Camp Glen Brook Recognized for Program Excellence

Camp Glen Brook was recently recognized at the American Camp Association National Conference with an award for our farm-to-table program and sustainability practices. The Eleanor P. Eells Awards for Program Excellence are designed to honor camp programs that:

1. Develop effective, creative responses to the needs of people and/or societal problems using the camp environment,
2. Encourage continued development of such ideas,
3. Stimulate the exchange of creative ideas, and/or
4. Present to the public examples of positive contributions camp has made on the well being of individuals and society.

Below is the excerpt the ACA featured that highlights Camp Glen Brook’s practices:

Camp Glen Brook’s beautiful 250-acre forest and farm campus has been a place of self-discovery, community, and nature connection since 1946. Glen Brook operates summer, winter, and family camps, a gap semester program for 18- to 21-year-olds, and year-round school programs. Glen Brook’s mission is to nurture a sense of personal responsibility for the world around us, and our sustainability practices are woven through every aspect of camp life.
Young people spend time every day in the garden and pastures developing a holistic understanding of food systems. They learn how to grow food, care for animals, and prepare meals, all while engaging with questions that accompany our food choices. Our no-till farm uses organic practices which focus on soil health, ensuring lower emissions and a closer relationship with the ecosystem. We generate about 70 percent of the produce and meat consumed at camp year-round.

At meals we are reminded of the community effort behind our food – our breakfast eggs were collected by campers at animal chores, the vegetables and fruit were harvested in farm class, and likely planted by another group of students months or years before. Leftover food and paper waste goes into compost and slop buckets that feed our animals and gardens, which continue to grow food for future meals.

Other sustainability efforts include our solar arrays that generate all our annual electricity as well as funds that we invest into camper scholarships, the stewardship of our forests through intentional management, and donations of over 1,500 pounds of produce annually to local food banks that support our neighbors and wider community.

The process of growing food and stewarding the resources of our environment mirrors the way we invest in and nurture our camp community. A well-tended garden grows healthy food just as a well-tended and cared-for community yields healthy people, and together can we work to leave the world a little better than the way we found it.

We are honored to be recognized for this award and to be celebrated for the mission and work that are central to who we are.