Thank you for registering your child for our 2025 Camp Farm & Forest.

This page provides important information about preparing your child for camp; we know it’s long, but please read it thoroughly!

 

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Camp Location:

Earth Native Campus (SHILOH ENTRANCE), 912 Shiloh Rd. Bastrop, TX 78602. Please follow the "Youth Classes" sign from the parking area to the Juniper Pavillion for sign-in.

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Camp Times 8:00am-2:00pm:
Drop-off: Please arrive between 8:00am and 8:15am daily for sign in. Note: You may want to come a little early on the first day as sign-in takes a few minutes longer on the first day when we are checking in with parents and making sure kids have everything they need for camp

 

Pick-up: Please arrive to pick-up and sign-out between 1:45pm and 2:00pm each day. All children not signed up for extended hours must be signed-out by 2:00pm.​

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Extended Hours: 2:00pm – 4:00pm each day  (Please sign-up and pay for this service in advance.) See below for details.

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No Early Arrival/Late Pickup:
Although our staff is on-site both before and after sign-in and sign-out, they are NOT available to supervise children outside of the arrival and pick-up times indicated above. This time is used for program planning and debrief, and it is critical to us being able to provide each individual camper and the group with the best week possible. We know that this is challenging for working parents and appreciate your understanding. If you are unable to pick up by 2pm we offer extended hours (4pm pick-up) for an additional $20 per camp day.

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Late Pick-up Fees:

Additional fees will be charged to parents who are more than 15 minutes late to pick-up at a rate of $2 per minute. Please note: there is no grace period for extended camp hours. Late fees begin at 4:01pm.

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Optional Extended Hours:

Extended camp hours are available up to 2 hours after regular camp hours for an additional $20 per camp day. Extended hours pick-up is available between 3:45pm-4:00pm. If you did not choose and pay for the optional extended hours at registration and would like to add it, please email us to have this added.

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Authorized Adults:

During registration we asked for a list of all adults, including parents, who will be picking your child up from camp. If there are any additions/changes to this, please log in to your Earth Native account to update this information. Once logged in, click on "My Account" from the menu bar. You will see all campers (participants) listed here. If mobile viewing, participants will be listed in a drop down. You can update any information you completed in the registration form during enrollment.

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Sign-In and Sign-Out:
It is our policy that each camper be signed-in every morning and signed-out every afternoon! Please make sure that everyone who is authorized to drop-off or pick-up your child during the week is aware of the need to do this. We will check identification at pick-up until we know you, and this must match the names of individuals authorized to take home your child.

We also ask that if there is someone that your child knows well (parent, uncle, grandparent, etc.) who is NOT authorized to pick them up due to custody issue or restraining order or similar situation that you let us know so we are aware of the situation.

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What Your Child Should Wear:

• Comfortable clothes that can get very dirty/wet and are appropriate for the weather

• Sturdy, closed-toe shoes that can get wet and very dirty

• Raingear or poncho if significant rain is in the forecast

 

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What to Pack:

Please send the following items with your child in a small/medium backpack that can fit ALL of their personal items including their lunch and water bottle. (Please do not send your child to camp with a bag on wheels or a satchel they have to carry over one shoulder or send your child with a pack that is too small to fit all of their items in.)

• Packed lunch

• Mid-morning snack

• FULL 27 oz. (or larger) water bottle is REQUIRED (Please do not send disposable water bottles.)

  • ​In the heat it is critical that your child drink enough water. If your child does not bring a water bottle they will not be able to attend camp until they have one.

  • ​If you ordered an Earth Native water bottle during registration it will be given to you at sign-in on the first day of camp. There will be a filling station nearby.

• Personal supply of sunscreen

  • Please apply your child’s sunscreen before you drop them off. While our instructors will do their best to monitor and remind campers about re-application, it is very helpful if campers of a reasonable age are able to monitor and help themselves.

• Bug spray!!

