Summer is for freedom.
Back to the Earth summer camps are a perfect way for kids to try something new, refine existing wilderness skills, and have tons of fun! Each week of wilderness camp is designed for 8-14 year olds and offers a unique theme. Our days are full of crafts, games, exploring, and skillbuilding.
Summer Camp Basics
2026 Registration is Open! And… Summer Camp 2026 is all Full! Thank you all so much for the support. I apologize if you were not able to get a spot. My programs are small to ensure high quality experience for the kiddos. You are still welcome to fill out the form to hop on the waitlist
Each week of summer camp goes from Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, and take place at our property in Elmore unless otherwise noted. Cost is $300 for standard camps, however specialty camps are $350 due to material costs and lower student ratios. Camp descriptions are below.
$100 deposit per camp you are signing up for is due at the time of registration hold a spot, and remainder of balance is due by the first day of camp.
Once your registration and deposit are received I will send you a confirmation email. Please note that simply filling out the registration form does not guarantee a spot. Slots are filled on a first come first serve basis, and there are times when the form shows slots when in fact the camp is full.
Available Camps for the Summer are listed on the google form for registration, accessed through the Summer Camp Registration Button below.
More detailed descriptions of Camps are available down this page, check the dates to make sure Camp is being offered in 2026.
Knife Building and Advanced Carving Camp!
This will be the first time this camp is being offered! Students will begin the week with a knife “blank”. They will craft a handle, fit that knife into the handle, and build a leather sheath. Students will work on their knife skills with their very own handcrafted knife, which is theirs to take home at the end of the week. Knife care and sharpening will be covered, as well as advanced carving techniques. Previous carving experience is required.
Dates: June 22-25, 2026
Enrollment: 12 students, ages 10-14. (Younger may be allowed in if i’ve worked with them, feel free to ask!)
Location: Elmore Home Base
Cost: $350
Wilderness Adventure Camp
Get a little taste of a wide variety of wilderness skills. Campers will explore the woods, build shelter, light fires by friction, cook wild food, play games, carve and craft with wild materials, and have tons of fun!
Dates: July 6-9 2026
Enrollment: Ages 7-12
Location: Elmore, VT
Cost: $300
Archer’s Apprentice Camp
Want to get a taste for Archery but aren’t old enough or ready to commit to the intense Forest Archer Camp? Archer’s Apprentice is an amazing week of wilderness skills, games, and crafts with a focus on archery. Students will learn about bowmaking by crafting their own “quickie bows”. We will shoot bows many times throughout the week, and make some arrows as well.
Dates: Check back for 2027
Enrollment: max 12 students, ages 7-12
Location: Eagle Ledge Rd, Elmore
Cost: $300
Way of the Weaver Camp
Join us for an amazing week exploring all things Weaving! We will explore our wilderness landscape to gather fiber, bark, and other weaving materials to create containers of all sorts. We will work with a black ash log to create strong basket splints, birch bark to create supple and beautiful splints, and many other wild materials. This camp will be quite focused on crafting, requiring focus and persistence. We will still play games, explore the woods, build fires, and cook wild food, however our focus will be learning about weaving and creating containers with our own hands from wild materials.
Dates: Aug 10-13 2026
Enrollment: ages 9-14
Location: Elmore, VT
Cost: $350
Gifts of the Moose Camp
This brand new camp utilizes commonly discarded moose lower legs sourced from Northern VT butchers. Each student will start with their own (Frozen) moose leg. We will learn to skin, and use that piece of skin (the hock) to tan into buckskin or rawhide and craft a sheath or something similar with it. We will remove the tendon and process them into sinew, amazingly strong fiber that we can sew with. We will remove the hooves, craft with the bone to make a spear or knife blade. We will also have a moose hide or two in their full form for students to learn how to scrape and soften (our favorite way is by bouncing people in the air on the softening hide!).
This week of camp will be a little more craft focused than other weeks such as Wilderness Adventure camp. However, we will have lots of time to track, explore, play games, cook food, etc… that everyone enjoys during our summer camps. If you are interested in learning about animal processing and crafting with the gifts of our wild neighbors, this camp is for you!
Dates: Check back for 2027!
Enrollment: max 10 students, ages 8-14
Location: Eagle Ledge Rd, Elmore
Cost: $350
Advanced Traditional Bowhunter Camp
Bring the bow you made during bow camp, or use one of our camp bows and spend the week learning how to shoot instinctively, and deadly accurate. We will cover basic archery form, and spend lots of time practicing with our bows. We will craft arrows, working with pitch glue, sinew, and stone tools. We will have competitions, games, and lots of fun working with archery and other wilderness skills. This week will especially dive into the realm of bowhunting, and the associated skills. We will shoot 3D targets, and practice techniques for getting close to big game animals undetected. If Traditional bowhunting excites you than this week of camp is for YOU!
Dates: Aug 17-20
Enrollment: max 12 students, ages 9-14
Location: Elmore, VT
Cost: $350
Survival Quest!
Join us for an epic adventure, where we put our survival skills to the test by heading into the wilderness for 2 nights with minimal gear! This camp will run Monday through Thursday, with overnights Tuesday and Wednesday night. Monday we will spend the day honing our survival skills, learning the rule of 3’s, crafting fire starting kits, learning primitive traps, and shelter techniques. Tuesday we will head off into the woods and start the hard work of creating a survival camp. We will forage for our food, sleep in our primitive shelters, and tackle whatever challenges we face as a team. Thursday we will come back to civilization, capture the lessons and stories of our time out, and refuel with a feast and some relaxation.
This camp is for students with prior experience in my programs or other camping and wilderness experience. Survival camping is not easy. We will likely get bug bitten and hungry, however we will experience the pure and simple beauty of the natural world by being in true relationship with the earth as we depend on her for our basic needs.
Dates: Check back in 2027
Enrollment: max 8 students, ages 12+
Location: TBD
Cost: $350
Gifts of the Deer Camp
Spend the week working with the gifts of the white-tailed deer. We will work in small groups to transform raw deer skin into beautiful finished buckskin. This process is magical, sometimes stinky, and hard work, but is incredibly rewarding. We will also work with bone tools, sinew string, rawhide, and other tools and crafts that the Deer gift us.
Dates: June 29- July 2
Enrollment: Ages 9-14
Location: Elmore, VT
Cost: $350
Bow Making Camp
Spend the week crafting your very own bow and arrow. Starting with harvesting a tree, and shaping the wood into a beautiful and precise bow that you take home with you. This camp is more advanced and requires 10 year age minimum. It is best if the students have prior carving and tool use experience.
Dates: Check back in 2027
Enrollment: max 10 students, ages 9-14
Location: Elmore, VT
Cost: $350