A Summer Wrap
Summer is BUSY at Slide Ranch as we welcome campers ages 5-12, and Counselors in Training, ages 12-18, throughout the summer to engage in all aspects of our ranch. This summer we enjoyed time with over 850 campers! Our weekly themes ranged from Junior Ranchers, Farm to Belly, Pollinatorpalooza, and Great Outdoors. Campers’ days were filled with discovery! Children learn best and create the most vivid memories when they engage all their senses and our campers learned about the natural world by touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, seeing and doing.
Campers spent time with our goats and sheep - often cheering them on as they did pasture run-out, milked our goats, visited with our chickens and ducks, found clues about all the wild animals that live in our coastal ecosystem; learned about bees and other pollinators, decomposers, composting, garden plants, created fairy houses, played in our forts, cooked chapati and pizza over a campfire, made sun tea and herbal seltzer with herbs from the garden, made designs with beach rocks and sand; learned about skeletal anatomy by re-creating bony animals at the Bone Grove; and talked about how we can take care of the earth.
Some campers went on a trash hunt, meandered through the Fennel forest and all through the tidepools; listened to the sounds of crashing waves and sea birds; felt sand under their feet and built sand and stone habitats, rainbows of rocks, and learned a little geology along the way! We painted using water from the ocean, washed and carded wool from our sheep, and participated in many scavenger hunts and spontaneous explorations.
We saw Hunter (our resident wild Great Horned owl) regularly hunting in the pasture. Wow!! We saw whales! We practiced principles of organic gardening and animal care, of Leave No Trace, and undertook stewardship projects, and investigated life cycles and reciprocal relationships with the animals, plants, and the wild lands. We harvested zucchini, kale, chard, rhubarb, kelp, fresh herbs and more to make a ton of yummy food including pickles, roasted squash blossoms, kale chips, seed crackers, homemade pizza dough, zucchini muffins, rhubarb jam, delicious stir fries, butter and cheese, and more! All camp groups gathered for a reading of and then creation of Stone Soup. YUM! And above all we gave thanks for the foods we eat and were mindful of all the processes and people involved in getting it to our bellies.
Slide Ranch is a really special place where kids get to ask and answer many questions and above all else, they get to be themselves. Our incredible Outdoor Instructors celebrate camper inquiries with rich, sensory adventures, and hope all of our campers have special Slide Ranch memories and experiences they will carry with them forever.
I am always so honored to be able to work with instructors who truly feel passionate about sharing the joys and wonders of Slide Ranch with children AND come up with new and wonderful ways to do so.
We are so thankful to all of the campers and their families for sharing part of your summer with us. Please join us throught the year for school and holiday break camps, workshops, events, family farm days, and more!
Holiday Break Camps Nov 24, 25, December 29, 30, January 2. Winter camp 2026 - Feb 17-20. Spring camps - March 30 - Apr 3 & April 6-10
Join us throughout the year for our many events, Family Farm Days, and workshops!
