Evidence of severe flooding was clear on a recent slog through the Brumley Forest Nature Preserve in Chapel Hill: sodden ground and thick underbrush bent heavily in one direction, as if bowing to an unseen force.
A wooden boardwalk was dislodged and broken up with some parts pushed up against trees, another warped, detached section resembled part of an abandoned rollercoaster.
"This has been the most significant weather-related event that we have dealt with in many years," said Wendy Tonker, CEO of Schoolhouse of Wonder, a 36-year-old day camp program that operates 10 camps throughout the Triangle.
Tropical Storm Chantal tore through North Carolina earlier this week, damaging property, forcing evacuations, and causing several deaths.
The Schoolhouse camp at Brumley Forest was able to continue operating, though damage to the boardwalk and a bridge that spanned Stony Creek meant altering pickup and drop-off plans and relocating a storm shelter for campers and staff.
Flooding along the Eno River in Orange and Durham counties, however, was much worse. The state and municipal authorities that run Eno River State Park and West Point on the Eno, a Durham city park, closed those facilities, which meant suspending the Schoolhouse camps on those sites indefinitely.
That left families of around 130 campers and teenaged counselors in training, not to mention staff, scrambling for alternative plans.
"Parents count on us for childcare and some parents do not have the flexibility of other options at a moment's notice," Tonker acknowledged.
Some families might be able to snag open spots in other Schoolhouse of Wonder locations; others will receive refunds.
Tonker said Schoolhouse of Wonder's mission is to create kind, curious, and confident kids and to send them home dirty, tired, and happy.
"We think that being out in nature is a prime vehicle for doing that," she added.
But in recent years, extreme weather and climate conditions have become a more frequent concern and challenge, according to Tonker.
"What I can tell you anecdotally is that we're seeing more severe weather events, we're seeing higher temperatures, we're seeing them early in the summer, we're seeing them last for longer," she explained.
Tonker said that reality has forced Schoolhouse to adapt.
"We now operate our day camp differently than we used to," she said. "And, so, we've changed our biggest running around, most active, exhausting activities to early in the morning, whereas we used to think nothing of doing them late in the afternoon."
According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, issued in 2023, the southeastern United States is indeed experiencing more frequent heat waves and a longer heat season.
The climate assessments are mandated by Congress, but the Trump Administration cut funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which produces them, and pulled down the agency site where they could be viewed.
