Summer Camp

Eco-Discovery Camp

• Registration is now open
• Early bird pricing applies to all registrations prior to April 1, 2025

Great Hollow’s weekly day camp offers children ages 6-12 unique and fun opportunities to forge lasting connections with the natural world on our 825-acre nature preserve in New Fairfield, CT. Our days are spent outdoors, exploring Great Hollow’s creeks, forests, meadows, and trails, learning about the critters that make this special place their home. Each weekly session includes science-based environmental education, arts and crafts, games, hikes, and daily time for self-directed play.

Eco-Discovery Camp CITs

Our counselor-in-training program offers teenagers valuable work experience that will also count towards volunteer hours. Many of our CITs return year after year. If you’re 14-17 years old, love the outdoors, and are interested in being a CIT, please click here for more information.

2025 Eco-Discovery Camp Schedule

Descriptions of each weekly session can be found at the bottom of the page

Please read through these steps to ensure you understand our registration process.

1. Disable your pop-up blocker. This is the #1 issue caregivers have when registering.
2. Log into your Great Hollow account. If you try to checkout without signing in first, you will get an error.
3. Prior to purchase, you will be directed to fill out a digital pre-registration form for your child. 
4. Once this form is completed, you will be redirected to a webpage where you can then select your desired camp week and add it to the shopping cart. If you have more than one child attending camp, you can submit the additional pre-registration forms after you have completed your purchase. If you are not automatically redirected, it is because you have pop-up software enabled. If this happens, please email our camp director, Tara Ewers.
5. A final registration packet will be emailed to you. These forms will need to be signed and returned prior to June 2, 2025. 
6. Fill out and return all remaining forms no later than June 2, 2025 to avoid a late fee. If you are unable to return a form prior to June 2 please email our camp director Tara at your earliest convenience.
7. Check your spam folder if you do not receive an email from Tara within 5 business days of registering. 

2025 Pricing & Details

Ages:

• Eco-Discovery Camp is open to all children who are at least 6 years old and have completed Kindergarten, up to the age of 12.
• Camp weeks are divided into three age groups:
  • Curious Kids for ages 6-8
  • Knee-High Naturalists for ages 8-10
  • Eco-Explorers for ages 9-12

Pricing:

• Early Bird Registration (Register before April 1, 2025)
  • Non-members: $335 per child
  • Family-level and above members: $301.50 per child 
  • June 30 – July 2 is a short week due to the holiday. The reduced price for this week is $220 per child for non-members and $198 per child for family-level and above members.

• Registration on April 1, 2025 or later
  • Non-members: $350 per child
  • Family-level and above members: $315 per child 
  • June 30 – July 2 is a short week due to the holiday and is $235 per child for non-members and $211.50 per child for Family-level and above members.

Hours:

• Camp hours are from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
• Parents and caregivers can begin dropping campers off at 8:45 am
• The latest campers can be picked up is 3:15 pm

Cancellations and Refunds: 

• Please click here to review our cancellation and refund policy

Health and Safety:

• All campers will need to submit a current Health Assessment performed by a licensed physician or APRN along with proof of current vaccinations. Health assessments must be from within the previous 24 months and vaccinations must be current.
• If your child has a health condition (allergy, asthma, etc.) then you will also need to submit an Individual Plan of Care form (last page of packet or you may submit your own)
• If your child needs to take medication during the camp day you will also need to provide an Authorization for the Administration of Medication form and have it signed by your child’s physician
• Shared materials, equipment, and surfaces will be sanitized daily
• For the health and well-being of others we ask that you do not send your child to camp if they are exhibiting signs of illness including, but not limited to, a fever, runny nose, or persistent cough

2025 Forms

All forms are due by June 2, 2025. A $25 late fee will be assessed per camper for forms received after June 2, 2025.

Great Hollow’s Eco-Discovery Camp is licensed by the state of Connecticut. These forms are required by law to be made available to a state inspector during unannounced inspections that can occur at any time during our summer camp season. Failure on our part to provide inspectors with these forms can result in a warning or penalty towards our license.  For this reason, we cannot allow campers with missing or incomplete paperwork to attend camp. 

