When Laura Tatum—the RanchLife Program Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for Rancho Mission Viejo—visited one of the community’s farms in the Sendero neighborhood with her young stepdaughter, Kylie, she was struck by something Kylie said about people needing to disconnect from their phones and enjoy the outdoors instead.

With that observation in mind, Tatum was encouraged to bring to life a new program aimed at teens and tweens called Ranch Life Camp, which brought kids out to Rancho Mission Viejo for various outdoor activities.

The pilot program this year took kids out on Friday trips in July and August once a week. Tatum wants to expand the camp into a weeklong program for next year, as opposed to one day a week.