The big idea:
create a Jewish environmental overnight camp!

A few years ago, during a conversation we had while washing dishes in our New York apartment, an inspiration came that would become our life’s work – to create a Jewish environmental overnight camp!

The goal was simple: to create a safe space for young people to ask big questions while having the time of their lives, and to help them create a more just, sustainable and joyful environment, for themselves and for the world.

We started writing out the dream on our laptop. A few months later, we learned of the Foundation for Jewish Camp and Jim Joseph Foundation’s Jewish Specialty Camp Incubator Grant, which would provide resources to create five new camps. For months, while Vivian practiced public interest law and Yoni completed his Masters in Informal Jewish Education, we spent evenings and weekends crafting a detailed proposal, with amazing help from friends, family, colleagues and community. On September 15, 2008 — the day after our wedding — we found out that our camp had been selected!

We suddenly had major funding, amazing mentors, and a training program designed to help our camp adhere to best practices and succeed in its mission.

The way we found our site felt equally miraculous. On a seemingly ordinary Monday afternoon, someone from the UJA-Federation, on a business call with a friend of ours, commented that she had an empty camp facility and was looking for a Jewish environmental leadership camp vision. Just minutes later, we called our friend to share our camp plan with her – and the match was made!

Our Beresheit (Creation) Festival

We’ve been working joyfully and intensively on camp for the past year, but in many ways it seems that we, along with our community, have been building towards this our entire lives. In June, we moved to camp and hosted a Jewish Permaculture Design Certification course that yielded innovative landscaping plans. At our Beresheit (Creation) Work-Day Festival in July (video below), over 250 people, ages 1 to 89, joined to break ground on the farm, fundraise, clean, run the festival itself, learn and celebrate. Since then, over a hundred more folks have volunteered.

This camp is the natural growth of a large group of people who believe in the power of young people to create change at once in themselves and in the world, who believe Judaism contains wisdom that speaks to our most pressing social issues, and who are excited to help young people thrive in a positive, solutions-based community.

Thank you for your interest in Eden Village Camp, and we invite your family to help pioneer this new world! Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Warmly,

Vivian and Yoni Stadlin
Camp Founders/Directors

In our efforts to learn more about the world around us, we've included a background image of one of the plant species native to our campgrounds. On this page you can find the:

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