Summer Camps
Our week-long summer day camps run June 19th through September 1st.
Camps are 9:00am-3:00pm for ages 6-17 and 9:00am-1:00pm for ages 3-6.
We have two locations for camps in the Eugene/Springfield area at Mount Pisgah Arboretum and Hendricks Park. Our overnight camps are held at Big Bear.
Camp Prices
- Half Day Camps: $259
- Full Day Camps: $389
- Day Camp Aftercare: $61
- Overnight Camp: $710
Instructor to student ratios:
- Ages 3-6 have 1:4 students. Ages 6-17 have 1:6 students
Our prices are a reflection of our values. We value the experience, intention, and care that our instructors bring to the process of educating your amazing children each and every day. We endeavor to support them with the same level of respect and priority and have raised our prices this summer with that in mind. We recognize that the premium price of our programs at $13/hr can be difficult for some families and encourage you to apply for one of our 25% or 50% scholarships to help with that cost.
Aftercare
Aftercare is our program for campers who need extended care before parents can pick them up from camp. Books, crafts, low energy games, and general silliness are staples. Guardians can pick their camper up anytime during aftercare. Aftercare runs from the end of camp until 5:30pm.
For any attendance needs, please call our attendance line at 541-937-5799.
Preparing for Camp
What does my student need to bring with them to be successful at camp? How do you handle knives at camp? What happens when there’s a lot of smoke in the air? What’s your COVID-19 and refund policy?
These questions and more addressed in our parent handbook from the button above!
Student Leadership Opportunities
As Whole Earth students mature into young adults, they have a unique opportunity to become mentors for younger students as Counselors in Training (CITs) at our Day Camps or Junior Counselors (JCs) at our Overnight Camps. Visit our student leadership opportunities page to learn more!
Scholarships
Whole Earth Nature School is proud to offer need-based scholarships to families who would like to attend our nature programs. We have generous award thresholds and encourage anyone to apply! The application only takes a few minutes after you register for programs with a small, refundable deposit. Click “Learn More” for additional details.
SUMMER DAY CAMP DESCRIPTIONS
Story Camps
Get inspired! Use your imagination to transform your identity and practice skills in fictional context that mirror the real world!
Discover stillness, awareness, and stealth. Being an Earth Ninja means living closely with the plants and animals that surround us. By understanding movement and camouflage we learn to travel unseen and unheard in any environment.
Earth Ninja: Wildlife Within (age 4-6)
Are you ready to get muddy and play outside? Explore stillness and awareness by pretending to be the different wild animals you observe. Make new friends and play games!
Earth Ninja (age 6-9)
Find a hidden hideout and use natural camouflage to disguise yourself as you sneak through the woods. Play games to practice awareness, silence and stealth but beware…there are rumors of another group traveling in the forest!
Earth Ninja: Forest Mission (age 10-13)
Travel silently through the forest, working with your fellow Earth Ninjas to complete an epic mission. Work on advanced earth ninja skills including tracking, stealth, teamwork and trap setting!
In Elven Caravan, not all those who wander are lost. Travel the land in search of the special plants that provide healing, food, or craft materials. Deepen your connection to nature through participating in a stewardship project and celebrate with your new friends at the end of week Elven Festival!
Elven Caravan: Fairy Friends (4-6)
Can you befriend the magical fairies that live in the woods? Build fairy homes, create nature inspired art and make music while exploring the natural world.
Elven Caravan: Elven Archers (6-9)
Slow down to craft, sustainably harvest wild plants, and enjoy nature’s beauty. Explore your creative side with clever elven travelers who craft from wild plants! Learn basic archery skills or work on improving your aim.
Elven Caravan: Elven Adventurers (10-13)
Venture off on an epic journey with your fellow Elven Adventurers! Work as a team to decipher clues and use your navigation skills to lead the way on an adventure to a peak of Mount Pisgah. Craft from wild plants, play archery games with our foam arrows and work on carving projects.
In Living with the Land, we ground ourselves in nature wherever we are. Only when we know our environment intimately can it care for us and can we care for it. Deepen your connection to nature and your new friends by working on a stewardship project together!
Living with the Land: At Home in Nature (4-6)
Make new friends, sing songs and feel at home playing in nature! Pretend to be the plants and animals you meet and explore what they need to thrive in their homes.
Living with the Land (6-9)
Settle into earth-time and a lifestyle of working with nature and each other to meet all of your needs. Build a shelter, sing songs, sustainably gather wild plants and make delicious concoctions. Play the game of kube to practice your rabbit hunting skills and lookout…there have been sightings of invasive “jug bunnies” across Mount Pisgah!
Living with the Land: Stewardship and Survival Skills (10-13)
Develop survival skills including first aid, shelter building, tracking and wild plant use. Food, shelter, and caring for the land are our priorities. As a community we will thrive!
A breadth of skills and a breath of magic! Discover the magic of nature as a student at Wizard Academy, where you are inspired to learn real-world skills through fantasy play!