• Forms should be emailed to Tara or mailed directly to the preserve:
  • Great Hollow Nature Preserve
    ATTN: Tara Ewers
    225 State Route37
    New Fairfield, CT 06812

1. Great Hollow Waiver Packet
2. CT Health Assessment  – (Dental is not needed for camp; your physician’s office may already have this form)
3. Camper Behavior Contract
4. Sunscreen Authorization
5. Medication Authorization– (Only required if medication will be or potentially be taken during camp)

2025 Eco-Discovery Camp Sessions

The Works | June 16 – 20
Curious Kids, Ages 6-8 | Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10
Can’t decide which week to attend? Start here! This week will give campers a small sampling of all that is offered at Great Hollow’s Eco-Discovery Camp. Campers will spend the week exploring Great Hollow’s forests, fields, and streams while also learning about basic hiker safety, native plants and animals, rocks and minerals, and STEAM.

Activities: hiker safety necklaces, gelli and sun printing, abstract watercolor art, hands-on animal furs & feathers exploration

Art Week | June 23 – 27
Curious Kids, Ages 6-8 | Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10
Spend the week learning all about how the natural world has inspired art and artists for thousands of years. Campers will also learn about the role artists played in furthering our understanding of the natural world. This week will include light hiking, exploring Quaker Brook, arts and crafts, and games.

Activities: oil pastel perspective drawings, tree cookie art, faux mounted insects, cardboard animals, painting rocks and shells

Nature Rocks | June 30 – July 2
Curious Kids, Ages 6-8 | Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10
Campers will be transformed into mini-geologists as they spend the week learning about different rocks and minerals, how they are formed, and where to find them. This week of camp is shortened due to the holiday.

Activities: rock and mineral exploration, “panning” for fool’s gold, “mining” for minerals, opening geodes

Survival Week | July 7 – 11
Eco-Explorers, Ages 9-12
What would you do if you were lost in the woods? This week, we’ll cover topics to help you find your way through the wilderness and survive in the forest. Learn how to signal for help, how to build an emergency shelter, give basic first aid, find fresh water in the woods, and forage for food. We’ll also set aside time for hiking, exploring Quaker Brook, and arts and crafts.

Activities: topography and map-reading, first-aid kits, shelter-building, fire-building, paracord keychains

Eco-Warriors Week | July 14 – 18
Eco-Explorers, Ages 9-12
During this week campers will learn about ecosystems and the steps they can take to help keep our planet healthy. Campers will participate in hikes, hands-on activities, games, and crafts.

Activities: upcycled art, handmade paper, seed bombs, plastic pollution, glass art, solar s’mores oven

STEAM Week | July 21 – 25
Eco-Explorers, Ages 9-12
A perennial favorite. Spend the week learning how science, technology, engineering, art, and math are used to solve real-world problems.

Activities: GIS data collection, toothpick-building challenge, homemade butter, yeast exploration, egg-drop challenge, binary coding bracelets, origami

Magical Minds | July 28 – August 1
Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10 | Eco-Explorers, Ages 9-12
Our summer camp transforms into a magical academy for one week where campers will get to explore a variety of topics through hands-on activities. We’ll explore chemistry in our “potions class”, make leaf prints in “herbology”, craft our own wax seals and quill pens in art, and end the week with a tournament of outdoor games.

Activities: chemical reactions, owl pellet dissection, homemade ice-cream, plant identification basics, modeling clay wax seals

Buggin’ Out | August 4 – 8
Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10
Did you know that insects are the most abundant animals on our planet? Campers will learn about the important roles many insects play in the environment through hands on exploration.

Activities: invasive species wanted posters, faux mounted insects, sweep-netting, butterfly life-cycle art

Water Exploration Week | August 11 – 15
Knee-high Naturalists, Ages 8-10
Spend your week exploring Great Hollow’s Quaker Brook! We’ll catch crayfish and other critters, go on stream walks, and learn where water comes from and where it will eventually go. We’ll be busy having so much fun that you won’t even realize we’re learning all about the water cycle, watersheds, and the importance of healthy streams.

Activities:  water cycle exploration, model watersheds, build-a-beaver-dam challenge, watercolor painting, mixed media art