2026 Summer Camps
Nature-based summer camps located in Mars Hill, NC - in beautiful Madison County, NC
June 15-19 - Wood Gnomes Camp - Ages 3-5
and Wild Ones Forest Camp - Ages 6-10
June 22-26 - Craft Gnomes Camp - Ages 4-8
June 29-July 3 - Craft Guild: Knife Making - Ages 11-16
July 20-24 - Craft Guild: Metalsmithing - Ages 11-16
July 27-31 - Critters of the Creek - Ages 3-5
and Craft Camp: Copper, Clay & Carving - Ages 6-10
Summer 2026 Schedule
Wood Gnomes Camp
Ages 3-5 - June 15-19 - 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - $275
Begin your child’s journey in connecting with nature with our immersive forest camp! Our curious, knowledgeable instructors are passionate about guiding children to learn and grow through imaginative play outdoors. We’ll follow a rhythm to each day, singing our good morning song, hearing a story and sharing gratitude with each other. Children will get to participate in group music making, craft and play in our beautiful mountain creek. We look forward to wandering the woods, tasting edible plants, and learning practical skills with your curious young people this summer!
Give your child the experience of being immersed in nature for the week! We’ll introduce foundational skills, including fire making/safety, tracking and wayfinding, safe tool use, plant ID, animal behavior and ecology. We will play many games which build our awareness and sharpen our senses while deepening our connection to the natural world. We will spend some time in the forest in stillness, quietly observing and learning about the creatures that live there. These skills can be carried into all aspects of a child's life, finding focus at school, peace at bedtime, and building confidence and proficiency outdoors.
Ages 6-10 - June 15 - 19 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - $350
Wild Ones
Craft Gnomes Camp
Ages 4-8 - June 23-25 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - $200
Delve into the world of whimsical crafts with us! We’ll listen to magical tales of gnomes and faeries which will inspire our enchanted creations. Using wool, silk and materials we find in the forest, we’ll create all kinds of treasures, from costumes to characters for small world play. This camp will take place entirely outdoors in a beautiful enchanted wood. We’ll make time for imaginative play and creek exploration in between connecting to nature through embodying faerie tales and making natural crafts.
Craft Guild: Knife Making
Ages 11-16 - June 29 - July 3 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Monday - Friday - $400
Students will hand forge their own unique knife from high carbon steel, make handles and sheaths from raw materials and learn the fundamentals skills needed to sharpen and care for their knives. Blacksmithing/forging, carving/shaping and basic leather working skills will be taught to create a one of a kind knife. All skill levels welcome with no prior blacksmith experience necessary.
Craft Guild: Metalsmithing
Ages 11-16 - July 20-24 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Monday - Friday - $400
Explore the timeless methods of Blacksmithing and Coppersmithing. Harness the power of fire and explore the mystery of moving metal. Apply heat, pressure and leverage with proper forging techniques to transform steel/copper into beautiful and functional objects that will last a lifetime.
We will learn about basic smithing techniques, tools, history, shop safety and how to create a shop of your own in the beginning of the week and progress into more challenging projects through the week. Tools, safety gear and small class to instructor ratios make for a safe and exciting learning environment. Students will explore the magic of steel's transformation from a hard unyielding state to something they can bend and shape to their own design. This class is appropriate for beginner to advanced students ages 11-16. This will be hard work but highly rewarding and exciting. We will take time to cool off in the creek and explore the land throughout the week, but every day will be focused on forging and fire. There will be something new for every skill level.
Critters of the Creek
Ages 3-5 - July 27 -31 - 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - $275
During the dog days of summer we’ll wander the creek and learn about all the cool critters who call this ecosystem home. Our region has incredible biodiversity! We’ll study the many species of salamanders who live here. Turning over rocks, we’ll find crawdads crawling through the creek, looking like tiny lobsters swimming in the current. We’ll learn about how to recognize different types of animal sign, such as scat, tracks, dens, nests, feathers and fur. Children will build confidence in their ability to traverse the rocky creek and the steep hillsides, learning through the tactile experience of being in the forest and playing in the water. We’ll head home at the end of the day muddy, tired and incredibly joyful!
Craft Camp: Copper, Clay & Carving
Campers will create unique hand made crafts this week using Copper, Clay and Wood. We will forge copper treasures, trinkets and adornments like bracelets, pendants and ornaments. We will shape clay pottery like cups, bowls or beads with different designs and fire them in a campfire. Campers will also learn basic wood carving skills and knife safety to create things like spatulas, forks, spoons or walking sticks. In the heat of the day we will go to the creek and cool off as well as spend some time each day playing games and exploring nature.
Ages 6-10 - July 27-31 - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - $350
