Activities & Facilities

Blackwood Educational Land Institute includes 23 acres, bunk style dorm rooms, a straw bale energy-efficient construction, central air conditioning, a small pond, organic gardens, greenhouse, chickens and farm equipment. What children love about BNC is that they choose the activities in which they will participate. Choices of activities include:

Natural crafts
Making Nature Journals and walnut ink
Swimming
Rafting & Canoeing
Music and theatre
Built projects (honey harvesting, chicken tractor, water harvesting)
Organic gardening (peat moss pots)
Camp fires
Cooking classes
Astronomy
Pond ecology
Pottery
Native American history
Paper making
Water coloring
Bird watching
T-shirt Silk Screening and Tie Dying
Jewelry Making and beading
Hiding out in the Tree house
Wandering the labyrinth
Wood carving
Geology dig
Leprechaun house making
Hikes
Adventure Games (like Capture the Flag, group problem solving)
Family Overnights
Archery
Geology Dig
and more!

Friday Night Family Overnights & Concerts

Enjoy a relaxing evening following the Family Potluck Dinner on Friday evening. Camp is over following the Potluck dinner and families are welcome to stay overnight. Tents are welcome, although families are welcome to sleep under the beautiful stars. There are not enough bunks for parents to sleep indoors.

Community Service; Built Projects

Following Blackwood’s philosophy of giving back to the land, campers will engage in service learning projects including gardening and wildflower projects, water-harvesting, bee-keeping, and other meaningful built projects. These projects are designed to be lasting contributions to Blackwood, for children to share and enjoy in future visits.

Safety: Raising The Level Of Consciousness

BNC’s approach to safety and risk management is entwined with competence, sound judgment, and purposeful, substantial programming. Our staff implicitly guides every action and interaction to reduce accident potential. Dr. Taylor Brown MD will be the official physician on call for both weeks.