Summer Day Camp
A nature summer program in Ventura, California, combining play, exploration, and outdoor skill-building. Join us this summer as we tromp through woods, wade in creeks, explore dunes, hike botanical gardens, investigate marine life, paint alongside the sea, kayak, study rare plants and birds, and adventure. We meet at various parks and nature preserves on the Central Coast.
Explorers: Ages 4-6 years old. Adventurers: Ages 7-10 years old
Pick-up and drop-off instructions will be given for each week of camp.
Day Camp
Our Pods
Explorers:
Ages 4-6
Our Explorers program is perfect for your young child who loves to be outside. With two educators to every ten Explorers, children receive small group instruction as they learn how to safely interact with the natural world. All activities take place outside. Rain gear, multiple layers, and a change of clothes are vital. Some programs include wading and puddle play opportunities.
Adventurers:
Ages 8-10
Our Adventurers program is perfect for children who are learning independence in the outdoors. Adventurers receive small group instruction as they learn adventure-based, wilderness survival skills, and STEM learning. All activities take place outside. Rain gear, multiple layers, and a change of clothes are vital. Some programs include wading and puddle play opportunities. Swimming is provided during designated lifeguard times. Children are required to wear a personal flotation device during kayaking trips.
Meet the Team
Our team is trained in outdoor education, ecology, and childhood. Our mission is to rewild childhood to save the planet.
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Melissa B. Wilder, M.S. & M.L.A.
Melissa B. Wilder is an ecologist and educator with 24 years in the classroom. Currently, she researches bold strategies to save half the Earth for other species and rewilding Homo sapiens. In 2019, she was awarded the “Dean’s Outstanding Thesis Prize” at Harvard University and graduated from their sustainability program with a Master of Liberal Arts. She also holds a master’s certificate in resource management, a master's of science in environmental education, a bachelor's degree in outdoor education, and an Outward Bound Educator certificate.
She is a certified mentor teacher from Harvard's Graduate School of Education and a certified maker spaces leader from MIT. She has taught in both higher education and preK-12th grade private and public schools. In 2020, she moved to Santa Barbara to be a STEM educator and later the Director of Academic Innovation at the Riviera Ridge School. In 2023, she was awarded Santa Barbara Environmental Teacher of the Year at the Earth Day Festival. She is the owner and founder of the Little Blue Creche and a faculty member at Harvard University's Extension School.
Brianne Vogel, M.A. Ed
Brie has a Master of Arts in Education and over eight years of experience taking children outside. Whether on wilderness trips throughout the state or in the garden creating plots and compost Brie loves using the natural world to help children discover more about themselves and the Earth. She recently finished her Early Childhood certificate from Ventura College and is a Certified Agricultural Literacy Educator, a Certified School Garden Coordinator, an Environmental Action Civics Trained Educator, and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.
Brie will be leading our on-site garden program and will also be managing our nature-based Summer Day Camp for ages 4-10 years old around Ventura County. Brie can often be found hiking the mountains with her baby and partner.
