Summer Camp!

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 4 pm for 1st-3rd grade camps and until 3 pm for PreK-K camps. There is no aftercare for 4th-7th grade 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 May at the bottom of this page below camp registrations.

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/ story followed by a morning themed activity or continued adventure to the next destination.
• Lunch/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?), and thank you to our Nature Neighbors.

• 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 based on household income. Please visit our Financial Support Page to learn more and request support.

Please enter the camp lottery first, then submit your financial support request. We will reach out about all financial support requests once the lottery is drawn.

Get ready to have fun, because summer field staff include some of your kids’ favorite year-round NBNC staff including Ana Maria Arroyo, Annie Jackson, Naomi Cocker, Mia Leonard, and Fiona Modrak! Each summer we also hire several fantastic additional staff with teaching backgrounds and experience in environmental science or outdoor education. Visit our Staff Page to learn more. Or apply to be one of our summer camp field staff!

• Families can join the lottery for desired camps from February 20 through March 3 using the registration platform that will be available on this page.
• All Financial Support requests should be submitted before March 3rd.
• Families will be notified of camp placements and financial support by March 6th, and will then have a weeklong period to complete the registration for their placements.
• The lottery draw considers siblings, and we will place siblings in the same camp weeks when possible.
• This lottery system does not apply to Camp BranchOUT, which operates as an application process. The application window begins at the same time as the camp lottery.
• More information about the lottery logistics can be found in the registration section below.

How the Lottery works: 

1. Once the lottery is open, use the “Register” buttons next to camps (below) that you would like to register for. After creating your Jumbula account, completing the forms, and selecting your intended payment method, the camp will be placed in your shopping cart as a lottery item. Repeat this process for any camp that you would like to register for.
2. You will be asked for a payment method, but you will not be asked to provide payment or credit card information to join lotteries. If financial support is needed, please consult the financial support section of this page after you have enrolled in the lotteries.
3. You will not receive a confirmation email for being placed in the lotteries. You can visit your Jumbula Shopping Cart at any time. Any lottery items in your shopping cart will be indicated by a blue “Lottery” icon in the item description. Once the item is in your shopping cart, you’re done! All items will remain in your cart unless you remove them.
4. We will instruct lottery winners on March 6 via email to return to their Jumbula shopping carts to complete their transactions. Items in your cart that have won the lottery will become available for checkout.