PLEASE NOTE- If you live in the Traverse City area and would like to participate in the online raffle, please visit here. This donation page is for people who do NOT live in the area or who do NOT want to participate in buying raffle tickets. We appreciate your support!

Did you go to Summer Camp as a child? Do you have any memories that are still crystal clear? It is a time for connection and fun in the sun! Summer Camp is approaching and we would love to be able to have more scholarship funds available. With the goal of $10,000 we can allocate $1000 per session or Three FULL camp scholarships per session.

Human Nature School Summer Camp is a time for children to enjoy nature with friends, while developing a connection with nature and themselves. We have requests for scholarships, and need support to fulfill these requests. Which camp would you have chosen as a kid?

Session 1: Team Green!

June 23 – June 27

Calling all aspiring botanists! Deepen your connection to the giants of the forest and the green friends all around. This week will focus on All Things Plant! Botanists/campers will come away with a firm grasp on plant friends, foes, and symbionts. We’ll explore everything from wild edibles and hazardous, poisonous plants to plant families, food webs, and photosynthesis. While we *may* not master the art of generating our own food from sunlight, we WILL use lots of games, hikes, and activities to deepen our awareness and wonder at the energy flowing through the ecosystem all around us! We’ll make plant presses to dry and preserve some of our collections, use field guides to identify them, and present our “findings” at the end of the week.

Session 2: Shelters and Survival

(Day Camp only @ South)

June 30 – July 3 (No Camp on Friday)

Could you survive a week in a northern hardwood forest with only your wits and a water bottle? Delve into the foundations of shelter building, fire starting/fire safety, and useful plants. Debris shelters, bow drills, and flint & steel are just some of the tools and skills you’ll learn. Trackers and survivalists as well as wilderness newbies will come away with more confidence and competence. Test your shelter masterpiece with the “water bucket test” at the end!

Session 3: Creek Explorers

July 7 – July 11

Dive in (ok, actually we’ll just wade in) to local wetland ecosystems and get to know the neighbors—plants, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates who make water their home. Campers will dip for samples, examine living and nonliving things with hand lenses and microscopes, use field guides, art supplies, and nature journals to help identify, draw, and record our findings. In addition, we’ll explore and hike the surrounding forests and fields, because it’s all connected!

Session 4: Animals of the Sky: Birds, Bugs, and Butterflies

July 14 – July 18

Who wouldn’t want WINGS?! Nature’s superheroes of the skies- the birds, butterflies and bugs- are all around us! Hunt for heroes in the forest and sky. Buzz off on a pollinator hunt in the gardens! Learn about bird language and habits, and how to move through the forest so birds hardly know you’re there. Campers will design and build their own flying heroes with art supplies and imagination.

Session 5: Where the Wild Things Are

July 21 – July 25

How wild are you? Stalk, track, and learn about the northern Great Lakes wildlife whose region we share. Take a walk on the wild side using “mind’s eye” imagining, walking like a forest ninja, predator-prey games, field guides, journaling, drawing, and making plaster casts of tracks.

Session 6: Adventures in Mapping

July 28 – August 1

Have you ever wanted to go get lost (or tell someone else to?!)? How do you find your way back? Orient yourself within some of our beautiful Northern Great Lakes ecosystems and gain confidence in your ability to safely navigate them! Campers will use scavenger hunts, treasure maps, song lines, map reading (and making!) and basic orienteering skills to deepen their relationship to the land and each other.

Session 7: Art in Nature

August 4-August 8

Calling all creators! Want to get colorful? Nature offers the opportunity for campers to be inspired as they draw, design, paint, and create their way toward beautiful works of art. Every day we’ll explore different media we find in nature and create works inspired by the northern hardwood forest, streams, dunes, and old fields around us. Campers may create clay sculptures, make natural plant dyes, leave “installation art” for others to discover, weave plant mats and wreaths, or even use themselves as a canvas! This camp will end in an art show on the final day. (Additional Fee of $20 for Materials)

Session 8: Destination Imagination

August 11 – August 15

Through pretend and play, children will explore the forest, field, and stream with their fellow campers. We will travel through time and into other animal worlds to create a village in the forest. We’ll explore animal forms and calls, in our real ecosystems and in our imaginations. We’ll use natural materials to transform ourselves into new characters. We will use art and journaling to record our favorites!

Session 9: Nature Reporter

August 18 – August 22

Produce your own photo portfolio or use video recording to capture footage of Great Lakes ecosystem scenes and species! This camp will span the worlds of nature immersion and technology. We’ll practice observing while unobserved. We’ll take a wonder walk – moving through the landscape with heightened awareness, then using tech to zoom in and capture micro details and zooming wide for a macro view. Using photography, video, journaling, and scientific sketching, campers will share what inspires them from nature. Campers need access to a small camera or old phone. (Yes, we are requesting technology!)

Session 10: Animal Talents and Our Own August 25- August 29

Northern Great Lakes animals have some amazing talents and adaptations for survival! Stalk the woods around us for signs of wildlife—homes, tracks, scat, and beds. Learn some real-life survival techniques like camouflage, “deer ears,” fox walking, and finding/making shelters. Imagine what it takes to survive in different ecosystems, and share your own talents with the group by creating and performing a survival talent show with other campers!

Wild Futures Fundraiser

Raise money for Camp Scholarships and School Outreach

Team Members