Camp Kawartha's mission is to inspire environmental leaders and stewards of all ages through dynamic, accessible, year-round outdoor programming and powerful partnerships to create meaningful change. | | Celebrating A Great Summer | | |
A summer to remember
This past season at Camp Kawartha was filled with simple joys and meaningful moments. Clear Lake kept us cool on hot afternoons, and the shade of our oaks and maples offered welcome reprieve from one of the driest and hottest summers in recent memory.
We want to thank our campers and families for being part of camp this year. Your energy and enthusiasm shaped the friendships, adventures, and laughter that make each summer special.
We’re also grateful to our dedicated staff. From counsellors who brought fresh ideas and creativity to each program, to the kitchen, maintenance, and office teams who worked steadily behind the scenes—every effort helped create an environment where campers are given the opportunity to strive in an atmosphere of caring and fun.
When caring people come together in a beautiful and natural setting, something magical happens. The memories of these summer days will stay with us for a long time. Campers experience the true meaning of community, our “neighbourwood” – where people and nature share the same space so that both can thrive.
As August evenings grow cooler, we’re looking ahead. Our Environment Centre Nature School is about to begin another season, and we’re excited to welcome schools and teachers for a new year of amazing outdoor learning.
Thank you to everyone who made summer 2025 a season of connection, discovery, and fun.
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Jacob Rodenburg
Executive Director
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A Fond Farewell to Emma Robert
After four remarkable years as our Summer Camp Director, we bid a warm farewell to Emma Robert. For so many of us, Emma has been more than a director—she has been a mentor, a guide, and a passionate leader whose dedication made such a positive impact on the lives of staff and campers here at Camp Kawartha.
Emma’s time with us has not been without challenges. From steering camp through the pandemic and the derecho storm that felled more than 600 trees, to navigating difficult situations with families and weathering an unprecedented summer of heat, she demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and unwavering care. Through it all, Emma created a safe and nurturing environment where children felt welcomed, valued, and encouraged to grow.
Her leadership has left a lasting mark. Emma built community, fostered stewardship, and created summers filled with nature connection, laughter, learning, and belonging. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions, we were proud to present her with the Exceptional Leadership Award, honouring her hard work, dedication, and steady guidance from 2022 to 2025.
We thank Emma for the wonderful community she built—where children, staff, and nature thrived together, and where memories were made that will endure for years to come. We wish Emma the very best in all her future endeavours.
| | | | A Leader in Outdoor & Environmental Education and Stewardship | | “The staff at CK were friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about their vocation. Our Intermediate students were given a special opportunity for memories sure to be with them for a lifetime.” | |
Bring Your Class Outside ...
Camp Kawartha is an accredited, not-for-profit organization offering a broad range of innovative year-round camping, outdoor and environmental programming. We also train educators, provide workshops on sustainability and we are working with our whole community to foster stewardship through every age and stage of a child’s development. We showcase sustainable living in action.
***NEWSFLASH*** The Environment Centre currently has a 30% discount special on for class visits in September. Bring your students to catch the last days of summer weather before we shift into fall!
Immerse your students in a hands-on outdoor learning adventure. Camp Kawartha’s school trips include engaging, curriculum-linked activities, comfortable accommodations, healthy meals, and seamless support to ensure an unforgettable experience for educators and students alike.
Bring your class to:
- Experience nature firsthand, forging a lifelong bond with the environment.
- Engage in over 60 award-winning, curriculum-linked outdoor and environmental programs.
- Witness sustainable living practices in action and acquire vital knowledge and skills to care for our planet.
- Become advocates and leaders for a regenerative future that includes all living and non-living entities.
Our educators are highly trained professionals, equipped with the necessary certifications and experience. They are committed to inspiring environmental leaders and stewards of all ages through dynamic, year-round outdoor programming and strategic partnerships aimed at creating meaningful change
"The Camp Kawartha staff were exceptional. Their dedication, patience, and care created an inclusive space where all students, including those with multiple exceptionalities, felt safe, encouraged, and empowered."
We are recognized leaders in environmental education with our innovative sustainable buildings; vegetable, herb and pollinator gardens; plus 185 acres of forests, fields, and wetlands located in the heart of the Kawartha Lakes that provide an ideal setting for teaching children and youth to love, understand, and care for the natural world. The hands-on experiences we offer to children and youth serve as living examples of how people and nature can thrive together.
Book a school trip in September! Its a great time to build classroom communities through engaging team-building sessions as well as introducing curriculum-linked activities throgh inquiry-based learning.
Join us at both our Clear Lake site where offer Overnight Visits, Day Visits as well as our New Extended Day Visits (with campfires and s'mores!). Or book your class for a Day Visit at the Environment Centre, one of Canada's most sustainable and regenerative buildings. If you'd like to keep your class closer to home, why not book us to come to you! Our team of award-winning educators loves to bring our programming to your classroom and schoolyard!
| | | | | P.S. For local schools booking at the Environment Centre, we offer a bus subsidy generously supported by the Gainey Foundation to help make our mandate of connecting kids with nature a reality. | | Environment Centre Nature School | |
Nature School Registration Is Open!
We are so excited to be welcoming back our Nature School Families!
