St. David’s Foundation, focuses on sharing stories using digital photography and is fully integrated into El Buen’s summer program. This year, two 4-week summer sessions are offered. Once a week, during the last two hours of camp, six older adults work 1:1 or 1:2 with 15 middle school students to share stories about their lives. A facilitator provides prompts to help begin conversations. Both middle school students and older adults receive training in digital and computer literacy, enabling them to explore the world of photography through hands-on sessions. Read more.

Link Generations Summer Programs

Link Generations in Bethesda, MD, educates middle and high school students about aging and facilitates intergenerational programs. During the summer, it offers a number of activities, including:

• A five session storytelling series that brings together high school students and people with early dementia in an adult day care center. In small groups, students and older adults engage in discussions about music, travel, and other topics that spark conversation.
• An Intergenerational Graphic Novel Book Club that meets three times this summer at the Gaithersburg Public Library. Middle and High School students meet with older residents from Asbury Methodist Village to discuss graphic novels that are selected by the librarian.

Read more.

ARECMA Summer Camp

The Recreational and Educational Community Association of Barrio Mariana de Humacao (ARECMA) is a volunteer-run organization in Puerto Rico that promotes individual and collective social responsibility across generations. It serves the residents of the Mariana neighborhood in Humacao, Puerto Rico, by providing services and facilities that bring residents of all ages together. This June, ARECMA offered a summer camp on 15 acres of land, with five elders and a college student serving as facilitators. Most of the elders were retired teachers. Every day from 9 am to 2 pm, elders and youth engaged in a range of arts and health-related activities and shared stories about the history of this special community. The elders were very integrated into all aspects of the camp, resulting in a family-like atmosphere. Labor Day weekend, the traditional Festival de la Pana will be held. This community celebration brings together extended families for a weekend of music, artisania (crafts), and food. Read more.

St Ann Center for Intergenerational Care Indaba Nights

St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care in Milwaukee, WI, offers child and adult day care as well as a range of health and wellness services to the community. During the summer months, in addition to regular activities between young children and older adults, St Ann’s Bucyrus Campus sponsors Indaba Nights in their Bandshell. This venue is a safe place where extended families from the community come together to enjoy bands playing jazz, blues, old school, and African music. Several hundred people of all ages participate in these Wednesday night gatherings. Read more.

Gramping



“Gramping” is a free, overnight camping experience for kinship families that is sponsored by the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) and the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). The event was dubbed “Gramping” to capture the concept of camping with one’s grandparents or other kinship caregivers. The first Gramping event, attended by 18 kinship caregivers and 30 children, was held in September 2017 at Dos Picos County Campground in Ramona, CA. Four events have occurred since that time. The 2025 Gramping overnight event was held in May and included the following activities: games and crafts, a gentle, guided hike, a glow-stick “Dance Off”, S’mores around the campfire, and a tree-planting activity. Read more.

Intergenerational Games



Intergenerational Games are designed to promote health and physical fitness, as well as intergenerational relationships among older adults and children. The Intergenerational Games in San Diego were created as an innovative approach to address health and social issues in the community, such as childhood obesity and the high rate of older adults diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease. Active older adults (age 50+) and elementary and/or middle school students pair up for a half-day of educational and physical activities. Each participant receives a t-shirt with the design of an Olympic-style torch, suggesting physical activity and healthy lifestyles. The slogan, “Everyone’s a Winner,” reminds participants that active and healthy choices are not reserved just for Olympic athletes but are within the reach of everyone—young and older. Read more.

Pickleball and Nature Walk

Once a week at the Fallbrook Community Center in Fallbrook, CA, older adults from the Fallbrook Senior Center share their love of pickleball with local kids ages 7 and up. After a quick lesson, they team up to play, then enjoy a snack together, creating friendships across generations while staying active. About 10-12 older adults and 15-20 children are participating in the program.



Last August, the Community Center also hosted its first intergenerational nature walk, where about 20 high school students and 15 older adults explored local trails, played lawn games, and relaxed with yoga in the park. Thanks to the enthusiastic response, more intergenerational activities are on the way! Read more.