PHILOSOPHY 

The Mission

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The mission of Camp Chrysalis is to support campers in fostering connections to the natural world, building community, and developing life skills:

• NATURE: Campers develop an appreciation and understanding of the different natural environments that we live in and explore every day, and a beginning awareness of their responsibility as stewards who care for and contribute to the preservation of these places.

• COMMUNITY: Campers develop a strong sense of community that respects and supports each individual’s unique nature and growth while building strong and long-lasting relationships. 

• LIFE SKILLS: Campers develop critical life skills through engaging in crafts and activities, and by contributing to the health and well-being of the community as a member of their small group. 

 

How we Support Campers in their Development

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Connecting with Nature

To encourage the deepening of connections to the natural world, we lead several talks in small and whole groups within each session that focus on the specific ecology of the place. We focus on developing powers of observation as campers are guided to slow down and look carefully as they are asked, “What do you see? What do you wonder about?” Campers are given a Bare Book at the beginning of each session, which they use to record their experiences with sketches, poems, thoughts, and observations that they make while at camp.

 

Building Community

To encourage the building of community, each session starts with an introductory circle where campers and staff affirm the ways in which we want to interact with, respect, and support each other. We continue developing these strong connections in small groups, where campers have daily responsibilities to take care of our community while cooking, cleaning, building and tending our campfire, and keeping our camp tidy and organized. Campers have daily check-ins with their small groups, and their counselors take special care to connect with each camper and help them to connect with each other as well as the larger group. Appreciation circles are hosting at least once each session and we are consistently impressed with the care and thoughtfulness that campers express during this activity for their peers and counselors.

 

We have always worked to make our camp a safe and supportive space for all of our campers and staff. Over the past decade in particular, we have become more aware of the needs of our non-binary campers and staff and strive to create a welcoming and supportive place for them at camp. 

 

We moderate age-appropriate talks that support good hygiene at camp and help campers with the pubescent changes that sometimes occur at camp (i.e. wet dreams, menstruation, body odor). 

 

We also pose questions-of-the-meal to encourage campers to share memories, opinions, and feelings with each other. These questions might include: a significant thing that you learned in the past year, a quality that you value in a friend, a favorite place that you enjoy spending time in, your choice of a minor superpower, and more. Their answers often reveal commonalities and open up areas for further discussion around the table.