Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute

We're very excited to announce our 2010 Summer Camp Schedule!

To register, please download our application or call Margaret at 757 206 0911 to have a paper copy mailed to you.

Camps cost $200 per week and run 9-3, Monday-Friday

We're hiring!  Scroll to the bottom for more details.

 Sisters of the Forest

July 5-9: Girls 6-8.   August 9-13: Girls 9-11.

Join us for a week of soulful exploration for girls in the magical forest of Pickards Mountain.  Your daughter will find herself immersed in a living, loving, creative community of girls and women.  We will visit and care for the organic educational garden, goats, horses, and chickens.  We will meet and learn about the plants and herbs of the forest, meadow, and garden.  We will create using natural materials such as flowers, leaves, rocks, clay, wool, and watercolors.  Your daughter will leave with a stronger sense of herself as a part of the Earth Community.

Mary Morgaine Thames, instructor, lives outside Asheville, NC in the Blue Ridge mountains and has been dedicated since 1993 to walking the Green Path.  She holds a BA in sustainable living, journalism, and creative expression and puts those skills to use through her business eARTh Dancers.  She is mama to a spunky 11-year old girl, co-teaches Plant Spirit Yoga, is a writer and loves tending her gardens.  Mary Morgaine teaches weekly ongoing classes on living well inside and out through actively relating with the natural world and our authentic selves.  Visit http://www.marymorgaine.com for more information.

Deep Forest Wilderness Skills

July 19-23: Girls & Boys 8-15

Deep Forest camp focuses on the joy and sense of adventure that springs from spending time in the wilderness.  It features age-old skills and experiences which help us feel at home in the woods.  The Deep Forest program provides a step by step process to learning skills such as fire making, fishing, plant medicine, building a wigwam, and animal tracking.  It allows every student to choose their own challenges and provides opportunities for them to mentor each other.  Deep in the Forest, we'll create a culture of active learning.

gumby Montgomery, Instructor, lives for the woods and is often found bent over tracks or picking colorful fungi.  He has been developing his wilderness skills through courses at Tom Brown's Tracking and Wilderness Survival School, Wilderness Awareness School, Earth School, and Earth Heart.  Gumby is a teacher, a storyteller, and a mentor.  He is a Certified Wilderness First Responder.  Gumby has taught at Schoolhouse of Wonder and Clapping Hands Farm, and currently teaches and designs programs at Piedmont Wildlife Center and Red Mountain Nature Programs.

Sarah Haggerty, Instructor, has been an environmental educator and mentor for over a decade.  She loves the natural areas of the Piedmont and she loves teaching and learning outdoors.  Sarah is the founder and director of Red Mountain Nature Programs.  She has been actively studying natural history, herbal medicine, wilderness skills, and the flora and fauna of the Piedmont since age 14, and has a degree in Environmental Education at Warren Wilson College.  Sarah leads and coordinates programs based on the Art of Mentoring techniques taught at Wilderness Awareness School.

Sound, Rhythm, and Instrument Crafting

June 28 - July 2: Girls and Boys 7-12

Come join us for a week of musical creation.  Each day of camp, we will create an instrument and explore the corresponding sounds/rhythms of its native region.  Join us for a week of celebration, communication, and cooperation through a participatory exploration of sound, rhythm, and instrument crafting.

Mark Dragon, Instructor, teaches elementary music, history, horticulture, guitar, and percussion at River Mill Charter School in Graham, NC.  Mark specializes in outdoor education and has been working with K-12 students for the past 10 years.  Mark has been a friend of Pickards Mountain since the very beginning!

Sisters of the Hoop

June 14-18: Girls 8-13

This camp will explore the hoop as an instrument for dance, expression, and play.  Campers will make their own hoops and learn a variety of fun techniques and movement sequences.  Hooping is a wonderful way to build a loving, playful, and appreciative relationship with your body!

Julia Hartsell (aka Jewels), Instructor, has been developing her hoop dance and teaching techniques for almost eight years.  In addition to being immensely fun, Julia believes hooping is a magical and holistic practice with tremendous healing benefits.  Julia performs with HoopDrum, teaches hoop dancing to individuals of all ages, and combines her art with activism sharing the hoop joy around the world.

 Earth Arts

July 26-30: Girls 6-8.  August 2-6: Girls 7-10

Join us as we find, gather, and create with Beauty in Nature.  We will create artworks that will live in the woods and garden of Pickards Mountain, and also some to take home.  Come prepared to use all of your senses and your whole body to work with mud, clay, feathers, paint, rocks, water, leaves, crystals, flowers, ferns, branches, vines, and more!

Cora Willow, Instructor,  is a mother of two daughters named Leah and Chloe.  Cora is a potter and a horsewoman and has been leading arts camps for six years.

We're hiring!  We're looking for an assistant to the educational programs.  This position will include helping with both spring & fall field trips and summer camps.  Download the job description and application for more information, and feel free to write us with questions at pickardsmountain@gmail.com.  Applications are due March 11th, 2010.