Wizards Academy: Magic of Nature (4-6)
Discover the magic of nature! Make new friends as we explore the magic of the natural world around us. Build gnome homes, craft a wand and work together to help the magical creatures we meet.
Wizards Academy (6-9)
Welcome to Wizards Academy! Are you ready to learn plant spells, healing and potion making? We’ll craft wands and use our skills to help the magical creatures we encounter along the way!
Skill Camps
Already inspired? Pursue a passion to a deeper level, with greater challenge and greater reward, and come away with confidence in your skills.
Get comfortable with sharp tools so that you can be safe and make amazing products with your hands and some wood.
Cutting Edge: Knifemaking (10-13)
Make your own knife and craft a sheath. Learn how to use tools and carve safely!
*There is an additional $25 materials fee for this camp.
Cutting Edge: Whittling (10-14)
Spend the week carving! Learn how to whittle awesome projects safely. What will you create?
*There is an additional $10 materials fee for this camp.
Fish Finders (10-14)
All about fishing from start to finish. Bait a hook, find a hole, cast your rod, reel in your catch. Spend the week on the river, fishing with friends!
Oregon fishing license required for campers 12 and older.
*There is an additional $25 materials fee for this camp.
Explore the natural world around you and become skilled at the crafts that can sustain a community. Make what you need and add your own creative flair!
Village Craft: Leatherwork (8-12)
Join a community of crafters and learn how to make cool stuff out of leather! We will be using a variety of tools and techniques to create bracelets, wrist guards, and pouches, you’ll even have the chance to design your own leather project! Leatherwork Camp is for students who love to really focus, work hard and hone their skills. By the end of the week, you’ll have a lot to be proud of!
*There is an additional $25 materials fee for this camp.
Village Craft: Wild Pigments (6-10)
Leaves, flowers, lichens, berries…what will you choose? Set off across Mount Pisgah in search of wild plants. Create pigments and experiment with painting and dyeing. By the end of the week you’ll have made various art pieces including a tie dyed bandana!
*There is an additional $10 materials fee for this camp.
Get to know real animals of our local parks and explore what they need to thrive. If you love field guides or drawing in your journal, these are the camps for you!
Wildlife Encounters: Secret Life of Birds (7-10)
Wander from sources of water to high points of the park seeking to learn from birds! Choose to draw what you observe in your journal-from a majestic bird of prey soaring overhead to a songbird just a branch away. Help your neighborhood birds by making a natural bird feeder to bring home. Learn to understand the language of birds to foretell any approaching danger!
Wildlife Encounters: Tracking (6-9)
Roam the land looking for signs of animal and insect life. Use field guides to identify animal tracks and draw what you observe in your journal. Your final mission will be to track a mysterious being across the park!
Wildlife Encounters: Friends of the River (6-10)
Get to know different parts of the riverbank as you race boats crafted from natural materials, build rock sculptures, observe wildlife in & around the water, look for tracks and have lots of opportunities to wade (no higher than your knees!). Head inland to explore where rainwater meets the river and look for wildlife. Work together with your new friends to help the river through a stewardship project!
Young Mentors (12-16*)
Begin your journey from camper to counselor! Young Mentors will have the opportunity to discover what leadership development means and deepen their skills in communication, group dynamics and team building. Learn how to teach new things to younger campers, what your strengths & skills are and how best to utilize them. Practice outdoor skills and games that can be taught to campers and learn to moderate conflicts through effective communication. Bond with your peers and take on challenges as a group. This is a great opportunity to discover your leadership potential!
Young Mentors an in-depth opportunity for teens to receive training on the skills and knowledge involved in mentoring younger campers and leading them on epic outdoors adventures. This camp is a prerequisite** to participate in the CIT (Counselor in Training) program during the rest of the summer; in addition, students who’d like to be a CIT must complete a short application. We view this camp as essential to our CIT’s success! Visit our Student Leadership Opportunities page to learn more about our CIT program and to apply.
*11 year olds are eligible to participate in Young Mentors and be a CIT if they are recommended by an instructor. Email programs@wholeearth.org if your 11 year old would like to be a CIT.
**Although most students completing the Young Mentors camp will earn the opportunity to become a CIT, Young Mentors participants who are unable to meet the behavior expectations of a CIT may be asked to not participate in the CIT program. Visit our Student Leadership Opportunities page to learn more about the expectations and awesomeness of being a CIT!
Social Camps
Build community in a camp that focuses on your personal growth, connection with peers, and kinship with nature.
Camp Terance (14-17)
A camp designed exclusively by Whole Earth’s most notorious instructor, Terance. If you want to learn the art of the Terance directly from the man himself then this is the camp for you. Learn a wide variety of new skills as you begin to understand the Way of the Terance. Expect to work hard and play hard outside while bonding with your peers!
