Camp fYrefly
I cofounded Camp fYrefly with Dr. Kristopher Wells, MacEwan University, in Edmonton in 2004. It is a Canadian summer leadership camp for sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth. Initially created to link research to advocacy and outreach for SGM youth, the camp offers research-informed, arts-based programming focused on individual development, comprehensive health, socialization, and growing into resilience.
Camp fYrefly currently has sites in Alberta (annual camps in Edmonton and Calgary), Saskatchewan (camps alternate each year between Saskatoon and Regina), and Ontario (annual camp in Peterborough). The initiative is currently operated by Dr. Glynnis Lieb, Executive Director, Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services (iSMSS), Faculty of Education, University of Alberta (https://www.ualberta.ca/ismss).
Useful references:
Grace, A. P. (2015). Part II with K. Wells. Growing into Resilience: Sexual and gender minority youth in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Grace, A. P. (2013). Camp fYrefly: Linking research to advocacy in community work with sexual and gender minority youth. In W. Pearce & J. Hillabold (Eds.), OUT SPOKEN: Perspectives on queer identities (pp. 127-142). Regina, SK: University of Regina Press.
Grace, A. P., & Wells, K. (2007). Everyone performs, everyone has a place: Camp fYrefly and arts-informed, community-based education, cultural work, and inquiry. In D. Clover & J. Stalker (Eds.), The art of social justice: Re-crafting activist adult education and community leadership (pp. 61-82). Leicester, UK: NIACE.