Wilderness Youth Project Summer Camp

Participants meet for a 1-2 week summer session, at various spots throughout Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Montecito. Most programs have 12 youth and use 15-passenger vans to travel to different resource-rich locations each week, such as the creeks, beaches and open spaces in Santa Barbara’s abundant front country. Every program has a 4:1 ratio of children to adults.

Participants explore and learn in these beautiful natural places: playing games designed to build awareness, gaining naturalist skills, following their own curiosity, discovering the plants and animals in the area, making crafts and deepening their connection to the natural world.

Our summer camp curriculum focuses on core exploration activities.

• Circle of Thanksgiving—Sharing words of gratitude

• Awareness Games—Camouflage, animal forms, and more

• Wandering—Outdoor exploring nature

• Storytelling—Telling stories with words, journaling, acting

• Art of questioning—The answer always leads to more questions…

• Sit Spot—Knowledge of place, quiet reflection, observation and experience

• Earth skills—Learn fire by friction, cordage,
  tracking, archery and more while building relationships with materials from nature

AGES: 3-17

HOURS: Varies by program

PRICE: Varies by program

LOCATION: Participants meet for a 1-2 week summer session, at various spots throughout Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Montecito. Most programs have 12 youth and use 15-passenger vans to travel to different resource-rich locations each week, such as the creeks, beaches and open spaces in Santa Barbara’s abundant front country.

CANCELLATION POLICY: A one-time, non-refundable, deposit of $30 will be charged upon registration, per seasonal session. This $30 fee is per family, per seasonal session, and is non-refundable on canceled registrations. We require families to pay their full balance as of June 1st for all weekly programs during summer session. You may change your child's camp once at no cost if a request is received 15 or more full working days before the original reserved camp date. The deposit fee already paid will be applied. After that, a new deposit fee will need to be paid for any new registrations.

SAFETY INFO: We train our staff and safety water protocols as well as train our staff in best practices of how to leave spaces better than we find them and to respect public use of shared outdoor spaces that we take our campers to. We also train our drivers in defensive driving.

1) Does your camp run background checks on counselors and staff?
Yes on all staff and volunteers
2) Do your counselors have accreditation and/or experience in the areas they are leading?
Yes, our lead staff always have experience either through years as support staff with WYP or from another outdoor and youth organization
3) What is your camper to counselor ratio?
4:1, camper to mentor ratio. A mentor can be a lead staff, support staff or trained volunteer
4) Do you provide CPR/AED training for your counselors and staff?
Yes, all staff have a minimum of CPR/AED and first aid training. Our lead staff have a minimum of Wilderness First Aid and our expedition staff have a minimum of Wilderness First Responder