About Mother Earth Camp

Campus

Mother Earth Camp is a privately run week-long summer camp for 4-6 year olds at Holliday Park. Right on the banks of the White River near 64th and Spring Mill Road, Holliday Park is an IndyParks treasure and home to public lands that have been lovingly taken care of and preserved for over a hundred years.The camp is from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday, with a camper to paid staff ratio of 5:1.

Activities

The preschool and kindergarten-age campers will immerse themselves in exciting activities like hiking, berry-picking, medicinal herb foraging, instrument making, worm-hunting, bug-catching, jewelry-making, wrestling, tree-climbing, singing, dancing, swimming, stick-fighting, rock throwing, digging, shell-collecting, creek stomping and more! Our dedicated and experienced counselors will ensure that every child feels the magic of the natural world in a safe and nurturing environment. Learn more about what to expect by checking out our FAQs!

Mission statement

Mother Earth Camp’s mission is to cultivate your little humans’ innate biophilia (love of nature) by connecting them with their inborn right to feel safe and at home in the natural world around them.

Values

  • Risky play

  • Being Outdoors

  • Gentleness

  • Curiosity

  • Hands-on experiences

  • Research-based practices

  • Social-emotional learning

  • Ancestral wisdom

Philosophy

Humans’ unique ability to shape our environment can leave us disconnected from the wild places and natural rhythms that surround us, confined within buildings, cars, and manicured outdoor spaces. At the same time, we recognize the importance of safeguarding those elements of nature that exist beyond our creation because deep within each of us, and echoed by scientific research, lies the understanding that our well-being hinges on our relationship with nature. Mother Earth Nature Connection Camp is a part of a growing movement aimed at rewilding modern children and reviving ancestral wisdom and skills passed down by Indigenous Peoples. We embark on a journey to rediscover our profound connection to the land and honor the legacy of those who have lived in harmony with it for generations.

We give great thanks to the ancestors, elders, and heroes whose lives and work we build upon in offering this camp: Ella Jenkins, Frances Tschida, Malkah Bird, Jon Young, Mr. Chaz, Richard Louv, Dan Boritt, Teacher Tom, Amos Rodriguez, Allie Combs, Colleen Donahue, Greg Monzel, and those unnamed.

And we acknowledge the indigenous people who lived here and still live here in the Eastern Woodlands: Kickapoo, Miami, Pawnee, Lenape, and those unnamed and those whose spirits still reside here.