Summer Camps at NBNC offer a safe place where children can interact directly with nature through observation, questioning, and hands-on exploration.  From flipping rocks along wooded streams to chasing butterflies through the fields, this is what a child’s summer should be.  Every day we create memorable experiences in the outdoors and send children home with a renewed excitement for the natural world.  Please review individual camp descriptions for more information. We offer camps for various age groups ranging from PreK through 7th grade.

All camps begin at 9 am. Please see age groups for pick-up times. Children may be dropped off after 8:45 am. Please respect this drop-off time as a courtesy to our staff who will be preparing for the day right up until 8:45.

Post-camp after-care is available until 3 pm for preK-K, or until 5 pm for grade 1-7 camps. After-care is an informal extension of camp activities with supervised free time for games, reading, art projects and more.

Aftercare registration will be available in April at the bottom of this page below camp registrations.

• Cancellations requested by March 31 will be refunded minus a $20 non-refundable processing fee.
• Cancellations requested between April 1 and May 31 will be refunded minus a $50 processing fee.
• Cancellations requested on or after June 1 are non-refundable. Exceptions may be granted in cases of emergency.

Every year, children are turned away from our camps due to lack of space. The more notice we have of cancellation, the better our ability to offer that space to another interested family.

If your child misses one or more days of camp, for any reason, we cannot provide partial refunds.

In the event that NBNC needs to cancel a camp as a result of unforeseen circumstances, a full refund will be issued.

Camp is often the highlight of a child’s summer, an opportunity to learn and explore in an environment very different from school. We provide financial support packages that typically provide a 50% discount off camp registration, though we occasionally accommodate greater support requests on a case-by-case basis.

If you need financial support to send your child to camp, please email info@northbranchnaturecenter.org with the following information:
-Your name, address and phone number
-Camper's name and age
-Camp titles (if available)

You may enter the camp lotteries before a financial support package has been arranged. After registering for the lottery, please contact us by March 4th so that we may discuss financial support options and provide you with an appropriate discount code to use if you win the lottery.

Please visit northbranchnaturecenter.org/COVID for our evolving guidelines, expectations, and policies surrounding COVID-19.

Get ready to have fun, because summer field staff include some of your kids’ favorite year-round NBNC staff including Carrie Riker, Ash Kerby-Miller, Victoria Lee, Fiona Modrak, and AmeriCorps naturalist educator Ana Maria Arroyo. Each summer we also hire several fantastic additional staff with backgrounds in teaching and experience in environmental science or outdoor education. Visit 'About Us' on our website for more information about our top-notch staff.

The flow of the day for each age group is slightly different. Our activities are rooted in rhythms and cycles found in nature and are inspired by Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature. Some of our typical daily Core Routines include: 

• Inspiration/Activation time: Campers arrive.  Loose parts play (younger campers), Nature Museum, simple arts and crafts project, tag game.

• Morning Circle: Song, Nature Notes, sharing about the day ahead.

• Preparing for the Day: Bathroom break, pack up, head to destination snack spot.

• Snack/oral story followed by a morning themed activity or continued adventure to the next destination.

• Lunch/oral story followed by our afternoon activity.  This might include a quiet rest time after lunch, forest choice, sit spots, crafting projects, or continued exploration of our destination spot.

• Closing Circle: Stories of the Day (what was your favorite part of the day?), thank you to our Nature Neighbors.