Wayne County resident carries on Camp Nuhop legacy

Jerry and Terrie Dunlap founded Camp Nuhop in 1974. Today, their son Trevor Dunlap serves as Nuhop’s executive director and continues the work his parents started more than 50 years ago.

Dunlap, a current Wayne County resident, grew up spending much of his time at Nuhop, which fostered his love and appreciation for the outdoors, outdoor education and experiential learning.

Dunlap’s involvement with Nuhop evolved through the years and so have the surrounding communities’ relationships that were built over five decades.

Camp Nuhop has two campuses between Butler and Perrysville. The Pine Campus is in the Mohican-Memorial State Forest and near Pleasant Hill Lake, and the Hemlock Campus borders the North Central Ohio Land Conservancy.

Nuhop consists of a full-time operational and leadership staff. During the summer and outdoor education seasons, the camp expands to include seasonal counselors, outdoor educators, support staff, facilitators and leadership personnel. In the 2025 season, Nuhop employed over 120 staff members across the camp's natural environments, which traverse thousands of acres of forests, ravines and waterways. Nuhop serves nearly 500 summer campers annually from Ohio and all across the United States.

Camp Nuhop’s mission is to provide a safe, nurturing, dynamic learning environment where people are empowered to succeed. Nuhop was originally founded as a residential summer camp for children with learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, behavioral differences and emotional challenges.

The youth attending camp are helped and encouraged in building confidence, social skills, resilience and friendships through hands-on experiences in nature and community. Creating a structured and tech-free environment allows campgoers to become acclimated in nature while also creating a community of acceptance that transfers to their everyday lives. Campers are given the opportunity to canoe, hike, climb, camp outdoors, participate in ropes courses and build friendships while being supported by Nuhop’s staff.

Dunlap said many of the campers come to Nuhop feeling isolated or unsuccessful in their traditional learning environments. Nuhop allows campers to focus more on teamwork, communication, leadership, emotional safety, self-advocacy, agency and resilience.

As one parent shared about her child’s previous experience attending Nuhop: “For once, my son was 100% of a group instead of 1%.”

Over the years Nuhop has expanded into additional programs such as outdoor education, respite programming, leadership development and experiential team-building activities. In the past year alone, Nuhop has provided programs for over 13,000 people both on-site and through events in other states such as California and Colorado.

Programs can be facilitated for schools, athletic teams, nonprofits, churches, corporations and leadership groups and can happen at a Nuhop campus, a school campus, conference center or even nationally. However, even with the expansion outside of the original foundation, the mission remains the same — to create environments where people can discover confidence, connection and hope.

Dunlap and his colleague Dr. Matthew Broda, Ph.D., The College of Wooster, have co-authored two books and developed learning tools used across the globe focusing on the mission of Nuhop and rooted in experiential education, communication, team building, trust, collaboration and creativity. Broda also is a Wayne County resident.

Nuhop began offering a trail race as a fundraiser several years ago, the Fuzzy Fandango. It is sponsored by many local area businesses. The Fandango race takes place in the hills of Mohican each fall and attracts a variety of runners and outdoor enthusiasts. For more information about fundraising activities, camp information and programs for corporate/team building, visit Nuhop’s website at www.nuhop.org or Facebook or Instagram.

Dunlap said the continued success of Nuhop is due to the support of the community, and for that, he is grateful.

Editor's note: This is part of a recurring series highlighting local people and businesses doing good in the community and beyond. Story ideas may be submitted to jogullifer@icloud.com.