What will my child learn at your camps?

Wilderness Awareness Summer Camps offer unique summer courses in which young people embark on a fun-filled and adventurous journey into the mysteries of nature. Our focus is for kids to gain an understanding and appreciation of the natural world, their community of students, and of themselves.

Our curriculum is all of nature, including:

Hazards/Wilderness basics - things that could be harmful to us and others, and what we need to do to avoid or resolve issues once they happen

Wildlife Tracking/mammals - Who lives here, and what can we tell about their lives from their tracks even if we don't see them directly?

Edible/Medicinal/Poisonous plants - How do you identify a plant using sketches, field marks, and field guides? What are the plants with poisonous look-alikes in our area?

Ecology/Natural Communities - What are the cycles that make up the smooth rhythm of the natural world, and what can we learn from them?

Survival/Trees - What trees provide shelter/food/tools/fire for us, and how?

Birds and Bird Language - How can listening more closely to the birds help us stay safe from predators, and locate animals that pass nearby?

And more!

That said, we can't say EXACTLY what your child will learn in a week. This is part of how our programs are unique, and why kids and adults love them! Of course there are standard things we include in every week. Mostly this is about learning the hazards of the area and some basic techniques to keep safe during the week. Also included are a great collection of sensory awareness tools for having a richer nature experience. After that though, so much of the week is left up to the emergent curriculum of what is being presented in nature, in the group, and in each individual.

For example: imagine the instructor was showing the kids some cool animal tracks in the mud, when all of sudden a great blue heron flew by and landed in a tree. If the "plan" was to do animal tracking, some educators would say "hey kids, forget about the heron, we're here to do TRACKING". So it is when we get caught up in our plans. A magical, potentially awesome learning adventure could be doomed. However, with our staff, we are LOOKING for this kind of opportunity all the time, and frequently find them.

So some weeks it's great blue herons, eagles, tracks of animals no one can identify, the richest edible berry crop anyone has ever seen, a hawk catching a snake and carrying it off, etc. Our staff is excellent at is being aware enough to see things that others miss, and being willing to put aside their "plan" in order to follow whatever holds the most wonder and interest out there during the week.

Often, even if you asked the instructors at the end of the day what the kids learned in their group, what they tell you is an incomplete picture. There is so much going on in every day at camp, that even we are amazed at what kids learn when given an opportunity to take time soaking in the wonders in nature, as well as being given a chance to see similar amazing things in their fellow campers, and themselves.

Your kids will know more about nature then when they came to us, and will likely have a confidence in being in the outdoors and in themselves that is noticeably different from before they experienced our camps. For us, this is what we know they will "learn" in a week with us, and the rest is based on the interests of everyone present, the weather, the park, the animals, and so many other things. Only if we decided to give up the amazement and awe inherent in the "emergent" nature of our programs, could we guarantee what all kids would learn in a week with us.

Also see:

• Frequently Asked Camp Questions
• Summer Day Camps (ages 6-12)
• Overnight Camps (ages 11-14)
• Half Day Camps (ages 4-6)
• Teen Expeditions (ages 13-18)
• and 2012 Summer Camps Flyer (PDF format)