International Youth Summer camps

Have you experienced the father-son bonding in wilderness? I had that privilege, that my dad took me summer camping, where he showed me how to make fire, how to handle knife, how to catch trout only with your hands. How the nights were cold, but you were warmed by the camp fire. How the days were scorching hot, but cool in the shade of the forest trees.

My father worked a lot, to provide for us. And I missed him and our time. So we compensated and he and mum enrolled me to local boyscout group. I came late during the year and went straight ot 14 day summer camps in the middle of the forest on a beautiful meadow, surrounded by two fresh streams.

And I was hooked for life. Made great friends, had learned many life skills in the areas of leadership, conflict management, organisation, program development, preparation, execution, delegation, communication and many more - without the fancy names and terms - just things that work.

With all the experience I gathered and inhaled during 15 years, a deep feeling was born inside of me - I had to do something with this knowledge. I had to show it to more people, since the same experience though felt differently by every individual, impacted us the same lasting way.

15 years ago I've decided to start Wilderness Survival School . Sharing the love of outdoor living, combining it with more traditional survival and bushcraft techniques. The first event was family summer camp - 7 days. I was not a financial success, but it had made a blast in the hearts of participants. Even today when we meet, we still talk about it and how we should do it again.

Seeing my nephews and nieces grow, I saw the disastrous effect of too much digital and urban and lack of contact with nature, that our generation (born in late 1970is) was still privileged to experience.

As a consequence Youth Summer Wilderness camps were born. Even the first one in 2015 was international in cooperation with WWF Deutschland, Berlin. Young adults loved it. So much, that the second, third and fourth were immediately sold out, when WWF rolled out the 30+ summer camp menu in various countries in Europe.

So why kid, young adults and teens love spending time outdoors so much? What do they get, what do the accomplish, what do they bring home?

Many things, many experiences, many feelings and emotions. But also many new skills, different view of life - that is centered on group help, friendship, support together with independence, self initiative, self sufficiency, proactiveness.

These core skills and traits develop a strong and resilient person. And help them overcome life's hard time. Knowing you are not alone, you can ask for help, but also do something about it by yourself.

Now we come to the fun part .. all the colorful activities teenagers can choose from:

1. Bushcraft and survival: how to start a fire by indian bow drill , how to build a shelter form natural materials, how to build a tower, bridge, how to make your own natural bow , raft from old trash bags , kayak with knife and tarp only , stone arch owen, wild edible plants and mushrooms, first aid, water filter, orientation, ...
2. Creativity workshops: dancing, music workshops: drumming, guitar, flute, ..., painting, clay figurines and primitive pottery, face massage, ...
3. Sports activities: soccer, volleyball, hiking, kayaking, swimming, morning workout, tree climbing, ....
4. Outdoor sleeping: tents, hammocks, sky tent, by the fireplace
5. Dusk activities: singing by the fire, baking snacks on fire, star gazing, night games
6. Secret friend game
7. Daily sharing circle: where everyone gets the change to speak how (s)he experienced the day, how (s)he felt, what was good and what was not.
8. Dedicated chefs in the kitchen: 3 daily organic meals, snacks and beverages 24/7, kitchen staff
9. Dedicated animators and chaperons, 1 adult for the group of 6-8 kids

2023 International summer Youth Camps in cooperation with Accoord , Nantes, France at the lake shore of magical lake Mola, Harije, Slovenija, EU. 5 days of greatest adventure and new friendships.

Age 13 -17 years.

1st camp: 16th-20th of July *TICKETS and info*

2nd camp: 1st-5th of August *TICKETS and info*

Additional info: [email protected]