Coed Teen Overnight Wilderness Summer Camps in Northern California

Coed Teen Nature and Wilderness Camps at Wilderness Skills Institute in Northern California 2012 Teen Camp Schedule
The thwack of the bow string, the hack of the tomahawk hitting the log, the swish of the branches hitting the side of the lean-to shelter. All of these things excite me. At Wilderness skills we do all of these things and more. Whenever I get there the first thing we do is get in sync with nature and then the fun and education starts. With the help of Brian King and his staff we learn how to survive in the forest with nothing. We learn the art of shelter building and how to make one warm and comfortable. We also learn how to make fire with a hand drill and with a bow drill. My favorite activity is the bow making and bow shooting. We get to experience the feel of hunting whenever we want to and get better every time. Brian is trained by the American Olympic archer coach and brings his skills to the students. Every time I go to Wilderness skills camp I learn something new. And every time I go I am ensured a lot of fun! Alex Hoskins-Frame Marin Horizon School in Mill Valley, seventh grade, age 13
Wilderness Skills Coed Teen Overnight Camps Our teen programs are total immersion experiential learning wilderness experiences in primitive camping, naturalist and survival skills, and outdoor recreation, with real rites of passage in an atmosphere of celebration	For dates about our youth wilderness and nature programs join Coyote Tracks, our informative e-newsletter. It contains wild craft projects, wilderness safety, native plants, and animal tracking sections to better connect your family to the nature of the Pacific North Coast.
All of Our Teen Camps... The teens disappear into the pristine backwoods of Santa Cruz, live at the edge of the redwood forest, dive into the creek, tell stories and cook around a camp fire, sleep under the stars... This truly is a total immersion wilderness living experience with the teens applying wild crafting, shelter building, orienteering, animal tracking, back country cooking, shooting sports, rappelling, and so much more. They will live the adventure. for 1 or more weeks Summer of 2012 the first week is by invitation only, they will meet with a total of 20 participants from 3 other wilderness programs in California and learn from each other. The second week those participants will return to Santa Cruz and teach other teens the skills they have been practicing.
Survival Skills versus Wilderness Living Skills Survival skills is what you learn to keep yourself alive if you are waiting to be rescued. Wilderness living skills is what you learn to thrive as a long term resident in the wilderness with using only what you find and your skill set. This summer camp starts the camper on his or her journey into how to thrive in the wilderness not just survive. Each summer 15 teens will cook without a stove, boil water without a pot, eat from the land. They will learn to stay warm without a sleeping bag, stay dry without a tent. The teens will spend their day without a schedule, have the sun be their only time piece. Learn to truly use a map and compass, and learn to navigate without the use of a map or compass. Specific areas of practice will include debris shelters, identifying and cooking edible plants, safe drinking water, friction fire, cordage, and clothing all from only what can be found in the forest. The teen will also start to develop a deep connection with the land orienteering with both aids and without aids. They will start that connection with the animals by learning to read their tracks and other signs. Not only will they learn to identify what animal left the sign but also what they were doing when they left that sign. The teens will also learn what effects they have on the other animals of the forest.
Rites of Passage. Each Summer Teens Identify the edge of their skill; the edge of their comfort and celebrate real growth with Rites of Passage. Rappelling off a cliff may be an edge, sleeping out in the open, eating a new foods, finding their way home alone, hiking with only the light of the moon, maybe within the comfort of some but a big edge for others. As the teens meet milestones in their skills, accomplishments, or growth along their journey; rites of passage celebrations mark those times. These rites of passage are important in most cultures yet it is being lost today. We see the need and the value of working past a comfort zone and the value of rites of passage. We see the change in our campers and have heard from parents that their kids walk taller when they get home at the end of a session.
Celebration and Self Expression A healthy community is full of music, art, and time to just have fun. Music, story telling, laughter, and celebration is a part of every evening and a way to connected to each other in the community. With our small numbers of campers there is ample time for each teen to be heard and feel complete.
Arts, Crafts, Wild Crafting, Abo-skills, Primitive Crafts As adults, we remember that much of the pleasure of coming to summer camp was making cool stuff in Arts and Crafts and bringing these treasures home. The other less tangible things we brought home was tactile and reasoning skills that became a part of us. Wilderness Skills Camps is no different in offering a crafts component, except for our focus on local materials and traditional skills. Our crafts utilize materials that the nature on our private land provides; the techniques we use are from our colonial times and earlier. Plastics choke our landfills and to a large extent have pushed out the containers and tools of our grandparents’ time. The ballpoint pen has replaced the quill pen, Tupperware has replaced the woven basket and clay pot, ziploc bags have replaced the leather or rawhide pouch, PET bottles have replaced the clay or glass jar, and the 5-gallon plastic bucket the hogshead (small wooden barrel). Each summer teen campers at Wilderness Skills Camps learn how to make many of the original containers, tools, and artifacts of everyday life. In our ancestral past items of everyday life were pieces of art. A spoon, a bowl, a basket, a brush, a comb were items that were things of beauty and kept a lifetime. The teens will have the opportunity to make these items the way they were made for 10,000 years and have something that they would be proud to pass on to their grand kids.


