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Virtual EARTH CAMP

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THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE A VIRTUAL EARTH CAMP PROGRAM

JULY 20-24

NEW SESSION ADDED: AUGUST 10-14

Hello from Oregon! After starting Wildflowers with my mom, Bev Buswell, I moved with my children, Azalea and Syris, to Ashland Oregon. I have missed you all and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the beautiful programs grow. I am thrilled to get to be a part once again of the beautiful community of Earth Camp and Wildflowers Nature School! We have a fun and engaging Virtual Earth Camp opportunity for you and your children!!! We will be providing daily activities designed to encourage summer days spent outdoors, learn new primitive and sustainable skills, and develop nature awareness to foster a life long connection to the Earth we are a part of. We continue to use a model of mentorship while staying connected to one another, despite our current world of social distancing. Looking forward to the exciting summer camp weeks we have in store for you. Hope to see you there!

~ALYSSA

“Virtual” Earth Camp 2020

We are holding a “Virtual Earth Camp” in 2020.   Alyssa Buswell, daughter of owners Bev & Buzz, will be our mentor.  She was one of the co-founders of Wildflowers Nature School 12 years ago, has been teaching preschool for a number of years, has been teaching virtual preschool since late March, and is starting a Nature Pods group in Ashland this summer (where she lives).  Kids find her joy, enthusiasm, and sparkle contagious!  We have so much gratitude to Alyssa for this awesome program she’s created for you.

Peek ahead at Virtual Camp:  The end of the week before, Alyssa will email the next week’s activities to parents with a minimal material list to gather.  Since we’re a nature school, part of the fun is going outside to gather natural materials.  It’s one of the major ways that people connect with nature.  Then M-F  9-10 am the kids (& parents if they want, to know what info child got & didn’t get) attends Zoom to feel a sense of belonging to a larger group and for Alyssa to introduce the day’s activities and check-in with kids how the activities from the day before went.  Then during the day the child has cool projects to work on and great nature play prompts.  Because of our belief in mentoring, Alyssa has a couple of times built into the week to do zoom with 3 kids at a time to teach crafts, knife safety, and check in deeper with the kids.

STAY TUNED!  The next blog will be by Alyssa unveiling the details of the new Virtual Earth Camp!

Earth Camp ownership transfer to Jamie Malone

After this summer,  Earth Camp will transfer from Bev & Buzz to Jamie Malone, aka “Sunshine”.   Closing camp this year was a mutual decision.  But next year Jamie will be the new owner and will be relocating camp to a new yet to be discovered spot.  If you have the perfect place, don’t hesitate to let us know.  So tune in next year for Sunshine’s Earth Camp.  It will be awesome, as everything Jamie touches is. We have so much gratitude to Sunshine as her creative , fun, and ambitious spirit really built Earth Camp here, and to Vanessa Eyen who created Earth Camp many years earlier at Laguna Farm. 

Earth Camp 2020 in person camps cancelled

We are not holding  Earth Camp in person this year due to the extreme contagion of a deadly disease going around.  It would not have been a normal camp experience anyway with masks on, distancing eliminating most games, drop off & pickup being a logistical nightmare, crafts only if they don’t require help, etc.   All of that will only lead to teaching kids to be afraid of people.  Instead kids can take one summer to gain the nature connection of yesteryear, experiencing true nature play near their homes.  Plus If Earth Camp is really for the Earth, creating new ways of living with less car use will continue the healing MaNature received in April and May.  Covid will pass and the best thing we can teach our kids is that home is where learning, fun, nature, creativity and their people all begin.

2020 Alumni Weeks

Week 4 is the designated “Alumni Week”. We welcome all of our Wildflowers Nature School pre-school alumni to join us at Camp that week, and they will be given priority registration. Week 3 is overflow alumni week, for those who can’t make Week 4, or if Week 4 becomes full. Bev and Buzz will be mentoring those weeks and they would love to see your pre-school graduates again. Join us if you can!

Earth Camp 2020 Registration Now Open!

Registration for Earth Camp 2020 is now open. We are delighted to have Jamie Malone aka Sunshine, returning again as Earth Camp Director for 2020. We are also excited that Emma Bell will be returning as mentor. And Bev and Buzz will be assisting for weeks 3 and 4. With Jamie as Director, and Emma as assistant, and all of our returning campers and pre-school alumni, we look forward to another set of awesome Earth Camp sessions!

There are four weeks of day camp this year. We are again expecting to fill all of our available spaces, so please register early to secure your spot. Children will be enrolled on a first come, first served basis, with priority assigned to returning campers and alumni of Wildflowers Nature School.  As sessions become full, registrants will be placed on a waiting list.

Week 4 has been designated as “Preschool Alumni Week”. We are encouraging alumni of Wildflowers Nature School Preschool to enroll in that week, and registration priority will be given to them for that week. Bev and Buzz will be assisting for weeks 3 and 4, and are looking forward to seeing your children!

Jamie Malone returns as Director of Earth Camp 2020

We are so pleased to welcome back Jamie Malone as Director of Earth Camp this year! She returns this summer after hiking the entire length of the Appalacian Trail with her whole family last summer. Welcome Back Jamie! And we will have Emma Bell assisting her as an experienced Earth Camp mentor. Should be another great year of Earth Camp!

We Look forward to seeing all of you again this summer!

2019 Earth Camp Registration Now Open

We have firmed up our dates, and registration for Earth Camp 2019 is now open. We are delighted to have Vanessa Eyen, the original founder of Earth Camp, to return as Earth Camp Director for 2019. With Vanessa as Director, and all of our returning campers and pre-school alumni, we look forward to another set of awesome Earth Camp sessions!

There are four weeks of day camp this year, the same as last year. We are again expecting to fill all of our available spaces, so please register early to secure your spot. Children will be enrolled on a first come, first served basis, with priority assigned to returning campers and alumni of Wildflowers Nature School.  As sessions become full, registrants will be placed on a waiting list.

Week 1 has been designated as “Preschool Alumni Week”. We are encouraging alumni of Wildflowers Nature School Preschool to enroll in that week, and registration priority will be given to them during that week.

New for this year are 2 weeks of backpacking camp. One week for boys and one week for girls. This is for ages 9-15. Campers will meet for the day on Monday to learn the essentials of backpacking. Then we will go on a 4 night overnight. Details are in the handbook.

Earthcamp 2019 Dates Coming Soon

Hi Campers! Sorry for the late rollout this year. Earthcamp will be held this summer. We are still working out dates and other details. Expect registration to be available sometime in the next couple of weeks. We will be sending out an email when that happens. Thank you for your support.