A once in a lifetime outdoor experience centered on Social Emotional Learning to strengthen teamwork, goal setting, and collaboration.
Classes & Activities:
– Ropes Course
– Explore & Draw Nature Journaling
– Teambuilding
– Cathedral Gorge Hike
– You Pick! (Recommendations: Survival, Archery, Canoeing)
Evening Program choices: Square and Contra Dance with Peter, Paul, & George, Campfire, Skit & Song, DJ Dance Party
What you get:
Young Voices for the Planet (Evening Program)
Watch and discuss short films from esteemed author Lynne Cherry’s inspiring series, Young Voices For The Planet as an evening program. The films document the true success stories of kids making a difference for the planet in their communities, and spark conversations on civic engagement and youth leadership. This is an optional evening program with no additional cost.
Night Walk (Evening Program)
Use your ears like the deer, step softly like the fox. Observe the forest at night! (After May 15th, special arrangements need to be made.) This is an optional evening program with an additional cost of $38.
New Games (Evening Program)
Ashokan staff lead fun recreational field games.
Campfire (Evening Program)
Make warm s’mores and enjoy ann hour-long campfire experience with jokes, songs, and stories from the Ashokan staff. Larger groups may split in half, with the other half participating in another activity such as field games or star gazing (weather dependent). This is an optional evening program with no additional cost.
Explore and Draw Nature Journaling – NEW!
Forage outdoors for materials and engage in drawing and painting with newly opened eyes to discover and draw the beauty of the natural world.
New Games (Evening Program)
Ashokan staff lead fun recreational field games.
Hike to Cathedral Gorge
Hike through an old Eastern Hemlock forest along the Esopus Creek and explore the natural and social history of the region! The trail passes relics of the recent and prehistoric past, including a 19th-century water mill, a 130-year-old covered bridge, and a glacial gorge, before it ends at a 80-foot waterfall—the walls of which reveal rock layers that are millions of years old.
Ropes Course (Early Fall, Late Spring)
Challenge yourself on an obstacle course in the trees above the forest floor. Students work on their teamwork and communication skills while practicing personal and group responsibility as they encounter diverse elements along the course, such as the kitten crawl, the Burma Bridge, and the log crossing. The course culminates with a thrilling ride down our zipline!
Team Building Level I: Challenge and Discovery
Work as a team to solve a variety of fun and purposeful challenges that cultivate trust and cooperation among the group. Designed to de-emphasize competition, these activities encourage creativity, spontaneity, and imagination, along with communication and leadership skills.
Choose one more:
Archery
In this classic archery class, students learn the history of archery along with the necessary rules, safety procedures, and archery techniques before hitting the range and letting the arrows fly. With a variety of fun targets, kids and adults alike are certain to have a blast at the Ashokan archery range, challenging themselves to improve their power, precision, and accuracy with a bow and arrow while cheering on others to do the same!
Survival
What would you do if you were lost in the woods or stranded on an island? Learn basic survival skills and wilderness safety concepts in this fun, hands-on class. With the guidance of our survival experts, students work together to enact survival techniques, prioritize needs, brainstorm prevention measures, build a functional shelter, and gather kindling for a small fire.
Team Building Level II
This team building course is more advanced than Challenge and Discovery, designed to challenge a group, both physically and mentally, through a variety of fun initiatives and ground-level elements. As a team, the group will be given the opportunity to practice effective problem-solving and communication skills in order to reach the final goal.
Evening Options:
Peter, Paul & George
Peter, Paul, and George build community through traditional American dance & music. They joyfully engage the group with called dances that strengthen connection.
Skit and Song Night
Ashokan staff lead the group in a fun night of skits and songs!
DJ Dance Party
Cut loose on the dance floor as the Ashokan staff spins fun dance tunes.
Campfire (Outdoor or Indoor) with S’mores!
Enjoy an hour-long full-group campfire experience with warm s’mores, jokes, songs, and stories from the Ashokan staff. In the event of inclement weather we will create a similar experience indoors!