Shooting Sports The teens connect with our ancestors through recreation through the ancient tools of archery, rabbit stick and atlatl. Archery is taught by our well trained and seasoned instructors. The students learn and practice safe handling, develop their form learn to compete against their own score and develop a sport that they can enjoy for a lifetime.
Tending the Forest versus Leaving No Sign Leaving No Sign is a practice of going into the wilds and not leaving trash or scars on the land or trees. This seems like a noble goal, but the land is no better than when we came. We are also learning from ethnobotany that some plants in the forest can only be propagated with the help people. The paths of the first nation people were lined with the plants they ate, the plants that gave medicine, the plants of their everyday life. We are learning that it was not a coincident that those plants are there. Some plants like soap root propagate more plants only if the bulbs are harvested and the soil is fluffed up. Plants like mule fat, willow, dogbane only produce nice straight clear canes only when coppiced (pruned back to the ground) on a regular intervals. the canes that were harvested, were used for cordage, basket weaving, fire drills, arrows, or propitiated and planted in areas that was needed. Ladder wood, the dead lower branches on tree are the best wood to make fire from because it is much drier than the wood found on the ground. However, If this wood is not removed wild fire can easily climb its way up the trees to the crown and become a fire storm and kill the trees. If this dead ladder wood is removed in a good way the trees will be healthier and if a fire burns through, it is more likely to remain cool and stay on the ground. These are just some examples of tending the wild that the students will learn. The land we will tend is private.

In Summary In our teen programs become deeply connected to nature some roughing it and pulling them past their comfort zones, of learning and applying wilderness skills and becoming comfortable as a resident in the wilderness. It will be an experience they will remember for a lifetime

Teen Academic Year: Weekend and Holiday Wilderness Camps
Teen Overnight Weekend Skills Camps Dates: October 14 - 16 November 11 - 13 December 16 - 18 January 20 - 22 February 17 - 19 March 23 - 25 Please Note Date Change April 20 - 22 May 18 -20 Closed Prerequisites: None Ages 13 - 18 Location: Santa Cruz with trips to other wilderness areas Fees: $150 Advanced Alumni pricing $100 call for details Registration: Teen Form, e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 This program is a series of weekends in pristine wilderness of Santa Cruz County. Each month will have a different focus each developing the skills and tools necessary for primitive living in the forest. This series will be followed by number of 7 day summer camps were the teens experience living with only there skills and the tools they have made. We do this through intensive hands-on wilderness living skills training, mentoring people how to harvest and transform the gifts of nature for everyday needs such as tools, fire, shelter, food.... in a conscientious and sustainable manner, as our ancestors did for 100's of thousands of years. These sessions may include: Wild foods and medicinal plants Friction fire, making natural cordage Wood, stone, and bone tools and utensils of everyday life Structure building Bow and arrow making Tracking, hunting, and trapping methods Hide tanning, hide glue Clothing and moccasin making Stone and bone tools Basketry and containers