Come join us for a transformative education that inspires future generations to care for each other and the planet. Our programs foster whole-child learning through experiential learning and play. Our students gain a deep understanding of and connection with the land. Their knowledge of plants, animals and the way nature works goes well beyond curricular expectations. At the Environment Centre Nature School, we foster well-being so that our students can engage fully with their world and become the environmental leaders of the future, whatever career road they end up travelling!
The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre Nature School is a place where healthy kids grow into compassionate and empowered adults.
"I love the programs at the Environment Centre because I feel welcome and wanted. I love how the instructors make learning a fun experience. The other kids are so friendly, smart and kind. It makes a great environment to just be yourself and have fun."
Forest Explorers (Mon & Wed: Ages 4-7)
Calling all Forest Explorers! Join us each week as we explore and get to know the natural world! Full of adventures, games, lessons, weekly themes, and more. Forest Explorers fosters a love of Nature and a sense of belonging in our youngest students. Connecting with Nature at a young age helps to forge a lifelong bond with the beauty, joys, wonders, and well being found in the outdoors!
Woodsy Wednesdays (Jr: Ages 8-10 & Sr Ages 11-13) & Forest Fridays (Biweekly, Ages 8-13):
Our Woodsy Wednesday’s programing is split into “junior” and “senior” age groups but we often collaborate for games and other exciting activities. Woodsy Wednesdays and Forest Fridays are a ‘Nature Immersion’ experience in which students learn to deeply appreciate, understand, and feel at home in the natural world. Learning about Nature and caring for the Environment is a lot like learning a language in that it happens over time, immersed in the outdoors in all seasons and weather and through a wide variety of experiences.
Rootwood (Tues: Ages 13-17):
Rootwood focuses on the integration of key nature connection practices and philosophies to foster the independent growth of participants. While this experience has been designed for youth who have ‘graduated’ through our younger programs, new participants may be welcome depending on experience and space available (please inquire).
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Partnering for the Goals:
'Outdoors for All Program'
Too often, children experience barriers to engaging with nature! Through our generous donors, Camp Kawartha's 'Outdoors for All Program' seeks to empower children from the greater Peterborough region and beyond, regardless of financial circumstances, have the opportunity to learn, grow, and evolve into engaged environmental citizens of tomorrow.
"No one will protect what they don't care about. And no one will care about what they have never experienced" ~ David Attenborough
One of the leading causes of climate change and biodiversity loss is social inequity. Our mandate is to engage children in the outdoors, and to teach about sustainable and regenerative ways of living that give back to the earth. Increasingly, more families are needing support.
Be a part of transformative outdoor education of all!
With much gratitude to the Williams Wilson Sherpont Foundation, the Otto Marie Pick Foundation, the Hodgons Family Foundation, the Noftall-Taylor Trust, the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, the Canada Post Foundation and all of the personal and private donations that support this program!
| | Camp Kawartha isn't just for kids.... | |
Team Building for Businesses
Camp Kawartha’s award-winning team-building programs are designed to energize, motivate, and strengthen your team. Through interactive activities and expert guidance, we help build communication skills, foster collaboration, and inspire new strategies to thrive in today’s fast-paced work environment. Perfect for corporate retreats, group workshops, and professional development.
Come bring your team to do cooperative games and team-building or enjoy our range on snow-shoes or skis. Businesses love combining work with pleasure. Book team-building activities for the morning, enjoy a delicious lunch and then settle down for some work sessions in the afternoon!
We also book Weddings and other Events at both our Clear Lake and Environment Centre Sites!
| | What's Happening: Books and More Books! | |
BOOK LAUNCH: The Wild Path Home!
Without question, this is the finest book on raising children I have ever seen. —Paul Hawken, author, Carbon, Regeneration, and The Book of Life
WHEN: September 5, 2025 at 7:00-8:30 PM
WHERE: Take Cover Books
Come celebrate with us! Jacob Rodenburg and Cathy Duek are pleased to invite you to the launch of their new book 'The Wild Path Home: A Guide to Raising the Earth Stewards of Tomorrow' published by New Society Publishers!
Cathy and Jacob bring decades of experience connecting children and youth to the natural world and share their expertise and knowledge in this creative and accessible resource. This book is a must-read for all educators and, indeed, everyone interested in bringing more nature into their lives.
We need this book more than ever. The Wild Path Home provides a joyful abundance of creative ideas for families, schools, youth programs, and whole communities to help children and youth engage with nature in ways that help them become healthy, resilient protectors of the Earth. What a treasure! —Cathy Jordan, PhD, Director of Research, Children & Nature Network
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Where the Trails Lead ~ Rudy Massimo
Rudy Massimo has a new book out! Check it out here!
Under Rudy's leadership as Executive Director in the 1980's and '90's, Camp Kawartha transformed from a summer camp into a year-round Environmental Education facility. We are so excited to read his new book - Where the Trails Lead - and want to share it with you!
"At its heart, this book is about the journey and all the lessons we learn when we step into uncertainty, take bold risks, and stay open to where the trail might lead. It’s a memoir rooted in adventure, but also in leadership, education, and the very human experience of navigating life’s twists and turns." ~ Rudy Massimo
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Check Our New Gifts!
Check out our gift store for the nature lovers in your life! Our merchandise supports ecologically responsible companies. Our Eco Nation stuffies are made from recycled materials and are so soft and cuddly! We've got new clothing and accessories (we consider carabiners and guide books to be essential accessories!).
All of the proceeds from the gift store supports our programs!
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