Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Leadership Training Camp
2023-07-03 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-04 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-05 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-06 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-07 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-10 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-11 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-12 08:45 - 15:00 (America/New_York) and 2 more dates | Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 845 West Street, Amherst, MA, 01002
Leadership Training Camp
Entering grades 7-9, only
Session 2: Monya Relles and Peter Lamdin
Mondays-Fridays, 8:45am-3pm
Session 2: July 3 – July 14 (two weeks)
Fees: Tier A $1,050; Tier B $875; Tier C $744; Tier D $569

LTC is where new leaders can develop their skills as naturalists, activity leaders, problem solvers, and community members, and returning leaders can strengthen the skills they’ve been developing. This is done through our “spiral” system, with spirals representing your experience in LTC (spiral 1 for first year campers, spiral 2 for second year campers, etc.) and each spiral holding different expectations and skills. We plan to incorporate some of our favorite activities from previous years, such as rock climbing, ropes course challenges and our camping overnight, along with new activities, challenges and field trips. We’ll take time to develop as a group, to work with the younger campers to put what we learn into practice, and to be campers ourselves: playing in the woods and learning about and exploring nature.
Leadership Training Camp is jam-packed with outdoor adventures, group challenges, nature hikes and discussions on what makes good leaders. We offer up a combination of games and songs with leadership skills you can use as a Hitchcock Junior Counselor, at school, and just in life!
LTC is an active camp, but time is also spent listening and learning from each other by sharing knowledge and talking about our experiences and how they help us become better leaders. It is designed for all Hitchcock campers entering grades 7-9 looking to learn what it takes to lead others in the outdoors. It is designed for those who may want to be a Counselor-in-Training or Junior Counselor at Hitchcock or other camps, who want a chance to develop leadership skills that can apply to other parts of their life, or who just want to learn new skills and have some fun. Please note that drop-off and pick-up times for LTC may change on some days depending on our schedule for that day.

Chickadee Camp
2023-07-04 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-05 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-06 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-07 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-10 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-11 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-12 08:45 - 13:00, 2023-07-13 08:45 - 13:00 and 2 more dates
Chickadee Camp
Age 5 (must be entering Kindergarten in fall 2023)
Mondays-Fridays, 8:45am-1pm
Session 1: June 26 – June 30 (one week)
Session 2: July 3 – 14 (two weeks
Session 3: July 17 – 21 (one week)
Session 4: July 24 – August 4 (two weeks)
Session 5: August 7 – August 11 (one week)
Fees for 1 week: Tier A $364; Tier B $303; Tier C $258; Tier D $197
Fees for 2 week: Tier A $727; Tier B $606; Tier C $515; Tier D $394
Chickadee Camp is back in summer 2023! This program, designed for rising Kindergartners, is a great first outdoor day camp experience for young ones. Nurturing counselors will facilitate safe and curious exploration of the Discovery Yard and Hitchcock trails while sharing enthusiasm and joyful nature connection. Each day includes morning circle, snack time, song, story, lunch time, games and lots of discovery! The goal of Chickadee camp is for rising Kindergartners to use all their senses to explore nature and feel comfortable and safe learning and playing outdoors. Space is limited.
Children must be five years old and entering Kindergarten in fall 2023 to be eligible to participate. This camp runs from 8:45am to 1:00 pm.

Nature Summer Camp: Our Valley Our Home
2023-07-04 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-05 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-06 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-07 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-10 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-11 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-12 08:45 - 15:00, 2023-07-13 08:45 - 15:00 and 1 more date
Our Valley Our Home
Young Naturalists: Entering grades 1-2
Eco-investigators: Entering grades 3-4
Nature Explorers: Entering grades 5-6
Mondays-Fridays, 8:45am-3pm
Session 2: July 3 – July 14 (two weeks)
Fees for 2 week session: Tier A $958; Tier B $798; Tier C $678; Tier D $519
In this session, campers will connect with the land we call home. From farmland to forest, mountains to meadows, we’ll discover the ecosystems all around us and the interconnectedness of the animals that live here. We’ll learn about our rich farm soil, our fascinating history of our region and the wilderness around us. Through hands-on experiences within these spaces, mixed with stories, field trips, songs, games and crafts, we will build our sense of place within the Connecticut River Valley and explore the ways we can take care of it in the future.

Nature Summer Camp: Woodland Magic and Mysteries
2023-07-17 08:45 - 15:00
Woodland Magic and Mysteries
Young Naturalists: Entering grades 1-2
Eco-investigators: Entering grades 3-4
Nature Explorers: Entering grades 5-6
Mondays-Fridays, 8:45am-3pm
Session 3: July 17 – July 21 (one week)
Session 5: August 7 – August 11 (one week)
Fees for 1 week session: Tier A $509; Tier B $424; Tier C $360; Tier D $276

Nature is magic. It protects us, gives us air to breathe, food to eat, and hidden places to rest in the forest. In Woodland Magic and Mysteries, we’ll use our imagination and creativity to assist with problem solving and learning from the earth to build fairy houses, solve mysteries and challenges and become nature wizards by performing science experiments.