Teen Winter and Spring Break Wilderness Camps Dates: Winter Break 4 Feb 20 - 24 Marin Schools are on Break Spring Break 1 April 2 - 6 Santa Cruz Schools are on Break Spring Break 2 April 9 - 13 Marin Schools are on Break Times: Drop-off 9 AM Pick-up 3 PM Location; Santa Cruz Mountains CA Ages 6 - 8, 9 - 12, and 13 - 18 Price: Day camp $450; Overnight camp $900 Registration: Teen Form, e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 These coed wilderness week long camps offer participants a great opportunity to develop a deeper connection with nature and greatly increase their skills. The winter wilderness camps will build shelter and learn to be warm and comfortable in the north coast winters. In spring they will return to their shelter and continue their journey with nature practicing the nature core routines, wild crafting, orienteering, and animal tracking skills. We will spend our days exploring the creeks, meadows, forests, bay, and ocean, learning hands on skills, animal tracking, wilderness safety, navigation, wild crafting, playing scout games, learning survival skills, science-based natural history, rappelling, archery, blacksmithing, and more. Those that are in our overnight wilderness camps will also have camp fires, storytelling, night hikes, astronomy, remote camping trips, early morning bird sits and animal tracking. These camps offer participants the same great opportunity to connect with nature as our day camps with the added experience that only an overnight camp can provide. Completing this camp, with instructor approval, may make the participant eligible to attend 4Fires Rendezvous For Teens.
Teen Summer Wilderness Skills Camps
Teen Introduction to Nature Overnight Camps Dates: Times and Dates July 1 – July 7 Open July 8 – July 14 Full July 15 – July 21 Full July 22 – July 28 Open July 29 – Aug. 4 Open Aug. 5 – Aug. 11 Open Aug. 12 – Aug. 18 Open Aug. 19 – Aug. 25 Open Prerequisites: None Location; Santa Cruz, CA Ages 13 - 18 Price $1050 Registration:Teen Form e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 These are light hearted fun camps for teens, with much time for wondering and exploring the forest, nature games, music, and nature crafts. These camps do not have the same intense survival atmosphere that our other teens programs have.
4 Fires Rendezvous Times and Dates: June 9th - 16th Prerequisites: The successful applicant has completed at least 3 weekend skills camps or a week long teen camp and have director approval. Admitted based on skills, maturity, and work as a team member. Location: Santa Barbara County, CA Ages 13 - 18 Price $906 Round-trip transportation is included Registration: e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 This is by invitation only For those that are not familiar with the 4 Fires Teen Rendezvous, currently there are roughly 150 schools, nature programs, institutes and organizations around this earth that are invested in the future generations, that mentor the youth in their community with nature as a premise. These various programs use cultural elements that have direct lineage to skills, stories, songs and ancestry. As separate entities these programs have had untold affect upon the health of our youth and their future. In times past, our ancestors, regardless of what land we came from, journeyed to meet other tribes and nations. The rendezvous often formed the foundation of peace in a region as ideas and items were traded. Old agreements were given new strength and new alliances were made when fresh faces met each other for the first time. There was stories and songs shared around the fire, competitions, skills shared, and rites of passage. In our own way we are reinstating the concept of a rendezvous through our youth. Wilderness Skills Institute will join the staff and teens from Wilderness Youth Project (Santa Barbara), The Riekes Center (Menlo Park), and Four Elements Earth Education (Grass Valley) to collaborate to share skills, adventures, music, and friendship. This is by invitation only and the teen applicant must have been in at least 3 weekend skills, a week long wilderness skills intensive camp, or one of our home-school teen programs. Not all that apply will be accepted. To attend the participant must not only possess wilderness and scout skills, be able to work as a member of a tribe for a common goal, cook their own food, work independently, and must be resilient to being pulled way past their comfort zone, be responsible for their own needs, sleep under the stars, and keep a positive mental attitude under stress. . If accepted it will be an experience remembered the rest of their life. There will be no more then 5 participants from Wilderness Skills Institute.
Wilderness Skills Intensive Teen Overnight Summer Camp -- Full Times and Dates Date: June 17th - 23rd Prerequisites: The successful applicant has completed at least 3 weekend skills camps, our home schooling program, or a week long teen camp and have director approval. Admitted based on skills, maturity, and work as a team member. Location; Santa Cruz, CA Ages 13 - 18 Price $1050 Registration: e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 This 7 day teen summer camp is in the pristine wilderness Santa Cruz County. Teens will learn and practice wilderness living, wild crafting, orienteering, animal tracking skills and pushing their comfort zones Survival skills is what you learn to keep yourself alive if you are waiting to be rescued. Wilderness living skills is what you learn to thrive as a long term resident in the wilderness with using only what you find and your skill set. We teach the camper to thrive in the wilderness not just survive. Specific areas of practice will include debris shelters, identifying and cooking edible plants, safe drinking water, friction fire, cordage made from plants, orienteering, animal tracking, tending the forest, archery, rabbit stick, atlatl, firearms, rappelling and more. The will be ample time for music, ceramics, adventure, swimming, and just being a teen. This is a primitive camp and a week of roughing it and pushing edges, of learning and applying wilderness skills and becoming comfortable as a resident in the wilderness and working as a team. This week is good preparation for the 4 Fires Rendezvous.



Teen Primitive Intensive Week -- Full Times and Dates Date June 24th -30th Prerequisites: The successful applicant has completed at least 3 weekend skills camps or a week long teen camp and have director approval. Admitted based on skills, maturity, and work as a team member. Location; Santa Cruz, CA Ages 13 - 18 Price $1050 Registration: Teen Form e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454 Enrollment: Limited to 10 participants. This program is a follows a series of multiple weekend and week long sessions throughout the fall, winter, and spring focused on developing the skills and tools necessary for primitive living in the wilds. This camp 7 day experience living with only the participants’ skills and the tools they have made. We do this through intensive hands-on wilderness living skills training, mentoring people how to harvest and transform the gifts of nature for everyday needs such as tools, fire, shelter, food.... in a conscientious and regenerative manner, as our ancestors did for 100s of thousands of years. These sessions will include: Wild foods and medicinal plants Friction fire, making natural cordage Wood, stone, and bone tools and utensils of everyday life Structure building Bow and arrow making Tracking, hunting, and trapping methods Hide tanning, hide glue Clothing and moccasin making Basketry and containers

Teen Backpacking -- Full Times and Dates Date: June 24th - 30th Prerequisites: The successful applicant has completed at least 3 of our weekend skills camps, our home schooling program, or one of our week long teen camps, and have director approval. Admitted based on skills, maturity, and can work as a team member. Location; TBA Ages 13 - 18 Price $1050 Registration: e-mail: Toni or call 831-431-6454