Eden Village exists!

Also: Red Rooster Discount • Testimonials • In the News • Fall Events

After years of planning, our inaugural season has blown past any dreams and hopes we could have known to have. We've come to know and love our 141 extraordinary pioneer campers this summer, and are amazed at the epic journey of these past few months. Together with all of our families, staff, and supporters, we have created a new reality here at camp, based on the collective values of our community.

We've made profound friendships as we made many other things: herbal teas, lip balms and tinctures; fire from sticks; giant puppets and paintings; Jewish agricultural world records; new songs; discoveries in the wetlands, woods and streams; ice cream from our goat milk; successful "love missions" to surprise and delight other bunks; challah from stalks of wheat; a loving Jewish community that celebrates its diversity. And so much more! A true culture of kindness and caring has developed. Families report that our campers and apprentices have benefited tremendously from their time here.

We had an adventurous and unusual first week of camp, as we were temporarily based at a nearby Jewish summer camp while our landlord obtained the last needed site permit. We ran our full program from the nearby camp and had a blast! Our shared experience of thriving through this challenge is now part of our EVC creation story. We learned we'd be able to make camp just about anywhere: the magic lies in our campers, staff, and all our relationships! We returned to our home site with a theme of Entering the Promised Land, complete with a costumed Moses, Torah, spies, and homemade organic watermelon-blueberry popsicles (recipe below), and have continued thriving.

We've seen amazing transformations this summer. The inner kind happened thousands of times, in thousands of moments, when campers found that they could try new things, care more deeply, and be themselves more sincerely and boldly. Physical transformations include the installation of 10 solar panels (thank you Jewish Greening Fellowship!); a new, generously donated greenhouse (slideshows and more in the News below), and our flourishing farm from which our campers harvested food most every morning. Our campers and apprentices have created many other transformations: the Teen Village that's sprouted in the woods, our clay oven, the specialized herb spiral gardens for the health center and dining hall. Some of us transformed strikingly at the end of our first-session play, "Hope For the Flowers," when the caterpillars on stage became butterflies with colorful triumphant wings!

We are grateful beyond words to our pioneer families who allowed there to be an inaugural season of Eden Village Camp, and look forward to continuing this wonderful journey!

If you're inspired and looking for a way to help, one great way is to spread the word by downloading and printing a flier and posting it all around your community.

Warmly, Yoni and Vivian

Red Rooster Discount

15% off 2011 Registration!

Many campers have already signed up for Summer 2011. We had a waiting list for some bunks this past year, so register early! Mail us a deposit of $400 so we receive it by August 24th, or call us (877-397-3336) to pay by credit card, and we will lock in a 15% discount for your session. We will post 2011 tuition in the early Fall. This deposit is fully refundable for any reason until March 20, 2011.

Send checks Attn: Emily Shaftel, Eden Village Camp, 392 Dennytown Road, Putnam Valley, NY 10579. Only ~309 days til camp!

Session Dates

1. The Voyage:
   Weds, June 29 - Mon, July 25 (27 days)
2. The Adventure:
   Weds, July 27 - Mon, Aug. 15 (20 days)
3. The Exploration:
   Weds, Aug. 17 - Mon, Aug. 22 (6 days, for those entering grades 3-6)
4. The Journey:
   Weds, June 29 - Mon, Aug. 15 (47 days)
   

What people are saying...

...testimonials from campers and their families

"I'm coming back next year, and the next year, and the next, and then I'm going to be a counselor!" ~Emma L., age 10, 3-Week Adventurer

"WOW! Yair had such an amazing time at camp, and can't stop talking about it. Kol hakavod for a job well done. He said many times how he felt so loved and valued and nurtured, everyone really caring for each other, and how he wished the whole world were like this."
~Miriam Eckstein-Koas, camper parent

"Thank you. Yoni, and your fellow Eden Village staffers for the amazing work you did this summer to make camp a reality. Isaac is so very grounded... and has shared some of the wonderful experiences he had at camp. I can tell more about what happened from observing how he is interacting in the world, actually, than by the stories he has retold, though I'm enjoying that too!!! Thanks for all you did to make his 10 days so meaningful."
~Hannah Brenner, camper parent

