News

Ecojustice Camp for 2024 is announced

/ Dan Harper

Ecojustice Camp returns to the South Shore for the 2024 season. This year’s camp will be held from August 12-16, 2024, with an optional overnight field trip on Thursday evening.

We’re run by a nonprofit, and thanks to some generous donations we were able to keep camp fees the same as in 2023 — $395.

Both Ngoc Dupont and Dan Harper are returning as co-directors. We’ve begun to hear from last year’s staff, and it looks like many of them will be returning again. We’ll post staff on the Staff page of this site as we get confirmations.

We hope to see you at camp this summer!

Camp safety and wellbeing

/ Dan Harper

Camp safety, and the wellbeing of all campers and staff, remains one of our primary concerns.

In March, co-director Dan Harper, will attend the American Camp Association’s Campwell training. The purpose of Campwell training is to “create a community of well-being at camp by shaping trainings and programs that incorporate the tools, self-awareness, and understanding needed to enhance the experience and safety for all.”

Dan is also serving on the Youth Safety Task Force for another camp, Ferry Beach Camp and Conference Center in Saco, Maine. In that role, Dan has been researching safety and standards of care for camps and similar youth programs.

In this time of rapidly evolving safety standards, Ecojustice Camp South Shore continues working to create a safe and welcoming camp for all participants — campers, junior counselors, and adult staff.

A few photos from 2023 camp

/ Dan Harper

The weather was less than perfect at times, including the tornado alert (we were all ready to go down into the basement). But we still had a lot of fun at Ecojustice Camp 2023. Here are some preliminary photos, from Carol’s and Dan’s phones.

More photos coming soon! (N.B.: We have permission to post on our website photos of everyone shown.)

All photos on this page copyright © 2023 Dan Harper and Carol Steinfeld, used by permission.

Monday

Singing songs at opening circle
Making field notebooks
Learning to cook scrambled eggs on a camp stove
Whittling project — making chopsticks

Tuesday

Insect safari

Wednesday

The tide was coming in, but we did find some sea creatures at Minot Beach
A deep hole (although this was just for fun, in the hole you could see the different strata that had been deposited over time, from fine sand to sand and gravel)
Playing the Carbon Cycle Game — this is a game that simulates how carbon atoms move through the biotic and abiotic systems of the Earth, first in the pre-industrial world, then in the post-industrial world
Splitting kindling wood, while learning the safe use of a kindling hatchet
Making chili ahead of time, for the overnight

Friday

Playing “Lynxes, Hares, and Leaves,” a simulation game that shows how predator and prey populations are interdependent
This is 15 seconds after the first photo — the Hares are leaving their warren, trying to eat Leaves before the Lynxes catch them

Ecojustice Camp announced for 2023

/ Dan Harper

Camp will take place August 14 through August 18, 2023. We’re still working on age requirements, but approx. grades 2-8. Field trips: We’re planning field trips to the seashore, and to local woodlands. Overnights: We are in the process of finding a site for our Thursday night overnight.

We’ll be based at at First Parish in Cohasset, on Cohasset Common. First Parish facilities include a native plants garden and an outdoor classroom in the woods. Nearby conservation land includes Great Brewster Woods, just a five minute walk away.

Ngoc Dupont and Dan Harper will serve as Camp Directors. Between them, they have over thirty year’s experience in education.

Our sponsor, First Parish in Cohasset, is a liberal congregation with a strong commitment to ecology. First Parish respects the interdependent web of existence, believes all life is sacred, and works actively for environmental justice. We are a multi-racial camp, and an LGBTQ+-friendly camp.