
A.
Children have an inherent connection with the
natural world.
Activities using the outdoors as a safe, fun and
wonder-full learning environment are designed to
nurture a child's sense of wonder and enable
him/her to feel comfortable in and joyful about
the world around us.
B. Children thrive in an environment that
fosters cooperation.
Camp activities are non-competitive, joyful,
hands-on and positive.
C. Each child is unique, possessing
special interests and needs.
We follow a non-competitive, age appropriate
approach in working with children. Our low
enrollment, camp structure and professional staff
enable us to tailor the program to meet the needs
of children.
Our Mission Statement: To
give campers a safe summer, in which they can be themselves,
have fun, be challenged, connect with others and the earth,
develop new skills, and be supported throughout.
Why do we take
children, young and old, out-of-doors? Some of the reasons follow:
1. The outdoors offers opportunities for
direct, hands-on experiences. We all spend too much time
thinking that life is something we view through screens.
2. To
protect and nurture the senses.
3.
Children have an innate sense of wonder and the outdoors is a place
to practice and to hone that a bit further.
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering
with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in."
Rachel Carson
4. Children take in
very deeply what they are surrounded by and are exposed to.
5. There is a
sense of slowing down, of real time, of a breathing-out when we are
outdoors.
6. Beautiful
natural environments, and nature in general, are healing.
“I go to nature to
be
soothed and healed,
and to have my senses
put in tune once more”
John Burroughs
7. Our third planet
from the sun is very often referred to as "Mother" earth, and for
good reasons.
"Nature is not a place
to visit.
It is home."
Gary Snyder
8. We are a part of the natural world that always
surrounds and supports us.
9. Free, natural play happens
most readily in nature.
10. Children take in, absorb, the whole
(holistic) picture when they are outdoors.
11. Nature provides a non-imposing,
open-ended place to be and to learn from.
12. FUN, FUN, FUN
13. Caretaking and responsibility as
keepers of our home (planet stewards) naturally arise.
14. Nature is non-sexist, non-judgmental.
15. There is time away from the adult
world.
16. Creativity can have time and space in
which to blossom.
17. Surprises abound!
18. Nature can provide joy and reverence.
19. A sense of humbleness, of something
greater than ourselves that we are a part of, can be found.
“There was a time when
meadow, grove, and
stream
the earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Appareled in celestial
light,
The glory and the freshness
of a dream.”
William Blake
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