Wilderness Camp

The Nature Objective Verified independent store

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WILDERNESS CAMP!Ages 9-10Monday thru Friday $395Offered through Pet World's sister company, the Nature Objective! June 22 - 26, 2026 $395 Monday - Friday, 8:45am-4:45pm or 9:00am-5 :00pm Designed for adventurous fourth graders (ages 9-10) who have attended Animal Camp, Campfires and Forts, or Little Wilderness Camp at least once! (No first time campers, sorry. Prior compatibility and risk assessments are a must for this camp.) Wilderness Camp is a week long, invitation only, day camp designed for returning camp kids who just can't get enough unstructured outdoor play at this private nature preserve! Every day is spent at our private nature preserve that is never open to the public. Kids experience their choice of hiking, creeking, birding, frogging, snake hunting, orienteering, trailblazing, and fort building! They can resurrect old camp sites or make new ones. Or they just can relax and do nothing for a change. Our group has exclusive access to the entire property all summer. No strangers! Each day parents drop off and pick up at the nature preserve, 15 minutes north of downtown Lawrence. On the first morning parents are strongly encouraged to check the address board for that week and coordinate carpooling whenever possible. On Thursday evening, parents and families of 10 year olds (who will be too old to return next year) are invited to the Family Farewell (AKA Goodbye Night) so kids can say their goodbyes before we break camp on Friday. Most parents only spend extended time on the property once when their kids are usually four or five so the 10 year old "aging out" kids like to take their families on one final, private tour of the property, show off their camp sites, make hot dogs and s'mores, and are welcome to stay until the sun goes down. Why Wilderness Camp? Because unstructured nature play is simply not as available as it used to be. Back in 2013, 10 years after we started our younger camps, we had noticed that every year our nine year old kids had a hard time facing their last summer of camp. So we lowered the ages of all our other programs and created this advanced level camp and added an extra year, for kids who really enjoy the freedom of running wild in nature, and who have already mastered all of our lower levels. Most kids start attending our nature programs around age five (although kids can start at three). Before Wilderness Camp, the nine year old kids found themselves sad with no higher level camp for them to look forward to the next summer. Many of the really adventurous kids needed something more. The truth is, this property is a pretty magical place and most kids just can’t get enough of it. So Wilderness Camp was designed to take these kids to the next level of nature play and provide a safe outdoor space, tucked in the middle of hundreds of private acres, for kids up to age 10. This nature preserve is privately owned with no public access, completely surrounded by huge private properties on every side. Very few people are allowed to use the property so it stays pristine and natural. The experience is about as primitive as a kid can get these days. Because Wilderness Camp enrollment is limited to returning campers only, who know the property and have already proven they can responsibly handle the freedom, kids have considerably more independent, free time to do whatever they want with only moderate refresher training when requested and less direct, adult supervision. Even though they go home every evening, kids resurrect old forts, build new forts, and set up campsites a little each day while blazing trails, seining the creek, hiking, snake hunting, caring for animals, and basically just enjoying nature play with no interruptions from the modern, outside world. They learn to navigate using the sun, landmarks, natural clues, and a compass, and communicate with two way radios. Most kids stay within a 15-20 acre radius of hilly timber and creek, but they feel as if they're in another world. Spots are very limited in all camps offered by Pet World's sister company, The Nature Objective, but, luckily, Wilderness Camp is such a counselor favorite that we often have enough returning counselors to allow for more kids than normal while still maintaining a safe adult to child ratio. Outdoors all day, every day, rain or shine! The grand finale of our summer camps, WC includes camp shirt, laundry service M-R, free use of tents, hammocks, and tools, filtered water, occasional extra drinks and snacks, and extra campfire food on Thursday night for 10 year olds and their families. Campers navigating trails (L).Camp counselor teaching the kids how to start a campfire to cook their lunch - take note of the MUD (R). Campers with wild, baby ringneck snakes they found herping with camp counselors. Brave camper crossing the famous tree bridge. WILDERNESS CAMP!Ages 9-10 Monday - Friday, 8:45am-4:45pm or 9:00am-5:00pm June 22 - 26, 2026 $395 0 of 24 total spots available SOLD OUT on March 16! After Mar 14, Click here to ENROLL NOW in Wilderness CampThis year's Enrollment Form will be activated at 10am, March 15If the waiting list reaches 12 kids we will add a second week June 29-July 3 to accommodate but that is very unlikely. If WC is sold out and your child is 8 or 9, we recommend Little Wilderness Camp Week 2.Remember to REFRESH after 10am, March 15 to update the link to this year's form and refresh often to see current enrollment numbers. If camp fills before you get in, please still submit an enrollment form! You will be added to a waitlist and then be billed later if space opens up or if a second week is added. 2026 SOLD OUT March 16 2025 SOLD OUT April 42024 SOLD OUT April 12023 SOLD OUT March 182022 - SOLD OUT March 16 2021 - SOLD OUT March 25 Please e-mail questions to info.NatureObjective @ gmail . com All Invoices, forms, and registrations will be handled electronically and processed in the order received. Please allow 24 hours to process your invoice. The Fine Print: Online registration forms are updated by 10am on March 15. Please check the year on the form before submitting or the price may be incorrect. Parents, please submit completed forms at your earliest convenience. We call our programs "summer camps" for convenience but actually they are classified as instructional, topic/task specific classes under K.S.A. 65-501 which are exempt from licensing requirements (similar to a sports training camp or Vacation Bible School). Our programs are private and sometimes used for childcare, however, because they are less than five weeks in duration, they are not classified as daycare. Use FEIN 85-3281045 for childcare tax purposes. Even though licensing is not required, our instructors and leaders are fully trained in animal husbandry, local nature, certified in rescue, first aid, and CPR, and we maintain an adult to child ratio of 1 adult to 6 kids or less. Enrollment is limited because we keep our groups very small for safety. Open EnrollmentRegistration with no additional fees is first come, first served, beginning APRIL 15 (tax day).Early EnrollmentIt's possible to pay an additional, early registration fee and register beginning April 1 ($50) or as early as March 15 ($75). Early, prepaid registrations are processed in the order received as long as they are accompanied by the early fee. First time camp parents can stop by in person and we'll help you through the process or you can enroll from your own computer. The numbers of available spots are updated every day from March 15 until all camps are sold out (which happens every year, usually during early enrollment). Show more