Reclaim and Foster

Kids spend an average of 50 hours per week on digital media, where they are told what to buy, how to be ‘cool,’ and who they should be.
Camp offers a fresh perspective. Once here, campers gain the opportunity to leave behind peer pressure, excessive stimulation, and electronics in pursuit of nature, focused fun, and supportive, growth-oriented activities.

The social environment at camp is a true community.
Our staff are committed mentors and passionate world-changers who are less-encumbered by our era of often-superficial massive media consumption. We hire authentic young professionals who endure the longest, most in-depth staff training of any summer camp in the country.

Beauty

Campers can choose any number of arts skills to hone during their time at camp. With one of the widest arrays of activities of any summer camp (over 140), dozens are arts and crafts, including glass torch art, leather working, and lathe woodworking.
All around Augusta, one can see the artistic contributions of past campers, from cabin modifications and painted bathhouses to silk batik blowing in the trees.

Wonder

Curiosity is natural and priceless. We create an environment where it thrives.
No matter what activity, campers find motivation and inspiration while following their dreams. At Augusta, a world of wonder exudes from the staff to create immersive environments of play.

• Evening Programs each night are a meticulously crafted, storied adventure. Running or station games (or both) entice participants to explore layers of mystery and plot, rewarding curiosity and grit.
• Every day, a handful of individuals on staff manifest a unique new vision for the campers at ‘Playstation.‘ This could mean pretending to very old for one hour, performing science experiments with a twist, or creating spur-of-the-moment works of art.
• Mornings start with oomph. Counselors wake up their cabins each morning in a unique way. Sometimes it’s energetic, like staging an imaginary meteor strike and biological quarantine. And sometimes it’s quiet and peaceful, like a serenade on guitar with hot tea in bed.

Awe

We share our forest home with 200 ft+ old growth trees. At night, our clear summer skies bathe us in the light of the milky way.  The Sierra Nevada ecoregion harbors one of the most diverse temperate conifer forests on Earth.
To top it off, our clear waters are soothing AND exhilarating.

• Glide through the morning mist on a canoe across our serene Lake Vera. Swimming, Kayaking, and our giant Rope Swing offer fun among the frogs and fish.
• Visit our local river spots on the Yuba, where the locals swim daily during the summer.
• Hike along our on-site creek visiting Hot Rocks, Secret Pool, or our prized Gypsy Falls.

Potential

Augusta not only supports, but scaffolds creativity. Campers act on their creative potentials on a daily basis.
Our staff practice intentional speech, compassionate communication, and other well-researched social practices that foster empathy and emotional intelligence in the campers and the community.

• Cabin Activities, which happen daily, are the ultimate expression of a cabin’s dream hour. This is one of the pinnacles of the Augusta experience.
• Evening Embers, nightly precursors to bedtime, are contemplative activities that encourage campers to consider life deeply. These times of reflection make the most of kids’ formative years. Campers end their days digging into ideas that truly matter to them, and we explore these to help them grow.

Innocence

Camp Augusta fosters the best of traits that we share as a species: empathy, diversity, compassion, freedom…

• Our meticulously sourced and crafted food is beyond what you’d expect from a summer camp (organic, local, adapting to ALL dietary needs). Here, kids don’t need to worry about their physical health.
• We are an Intentional community. Campers are challenged by choice. We frame competition carefully. We even keep a small size and small staff-to-camper ratio in order to promote meaningful individual attention and safety.
• We partner with parents to share insights and perpetuate healthy intellectual/emotional development.