  • ​We highly recommend that you put bug spray on your children before camp. Chiggers are present in our area during the warmer months. Don’t forget to put bug spray around their ankles/socks and around their waist under their shirt to help prevent chigger bites as well as on top of their clothing. Natural bug sprays do not seem to work well on chiggers. Having your child take a shower after camp is also a very good idea. Here is a link to a helpful article about chiggers. The last page of the articles focuses on prevention so prioritize that section.

• Optional - Notebook & pencil 

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Note: Please make all purchases in advance of camp. Our instructors are not authorized to take payment at camp.

 

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What NOT to Pack:

• Electronics/Phones

• Excessive sugary snacks or caffeinated energy drinks

• Excess extra clothes

• Knives (Carving and knife use are not a part of this camp)

• Extra items of any sort. We will be covering a fair bit of ground on foot each day, and heavy backpacks become a challenge for all. Bring what you need and nothing else.

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Safety Note:

We take safety very seriously at Earth Native and summer heat is definitely the number one hazard we face here in Texas. In order to prevent heat related illness, we will require your children to drink water throughout the day. If your child does not like to drink water, please consider adding about 1⁄4 or 1⁄2 juice to the water to give it some flavor. Alternately EmergenC or similar drink packets can help the kids to drink more and replenish their electrolytes. Also, please consider packing your child some salty snacks to encourage drinking and to help replenish the salt they are losing through perspiration.

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Though we have lots of tricks up our sleeves to get reluctant children to drink a safe amount of water, on occasion we have a child who is unwilling. If your child is unwilling to drink a safe amount of water throughout the day we will call you to help, or perhaps to pick them up if the unwillingness persists.

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Preparing for a Hot Camp Week:

Earth Native has safely and successfully hosted thousands of kids and hundreds of camps in 100+ degree weather. After all of this experience we’ve noticed that our campers often have a harder time on Mondays. We believe that this is largely due to the fact that many kiddos are not hydrating well on Sunday (so they show up at camp a little dehydrated) and with the late summer nights and no school, many kids also often don’t get enough sleep the night before camp. 

 

Given these observations, we highly recommend having your kids drink lots of fluids the weekend before camp and that they get a solid night’s sleep (early bedtime) on Sunday so their bodies are fully operating and ready for adventure.

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Weather Policy:

Our camps run rain or shine, however we will delay or cancel a day of camp in cases of dangerous/severe weather (such as tornado warnings, flash flood warnings, etc.) If camp is canceled for a day you will be notified via email, text and it will be clearly marked on the webpage for your camp. If you have questions about cancellations please first check our website, if you don’t get the answers you are seeking then please call the main school number at 512-299-8870.

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What to Expect:

First Morning of Camp

Please arrive at the sign-in location between 8:00-8:15am to sign your child in. An instructor will greet you at the sign-in table. Please keep your child with you until after your camper is signed-in! At that point your child will be invited to join the rest of the group in a game or explore our hands-on “nature museum”. This is a good time to check-in with a camp instructor if you have any questions or concerns.

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Daily Schedule

Each morning there will be a group game that campers can join as they arrive, and a nature-table set up for those who prefer a quieter or more stationary activity to start off their day. This is followed by one of the staff sharing a nature story that introduces a general theme or focus for the day. After the story, campers start their adventure for the day. Campers finish the afternoon with creek time or water play.

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Dirty Clothes

At Earth Native School we encourage campers to really connect with the natural world! Often that means getting right in...be it mud, charcoal or berry-juice face paint. Don’t be surprised to see children and adults with dirty faces at the end of the day. Please send your child to camp in clothes and shoes that can get dirty and wet. Bringing a change of clothes and/or keeping some large trash bags in the car during camp week for kids to sit on at the end of the day is a great way to minimize the impact of dirty campers! We also recommend a bath/shower for your child each day after camp.

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Lastly, please take a moment to read our Student Code of Conduct

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If you have any questions, please contact us at (512) 299-8870 or info@earthnativeschool.com

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

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