Summer Camps

Tender Tracks Summer Nature Adventure Camps has been in business since the summer of 1995. It is a camp designed for children from the ages of 6 to 12. For one week the children are given the opportunity, through play and adventure, to explore, taste, touch, smell, hear, see and sense the many wonders of our natural world.

Each group is unique and has their own nature that the Guide reads. Through this reading is where a lot of the focus for the camp comes from. The Guide has a “bag of tricks” filled with nature games, resources and possibilities to pull out at any time and, at the same time, the camp is led by the children’s interests. By exploring, playing, adventuring and being together in nature in this way, deeper connections to the natural world are experienced. Some concrete descriptions of what might take place:

  • Blind fold walks and blind fold awareness games
    (check out the picture above and see if you can see what game is taking place)
  • Tracking animals
  • Working with knives to make walking sticks, bows and arrows and tools
    (knives provided and safety techniques taught)
  • Finding and eating wild edibles
  • Camouflage games to enhance blending in with the environment,
    connection to the wild life and touching the earth at a deeper level
  • Walking barefoot to enhance sensitivity to the natural world
  • Silent walks
  • Observation games
  • Creek walking
  • First aid kits made
  • Fire making skills: can you make a one match fire

These are just a very, very few of the things that can take place. The children always choose jobs to make the camp a more unified experience and as a way of taking ownership of their adventure/experience.

Some of the jobs are:
Guardians of the People: They make sure they know where the group is at all times and decide which direction the group should adventure for that day.
Guardians of Safety: They carry first aid kits and are like the First Responder to any of the injuries that might take place.
Guardians of Direction: They learn ways to keep track of where we are and how to get back to our original location.
Guardians of the Earth: They carry an Earth Bag which all trash found is put into.  All students gather trash but the Guardians carry the bag and are the most mindful of our Earth.

New this year are camps in Marin. The programs in Marin will be held on one or two land bases in Nicasio. We are blessed this year to have this and it will afford ease of working with fire and foraging. The last day however will still be an adventure to the beach whether the program is in Marin or in Palo Alto. For Palo Alto folks we will visit local parks and natural places in the Bay Area: Woodside, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, La Honda, Cupertino, San Gregorio.

DATES FOR SUMMER 2012:
June 18-22 FULL
June 25-29 FULL
July 9-13 FULL
July 16-20 FULL
July 30-Aug. 3 FULL

(Camps that are filled can sometimes become available, so if you wish to be on a waiting list, please fill out the wait list form and/or email tendertracks@gmail.com)

Camps are  arranged by an organizing parent(s) who gets 8 children together of the same age or group of friends. Please call: Director Wendolyn Bird @ 415. 419. 5274  for further details, if you are interested in this type of camp for your child.