Our Campers are Changing the World!

Eden Village Camp brings an innovative, earth-based focus to the best of traditional overnight camp. Within the safe, kind community we create, our campers feel free to be themselves and explore new interests. Our campers emerge Jewishly connected and inspired, with new outdoor-living skills as well as “soft” skills that help them thrive in community, like teamwork, goal-setting and clear communication.

ORGANIC FARMING

  • Milk goats, harvest squash, or collect eggs for your morning Avodah (work)!
  • Munch on cherry tomatoes and raspberries from your bunk-side snack garden – your natural vending machine!
  • Harvest, thresh, winnow, & grind wheat to bake our own challah in a Solar Oven, just in time for Shabbat!
  • Learn about the Hebrew months in our gigantic spiral calendar garden!
  • Make (and eat!) fresh homegrown pesto from our bike-powered blender… on homemade pita from our clay oven!
  • Culinary arts, beekeeping, caring for sheep and working with wool, pickling and preserving, maintaining a compost pile, food systems and food justice programs, and much more….

WILDERNESS SKILLS

  • Backpack on the Appalachian Trail or our aptly-named Blueberry and Wineberry Trails! Cook for your bunk over an open fire and sleep out under the stars! Night hikes!
  • Learn to safely build fires, forts, and shelters!
  • Read the language of the forest as you track coyote, beaver, and bluejay!
  • Expand your sensory IQ with foxwalking, owl eyes, and deer ears.
  • Who are the people in your neighborhood? Know which plants are edible, medicinal, or poisonous!
  • Engage natural passions like climbing, hiding, and storytelling in games that increase our nature awareness.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

  • Hikes, Ropes Course, Zipline, Rock Climbing & Scrambling, Structured Group-Building Initiatives, Obstacle Challenges…

SCIENCE OF NATURE

  • Local ecology and botany, Herbalism, Biology, Insects/pests, Geology, Birding, Ecosystems monitoring, Vermaculture, Mycology (study of mushrooms)…

SWIMMING & BOATING

  • Instructional Swim (with Red-Cross Certification Levels) and Recreational Swim in Pool; Canoeing, Sailing on Sunfish, Kayaking and Row-boating in 8-Acre Lake!

PULSE

  • Soccer, Yoga, Basketball, Tai Chi, Dance, Teniss, Frisbee/Disc Golf, Cross-country running, Group Challenges, Horseback riding, Baseball,  Gaga, Capture the Flag,  Poi, Unicycling, Collaborative active games….

ARTS AND CRAFTS

  • Painting, Art with natural and recycled materials, Kiln-fired Ceramics and Pottery, Wood-carving, Print-making, Muraling, Mask-making, Site-Specific Installation Art, Paper-making, Pioneer crafts, Natural Tie-dying, Knitting, Basket weaving, Crocheting, Knitting….

FINE ARTS

  • Improv, Creative Writing, Camp Show/Play, Dance Performances….

MUSIC

  • Guitar and drum lessons, Song-writing and recording, Drum circles, Song sessions, First-time freestyles, Solo performances….

Yahadut (Jewish Learning)

  • Hebrew calligraphy with feather quills, Yiddish club, Jewish holiday education, Intro to Hebrew and Hebrew conversation club, Jewish philosophy, Learners’ services, Torah theater, Learning on the week’s Torah portion, Daily prayer choices and gratitude blessings before and after meals (both traditional and creative options) and more…

NESHAMA (SPIRIT)

  • Laughter Yoga, Meditation, Tai Chi, Breathwork…

And MORE!

Special Events

  • Joyful Shabbat celebration!
  • Community service learning trips
  • Overnight camping trips
  • Service-learning projects for bar/bat mitzvah-aged campers
  • Day of Service, Farm Festival, “Wilderness Wednesdays” group trips
  • Special guest instructors and entertainers

Daily Programs

  • Morning prayer/Shacharit on weekday mornings, and optional Mincha and Maariv (afternoon and evening services)
  • “Share” — the camp-wide meeting after dinner where anyone can share a mission-related song, skit, story, anything! Shares range from funny to sublime to inspiring to totally off-the-wall… all get lots of cheering!
  • Evening activities, usually by Tribe (age group): Night Hike, Scavenger Hunt to Save the World, Eco Spa and Pool Party, Beach Bonfire, Campfire song session, Group games and discussions, Skits and Performances, Council of All Beings, All-Camp Drum Corps….