Auburn Parks summer camps wrap as staff, parents prepare for March registration and hiring

Auburn Parks & Recreation is winding down its summer camps for children after a busy season of bike camps, Skyhawks sports sessions and themed day programs, staff and counselors said on the City of Auburn podcast. City staff asked families to sign up for alerts and noted that seasonal hiring and registration for next year open in March. Why it matters: Auburn’s camps serve hundreds of children annually, provide seasonal jobs and internships for local teens and college students, and feed into year‑round recreation programs such as after‑school teen services and drop‑in childcare. Counselors described camps for ages 6–12 that ran daily activities including water play, crafts, themed programming (for example, a CSI‑style camp with fingerprinting and mock interviews), bike‑skills progression at local pump tracks and multi‑sport and Skyhawks offerings. Staff said four bike camps enrolled about 91 children combined this summer and that Skyhawks basketball was among the single Skyhawks sessions with the highest participation this year. Staff also described a recent staff‑versus‑kids kickball game in which roughly 30 campers faced about eight or nine staff members. Auburn Parks also runs a range of year‑round programs tied to the recreation division: drop‑in childcare for parents using city recreation facilities, a teen center after‑school program offered at low cost, birthday and evening programs, and an array of internships (general recreation and specialty internships such as “rec and roll”). Staff said the city’s internship and seasonal hiring window begins in March; the parks brochure and email alerts have the full schedule and job postings. Counselors said camps emphasize relationship building: many campers attend multiple weeks and staff track individual progress (for example, helping children build confidence to complete bike‑park drops). Counselors also noted routine program features such as guest presenters and daily rotations so campers “are never bored.” What’s next: staff encouraged families interested in next year’s camps and parents looking for seasonal work to watch the Parks & Recreation community calendar and job listings on the city’s recreation web pages for the March registration and hiring window. No formal policy changes or budget actions were discussed on the podcast.