Featuring:
- Carving projects
- Big group project
- Challenges that make you a better person
- Gnarly off site adventures
- Bonding with an amazing team of peers
Daughters of Artemis (9-13)
On the other side of the Portal to Artemis is a land imbued with magic and stories. Each girl* who has passed through the portal has re-emerged in our world transformed and empowered, ready to take on life with confidence, resilience, grounding, and a strong bond with other girls.
You’ll begin your adventure by creating a fantasy character to help you re-imagine who you can be and who you want to be. You’ll have an important role in your group, such as the Guardian who watches for hazards and keeps the group united, or the Ranger who keeps an eye out for critters to observe and plants to harvest. Then, you’ll go on epic quests with your adventuring party that take teamwork, imagination, and real wilderness skills.
Featuring:
- Roleplaying quests in stealth, diplomacy, and exploration
- Crafting from natural materials
- Becoming one with mud and leaves
This camp makes a great stand-alone adventure for girls during their transition to womanhood as well as an awesome introduction to Camp Artemis for girls who might join us at the overnight camp in the future!
All girls* are welcome at Daughters of Artemis, including those who are transgender, cisgender, non-binary, and/or exploring their gender identity or expression.
*Please see additional information about gender at camp below.
Epic Quest Camp (ages 11-14 and 13-17)
It’s right there in the name! Inspired by ideas from tween and teen campers, this camp mixes imaginative live action role play with wilderness skills. You’ll begin your journey by creating a fantasy character and then you’ll set off on an epic quest with your adventuring party. Campers will take the lead, working together to decipher clues, figure out where to go & what to do next and use their skills to overcome the many obstacles & adversaries they’ll encounter on this epic adventure. When not battling the forces of evil, campers will have a chance to slow down and engage in classic nature camp activities like river time, carving and relaxing outside with new friends.
My First Nature Camp (3-4)
Our littlest campers make new friends while exploring the natural world around them. Campers look for bugs, pretend to be the wild animals they see, create with natural objects and get comfortable being outdoors!
*Campers must be potty trained.*
Rainbow Society (9-15)
A camp for gender diverse campers where everyone is welcome to join.
Rainbow Society is the least exclusive club anywhere. Rainbow Society is designed for gender diverse campers, but anyone is welcome to join. It’s a place where diversity is celebrated and all can feel safe. In fact, diversity is what makes us resilient. It’s also what makes nature resilient. Diverse ecosystems support thriving communities of living things. In the Rainbow Society we will explore the diversity of nature and our place in it.
Along the way, you will explore and experience some awesome wilderness skills. Study the art of camouflage to blend into your surroundings. Practice the art and craft of archery. Connect with and learn about the community of plants and the ways in which they provide food, medicine, fiber and more.
*Please see additional information about gender at camp below.
Sons of the Forest (9-13)
Celebrate what it means to be a boy*! If you like to climb trees, carve on sticks, play games with bows and safe foam arrows, track animals, sneak through the woods, use safe foam swords, build forts, or just run, this camp is for you. This week we will explore honor, self-respect, wisdom, and the responsibility that comes with being a boy*.
Activities like climbing trees and archery will become opportunities to have fun while learning about setting safe and appropriate boundaries for ourselves. We will have lots of fun going on adventures and bonding with our peers!
All boys* are welcome at Sons of the Forest, including those who are transgender, cisgender, non-binary, and/or exploring their gender identity or expression.
*Please see additional information about gender at camp below.
Wild Village: Creating in Nature (6-9)
Connect with nature and others through art in the outdoors! The natural world is teeming with opportunities for self expression, connection, and inspiration. Building natural structures, painting with wild pigments, sketching, theater, and so much more awaits in this fun filled week! Together campers will explore the many ways nature can be used to create works all their own and as part of a community.
*There is an additional $10 materials fee for this camp.
Wild Village: Mindful Movement and Play (6-9)
Connect with the natural world and others through mentored open-ended play opportunities in nature! The outdoors is the ideal place for experiential learning because it is ripe with opportunities for exploration, discovery, and play. Campers will work together to grow their senses and challenge their limits through hiking, tree climbing, yoga, obstacle courses, and so much more!
*Gender at Camps
Whole Earth Nature School is committed to providing gender-specific camps to help students learn about their gender in a mentored space, and our gender camps serve students based on their gender regardless of their assigned sex at birth, and those who are exploring their gender identity or expression. We encourage families to choose the camp appropriate to their child based on the child’s gender identity or gender expression. This position maintains our commitment to gender equality and justice and responds to modern advances in our understanding of gender identity and expression by welcoming cisgender, transgender, and non-binary kids into an environment welcoming to all.
Whole Earth Nature School staff respect a young person’s wishes to be called by a certain name and/or gender pronoun. That is why we invite all students to share their own name and pronouns on the first day of the program. We recognize that youth who identify as LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) or who are exploring their sexual orientation and/or gender identity need to know that Whole Earth Nature School is a safe space where they can be themselves and not worry about experiencing hurtful treatment from others.
