• A Fun Community of Campers: Ecojustice Camp fosters important friendships through fun outdoor activities. By being part of a caring community, campers learn to care for Nature and other humans.
• A Place To Learn Outdoor Skills: Campers build self-confidence through learning survival skills like outdoor cooking, campcraft, nature observation, etc. Camp activities encourage individual learning, without athletic or social competition.
• A Time To Connect with the Natural World: Learning to cook your own meal over an open fire. Exploring the laws of Nature through observing living organisms. Learning how pollution from the land impacts the Atlantic Ocean.

Ecojustice Camp is all these and more. We believe humans can have a positive impact on each other, and on the natural world. Ecojustice Camp is a time for campers to feel a part of the interdependent web of all life.

Ecojustice Camp provides parents and caregivers with a reliable week of childcare where children will be with professionally trained adults. Children ages 7-17 will participate in hands-on activities with the focus of learning more about the earth and how to care for its limited resources. Some activities during the week include: making nature observations, practicing safety precautions being in nature, going on nature hikes, looking at animal tracks, making walking sticks, building a fire, fishing, setting up a tent, and so much more!

The original Ecojustice Camp curriculum was developed at the Palo Alto, Calif., camp. Curriculum developers included: Lorraine Kostka, Ph.D. in biology, Certified California Naturalist; Mike Abraham, M.Ed., high school special ed.; Kristene Geering, M.Ed., early education special ed.; Dan Harper, M.Div., speciality in ecojustice, Certified California Naturalist; and many other counselors and junior counselors. We are continually developing new curriculum for our Massachusetts camp.

Junior counselors (high school students) continue to hone their outdoor skills by teaching younger campers. They gain leadership skills while having fun in the outdoors. There is a mandatory safety training for all staff, as well as other training opportunities before camp begins.

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History

Back in 2014, Mike Abraham and Dan Harper were on staff for Peace Camp in San Jose, a week-long day camp based on principles of non-violence and racial unity. Together, they decided to develop a similar day camp based on principles of ecojustice. So in 2015, the first Ecojustice Camp was held in Palo Alto, California.

Since then, Ecojustice Camp has gone from strength to strength. Staff have created an extensive curriculum, adapting lesson plans from other sources and developing new activities. There’s the Ecojustice Camp Songbook. The California camp has its own kids’ book, The Ecojustice Camp Outdoors Book. Some of our camp alumni have gone on to careers in environmental science and education. Others have gone on to environmental advocacy, e.g., one camper helped found Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action.

The original Ecojustice Camp continues in Palo Alto. Then when Dan relocated to Massachusetts, he teamed up with professional educators Ngoc Dupont and Matt Mulder. And in 2023, the three of them decided to bring Ecojustice Camp to Cohasset, Mass.

We look forward to you becoming a part of Ecojustice Camp this year!