wild Earth resilience
youth day camps
2023
week 1 Earthlings - FULL
June 26-30 ages 6-11 $250
To start the summer, we like to focus on orienting ourselves to the landscape and re-discovering the wilderness surrounding Wright Park. We will come into the rhythm of camp life together and connect with the land through careful observation of our surroundings, playing games, building, crafting, learning and adventuring in classic Terrahana fashion. We’ll make sure to send the campers home each afternoon nice and dirty after a long day of playing in our forest home and experiencing the joys of living outside together!
Monday through Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Wright Park in Middlebury
week 2 Animal Forms - FULL
July 10-14 ages 6-11 $250
In this session we give special attention to our local wildlife, appreciating the animal neighbors around us and explore their characteristics, routines and relationship to the land. Mentors bring in artifacts found in the woods to share and discuss, and perhaps we find some of our own together during the week. Emphasis will be on stories and games that ask us to embody our animal relations, perhaps gaining deeper understandings and respect for all life while mimicking animal behavior and seeing through their eyes.
Monday through Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Wright Park in Middlebury
week 3 Elderberries - FULL
July 17-21 ages 10-13 $300
*Friday is evening hours only, see below
Elderberries is a session for the older kids, Terrahana’s budding elders, to either return or come for the first time. Enjoy the land in true Terrahana fashion whether playful, free or focused. This week is great for those independent minds who would like to delve deeper in an aspect of camp life whether its creating something, working on a skill, or just doing that thing they love which brings them happiness within the natural world and our village. Campers may be challenged to focus and reflect as they work independently or in a group. This year we are sad to say that we will not be ending in our typical overnight camp-out but we hope that an evening pizza party hangout on the last day will soothe the disappointment to our break in tradition!
Monday through Thursday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Friday 4:00pm-9:00pm, pizza party and evening fun!
Location: Wright Park in Middlebury
week 4 Stranded - FULL
July 31-August 4 ages 8-12 $275
A fun new theme for Terrahana! Apart from the usual structure to our day with games and free time, this week we will be exploring the theme of survival. Mentors create challenges and make a few unique survival situations in which we can all place ourselves. Come prepared to have fun in small group competitions, to discuss, learn and practice skills including anything you might think of if stranded on a deserted island. This may include knots, fires, water, SOS signaling, navigation, food sources… if you want to eat a bug we probably won’t join you but you will have our full-hearted support!
Monday through Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Terrahana Forest in Ripton
week 5 Smoke Signals - FULL
August 14-17 ages 6-10 $250
*this camp runs Monday to Thursday
This is the week where we go deeper into the theme of Fire together. Fire plays a very important role in our experience at camp and is typically one of the most fascinating aspects of life in the woods for most of our village. Campers develop their own relationship with this element, learning safety, their comfort zone, new skills, building and tending abilities in a supervised environment. We explore some different methods to make fire and discuss origins and ways of fire shaping land and humanity. Children hopefully come away with a new awareness, appreciation and respect for this element. Heat and transformation play a role in the majority of our activities and projects this week in Terrahana Land.
Monday through Thursday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Wright Park in Middlebury
week 6 Plant People - FULL
August 21-25 ages 6-11 $250
The Plant Kingdom is the theme that guides us through this week as we explore the herbaceous and woody life around us - the many flowering plants, mosses, ferns, grasses and trees big and small of the Green Mountains. Make sure to bring a sketchbook (and field-guide if you wish) as we expect lots of wildflowers to be in bloom. We will also spend time in the garden, which will be full and vibrant with all kinds of different flowering and fruiting plants this time of year! We not only learn the names but also experiment and get acquainted with our plant allies through hands-on activities. If learning wild edibles, medicine making, and survival is of interest to your child, this week at Terrahana will be particularly enjoyable.
Monday through Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Location: Terrahana Forest in Ripton
Open enrollment for Summer 2023:
Wednesday, 2/8 at 6pm to Sunday, 2/12 at Noon
see below for further details!
registration information
Thank you for your interest in registering for Camp Terrahana!
The open registration period for 2023 is now over, and all camps are full. You are still welcome to register for any open spaces or for the waitlist using this form. Sign ups are on a first-come basis.
When you are registering, you may select one or more weeks on the same form. We kindly ask parents to be thorough in answering the questions on the form, even if we already know your child. This helps us understand our campers and group dynamics a bit before summer starts. This information is obviously important for our newcomers, and for those returning campers, it informs us of new interests and favorite activities that they enjoyed with us previously. We really appreciate a little time in looking over the questions with your child as it helps us be better prepared to offer activities that try and reach everyone.
If a space becomes available and you are enrolled, a non-refundable deposit of $50 per session will be required to confirm your space. Your deposit must be received within 10 days of notification of your enrollment. The remaining balance of your tuition is due by May 15. If you register after May 15, full tuition is due within 10 days of receipt of your enrollment confirmation. If payment is late, your space may be given to the next camper on the waitlist. If you sign up for a waitlisted session, you only need to submit payment if and when a space becomes available.
If you need to cancel enrollment for any reason, you will receive a full refund (minus the deposit) if you inform us at least 6 weeks prior to the beginning of the session you are cancelling. Cancellations made with fewer than 6 weeks until the start of the session cannot be refunded. For additional refund policies in the era of COVID-19, please see our Procedures & Info.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our process.
If you have any further questions, please email campterrahana@gmail.com.
You may find our general policies and most current COVID-19 information here. These reflect our current operations and apply to all upcoming programs.