Young Stewards Summer Enrichment Program

Fernbrook Farms Education Center started a summer enrichment program in 2009 for campers 12-14 years old that wanted to continue their summer experience at Fernbrook and throughout New Jersey. The Young Stewards Enrichment Program focuses on local agriculture, ecology, and community. Weekly field trips allow your children to discover the natural diversity of New Jersey. Guided by experienced and well-qualified staff members, campers will visit the Pine Barrens, explore the New Jersey coastline, learn the abundance of resources in our seasonal forests, and paddle local waterways. Activities on and off the Farm aim to promote leadership, teamwork and ecological awareness for the Young Stewards. Space is limited to 10 campers per week.

Started in 2011, a few weeks of the Young Stewards program are 4-day/3-night New Jersey camping trips. During the camping trip weeks, Mondays are devoted to team-building, camping skills practice and menu preparation during a normal 8:30am-4:00pm camp day. On Tuesday, campers bring their camping gear and the group is driven to their first campsite to set up camp. Each day, the group canoes or hikes/explores to a new campsite. On Friday, campers pack up and are brought back to Fernbrook with great memories and new wilderness skills. The 2011 trips along the Mullica Wilderness Trail in the Pine Barrens and Upper Delaware River were wonderful experiences for campers and a great success!

• building a crab trap and crabbing at the shore
• paddling the tidal waters of Crosswicks Creek
• creating a timber management plan for Fernbrook forests
• building a wigwam or sweat lodge
• constructing a seining net to catch aquatic organisms

• meeting native fauna at a wildlife refuge
• canoeing along cedar rivers of the Pine Barrens
• testing orienteering skills
• making a sawdust kiln
• exploring wooded trails of NJ State Parks

Fernbrook Farms Education Center offers Fiddlehead Summer Day Camp (age 6–11) and Young Stewards Summer Enrichment Program (age 12–14) weekly from late June to Labor Day. Your children may join us for one week or as many weeks as you wish. Days begin at 8:30am and run until 4:00pm with extended care available before and after the camp day. Healthy snacks are provided and campers are expected to bring a nutritious lunch.

Camp is a time to experience new things, try a hand at the unexpected, and make life-long friendships to cherish every summer! Download the 2013 Young Stewards Enrichment Program registration form and register early to reserve your spot—a variety of discounts are available.