For 5 days campers hike, climb, wade & swim “our place”: the 5 ecoregions of the Nonotuck biome. These activities aren’t just “fun”—they’re designed to increase camper’s perceptual abilities, stimulate their critical thinking skills, inspire their creative imaginations, and counteract “nature deficit disorder.” Through active physical and mental engagement with “our place,” they gain a deep & lasting appreciation of it—and themselves.

We go from site to site—mountains, forests, brooks, industrial brownfields, you name it—enjoying an adventurous, inquiry-based investigation of how our biome is a bio-home (the home of diverse forms of life). Each day we visit new places, and meet new creatures; campers read resource maps, locate & explore rare ecologies, identify native & non-native species, understand watersheds, rivers, wetlands, public water supplies, and how different soils grow different trees.

Every day, campers enlarge their scientific and cultural “background knowledge” and apply the knowledge as they interpret or “read” the landscapes we visit. The ability to “read a landscape” is the first important step a person takes towards what Aldo Leopold called “thinking like a mountain.”

Depending on their age level, and what the weather is like on any particular day, campers also visit farms, power plants & museums, read & tell stories about nature and culture, take pictures & write in their campbooks or field journals. After a week, they know why Nonotuck—our place—is unlike any other place in the USA. They also know some of the best places to take you hiking, swimming and picnicking!

We’ll have these groups (1 instructor, 1 ass’t instructor & 5 campers) on these M-F dates; click link for specific info about the differing programs for each age group:

Grades 1-3: June 11-15; June 25-29; July 23-27

Grades 4-6: June 18-22; July 9-13; July 16-20

Grades 7-8: July 30-August 3; August 6-10

Grades 9-10: June 4-8

Dr. William R. Peck School: August 13-17

We will meet at Forbes Library in Northampton for pick-up and drop-off. Campers will be transported to outdoor learning sites in the Biocitizen van. They’ll bring lunches, suitable clothing and exploration gear.

Our Place was great for my homebody son. When not playing soccer, my 13 year-old likes to stick to the familiar, but Kurt brought him somewhere new everyday. They learned about where we live by reading, talking, observing and literally diving in—they swam in rivers, hiked in beautiful places, and met new people. Now our son has led the rest of the family on a few adventures. Thanks to Our Place for getting us off the couch to enjoy this beautiful valley!
-Ann Lewis

Put this on your ‘where should my kids go to summer camp’ list. Lucien (& our friend Sam Jackson) adored this camp heart-&-souled by Kurt Heidinger.
-Sarah Buttenweiser

“I hear from my two boys that Biocitizen camp for kids is a great summer adventure: ‘You learn cool stuff but it doesn’t seem like you’re in a classroom…it’s fun.’”
—Tom Martin

The cost of the 5 day camp that runs M-F from 9am-3pm is $300.00.

For more information, please use our contact form (top, on main page) or call 413.527.9092

All sales support our non-profit mission of teaching environmental philosophy.

Biocitizen T shirt

Help support non-profit Biocitizen school programs, and spread the “think outside” message, by wearing our t shirt!

The shirt costs $20.00 + $5.00 shipping.

—white tie-dye-able 100% soft organic cotton
—”biocitizen” on front, dragonfly wings on back
—eco-friendly soy-based ink
—youth medium and large; adult large

biocitizen t-shirt: Adult large Youth medium Youth large

$20.00Price:

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1) Springsources: Hindu, Judaic, Greek and Roman nature mysticism

2) The Transcendental Experience: Emerson’s Nature

3) Living Transcendentally: Thoreau’s Walking

4) Collective Transcendentalism: Whitman’s Song of Myself

5) Transcendentalism in the age of Gaia: Margolis’s What is Life?

Fall session classes are scheduled for Weds. 7-9pm; 12/2, 12/9, 12/16, 1/6 & 1/13

The texts for our first class will be accessed from the web. Suggested editions for the other texts are found by clicking on the book title.

You’ll also receive links to, or hand-outs of, secondary sources so you are introduced to the historical contexts from which these ideas and works emerged. The curriculum is structured recursively so that each class builds upon contexts established on the one before it, so that when we get to What Is Life?, you have the conceptual tools you need to see how Transcendentalism continues to guide our understanding of the human place in the designs of nature. Finally, you’ll be provided with questions and prompts online that will help guide you through the readings, so when we meet you have already started interpreting Transcendental ideas. You are not required, but are strongly encouraged, to keep a journal of your reflections and questions which, if you desire, your instructor will review and comment upon.

Transcendentalism

Learn where Transcendentalism came from, and how it informs our way of perceiving nature. In five easy 2-hour classes!

$80.00Price:

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