Wild Sprouts: Farm and Forest Camp

Wilderness Awareness School has partnered together with Oxbow Farm, and we are serving up something very special this summer!

During this week of daily adventures your child will explore the edge where Farm and Forest meet. In addition to Wilderness Awareness School's unique day camp experience learning about plants, mammals, tracking, birds and survival skills...we're down on the farm!

Kids will make their own sun tea, fresh fruit popsicles, and farm burritos. They will dig roots and pick fruits, save, sow, and snack on seeds. On the final day, we will harvest produce for an end-of-week Happy Camper Farmers Market! Each day we enjoy storytelling under the Maple Tree, as well as songs, crafts, and play surrounding food, farm and forest life.

Some planned camp activities:

• At the forest's edge we search for wild plants that can be used for food by humans and animals.
• In the hoop house we will explore such mysteries as: Why does a seed sprout?
• In the fields we will consider: How is a Chickadee like a Chicken?
• In the Living Playground we will explore the Vine Tunnel and the Runner Bean Teepee to experience what the world looks like from a caterpillar's point of view.
• In the garden we will discover the answer to the perplexing question: What do you feed your pet earthworms anyway?
• And much more!

We invite your child to come and experience the joy of having their hands in good clean dirt while learning how we can care for our environment and ourselves in a sustainable way.

Camp is held at Oxbow Farm in the Snoqualmie Valley (about 15 minutes from Redmond). It is on a 120-acre property, with 20 acres of certified organic vegetables, berries and tree fruit in cultivation for the fresh market.

Our Instructors

Julie Hankes comes to Oxbow as a lifelong advocate for children, community, and the pursuit of wonder.  She began her education career in the Bronx, NY as a Teach for America public middle- school teacher as she earned her Master's degree in Education at Bank Street College.  In the past 6 years, her passion for progressive inquiry-based education has focused on the field of Early Childhood Education, teacher leadership, and nature-connection education.  Most recently, Julie graduated from the Anake Leadership Program and currently serve as a mentor-educator for children at Roots & Wings and Youth School.  She is passionate about how the natural world can reflect and inspire our own process of growth, transformation, creativity, service and vitality.  Julie comes to Oxbow eager to jointly explore with your youth, our capacity to understand and tend the growing world -  and delight in the bounty we can uniquely inspire with our hands and hearts in the summer days on the farm!