Day Camps 2020

We have spring fever! Do you? Join us during this exciting time of year as the natural world springs back to life after a long winter. Campers will open their eyes, ears, and even noses to investigate the signs of spring while exploring Hildene’s forests and wetlands. At Hildene’s most important puddle, our vernal pool, we will catch and identify the creatures that depend on this unique wetland for survival. Not only will our boots get dirty as we explore, but our hands will too, as we help our farmers prepare gardens and care for our many animals. Along the way we will play games and make crafts to dive further into spring.

If you love strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or apples, you can thank our fuzzy bee friends. To produce fruits and seeds, most flowering plants need their pollen moved between flowers by pollinators such as bees, butterflies, birds and bats. This week we’ll celebrate and explore the vital role of these creatures in our world.  We’ll investigate their habitat needs, life cycles and characteristics through field investigations, art projects and games.  We’ll suit up and look in a live beehive, dissect flowers to discover how seeds are formed, pick strawberries to make a tasty treat, and explore ways to make our yards more pollinator friendly. 

Calling all nature explorers! How does a water scorpion breathe, a beaver eat under water without drowning or a Great Blue Heron catch fish? Come and learn the answers to these and other questions during our week exploring and comparing river, pond and wetland communities. We’ll catch and identify aquatic insects, build a river food web, investigate a beaver pond and identify common wetland plants. We’ll also play, do crafts, sing songs, and read stories.

Create a miniature village! Design peeps (little people) and build a rustic village using natural materials. Through peeps, campers playfully explore community themes, like collaboration and teamwork, and experience connections to something bigger than themselves. There are jobs to be done, products to be make and services to provide. While building their community, campers investigate Hildene's forest, meadow and wetland habitats and learn about native plants and animals. The make nature-based crafts, prepare medicinal "sun" teas, play cooperative games and engage in observation and awareness activities throughout the week.

Come and discover how the forest is more than just trees! Campers explore the forests in and around Hildene and learn about the woodland ecology of the region from the ground up. Through the exploration and identification of the flora and fauna, habitat and life cycle studies, games and wild crafting, we’ll get to know the diverse forest communities of the Taconic and Green Mountains that surround us.

From nature walks, to the formal gardens, to the goat dairy and beyond, campers explore the beauty of Hildene while gathering materials for projects. Campers create colorful drawings, paintings, sculptures and prints inspired by the styles and materials used by artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Picasso, Seurat and Monet.  Their imaginations soar as they learn about new techniques. The week ends with an art show for students’ families, exhibiting work created during this week-long artistic journey.

Campers tend to the care of sheep, chickens, pigs and cows at our Dene Farm. They learn about the importance of composting, while getting their hands in the soil, cultivating and harvesting vegetables. They explore the operations of our greenhouse, including planting and harvesting micro-greens. At our goat dairy, campers learn about raising goats and the cheese making process. Farm-based crafts, stories and foods are also part of the mix, with the week ending with a mini farm-to-table celebration.

Campers tend to the care of sheep, chickens, pigs and cows at our Dene Farm. They learn about the importance of composting, while getting their hands in the soil, cultivating and harvesting vegetables. They explore the operations of our greenhouse, including planting and harvesting micro-greens. At our goat dairy, campers learn about raising goats and the cheese making process. Farm-based crafts, stories and foods are also part of the mix, with the week ending with a mini farm-to-table celebration.

Explore gardens, fields and forests of Hildene to discover and learn how the human and natural worlds are interconnected. We will be foragers of the field and forest! As naturalists, we will observe and identify plants through activities, games and projects including hunting and gathering for wild crafting and eating. From teas to dream pillows to terrariums and vine baskets, we will make crafts and foods to eat to become closer to the natural world around us.