Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation prepares for return of summer camps

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Nikki Barthelmess is a busy mom.

"Activities are very important for our kids … they love to play ... I think we’re the luckiest people alive ... we are living in Santa Barbara where you can go to the beach ... and there's a park there," said Barthelmess.

Kids will be even luckier this summer as directors at the city of Santa Barbara Parks and Rec Department are preparing for a bunch of summer camps.

"We’re hoping to exceed what we did last summer ... we had almost 3,000 kids ... we ran a hybrid model to meet the health requirements," said recreation manager Rich Hanna of the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department.

But this year, kids won’t have to turn to the hybrid model to have fun.

All camps are going back to in-person activities like they used to.

"We’re in full force ... all of our camp sessions are back .. we’re able to bring more kids into our program, because we can increase our staffing to our camper ratio," said Hanna.

This year, the department is preparing more than 24 summer camps for kids.

"We’re thrilled to be back up and running … full speed ahead ... something for everyone … I really hope our community members in Santa Barbara are able to find a way for their kids to have a fun and safe summer," said assistant parks and recreation director Jazmin Leblanc of the city of Santa Barbara Parks and Rec Department.

Barthelmess plans to sign her kids up for a variety of summer camps and other activities.

"It’s important especially with the pandemic when our kids weren’t getting around other kids so much … but it’s really important for their learning and fun,” said Bethelmess.

At age two, Bethelmess' daughter Hadley seems ready for some summer fun.

"Hadley, do you want to go to a summer camp," asked Bethelmess. 

Hadley replied, "Yeah."

Summer Camps in Santa Barbara are expected to begin in June.