"I really, really like it. The food is amazing, and you can be Jewish and do other things — there's a program for arts, and you get a good education about the farm. I like the boats at the lake. I go on the kayak. We play gaga, soccer, basketball. I did yoga. I got to milk goats, fed the chickens. I also enjoyed the herb garden. We made herbal cough syrup from ginger, cinnamon, and honey. And we made salves for skin — like for a bee sting — and collected all of the ingredients ourselves."
~Bella Jaeger, age 11, 4-Week Voyager

Eden Village in the News

• A great UJA-Federation of NY article about our first session, complete with colorful slideshow.
• A feature-length cover story about our first session in the Jewish Week! Farm-To-Table Ethos Grows At New Camp "Eden Village melds eco and Jewish values, and has campers saying, 'Pass the zucchini.'"
• Both of our Directors and resident Jewish Farm School Director named three of the Jewish Week's yearly "36 Under 36," a profile of "young visionaries and innovators who are helping reshape the Jewish community.”
• A detailed write-up in The Forward from just before our launch: "Where God Meets Green."
• Volunteer Day and Greenhouse Build: Repair the World Helps Build Eden Village Camp [slideshow]
• And another Jewish Week article from the beginning of the summer, on our many first-time campers.

Greening Initiatives

Our core values of social and environmental responsibility inform every decision we make. See a few examples of the food and products we use in our community.

Events at Eden Village and Beyond

In collaboration with the Jewish Farm School, EVC have scheduled some amazing autumn events:

• Sukkot Harvest Festival
• Introduction to Permaculture
• Social Justice Training for Jewish Educators, and the
• International Day of Peace celebration.

Click on any event to learn more. Register soon to reserve your spot!

Join Eden Village at the 2010 Hazon Ride This Labor Day Weekend!

We would love to have you join the Eden Village Camp & Jewish Farm School team on Hazon's 10th annual fundraiser bike ride! Proceeds from the ride support the work of many incredible Jewish environmental projects.

The entire ride will stay at Eden Village on Sunday night. Join us on Sunday afternoon for farm tours, work projects, and composting and seed saving demonstrations. Enjoy our beautiful site, meet the camp directors, swim, hike and sing around the campfire.

Special discounts are available for EVC campers, families and staff. Contact nati@jewishfarmschool.org for more information.

Register today for the Fifth Annual Sukkahfest!
September 22 – 26, 2010 at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, co-sponsored by Eden Village Camp.

Friends of Eden Village can use Discount Code EVSF10 at registration for 20% off Room & Board!

ALL STREAMS of Judaism meet in the sukkah… The joy of the festival... the abundant harvest... and the hope for a future in which we care for each other and the planet. Sing, dance, learn, relax and enjoy your meals with friends in the sukkah. Jewish Yoga classes will be offered twice daily. Children's Program with Eden Village Camp.

For more information, visit isabellafreedman.org/sukkahfest or call 800.398.2630.

Both Sukkahfest & Shabbat: September 22 – 26, 2010 (Program Fee: $200)
Sukkahfest only: September 22 – 24, 2010 (Program Fee: $125)
Shabbat only: September 24 – 26, 2010 (Program Fee: $125)

Fire shows after Havdallah (above) are magical times for our community.

Farm-fresh Recipe: Watermelon-Blueberry Popsicles!

1. Slice and de-seed watermelon, and remove the rinds.
2. Puree the slices in a blender.
3. Add whole blueberries to the mix.
4. Freeze in a popsicle mold or just a cup with a popsicle stick in it.
5. A few hours in the freezer, then enjoy this sweet, cooling treat!

Campers for a Healthy, Sustainable World! Eden Village Camp is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit Jewish environmental sleepaway camp, located 50 miles north of Manhattan on 248 beautiful acres. Our 3^rd–12^th-grade campers & apprentices build leadership, outdoor skills & positive Jewish identity, and awaken their sense of connectedness, purpose & joy. A close community develops through shared experience including organic farming, outstanding organic Kosher food, animal care, wilderness adventure, natural science, a zero-waste goal, pool & lake, music, arts, sports, service projects, Shabbat celebration, talented staff in a 3:1 camper:staff ratio... all in a vibrant, inclusive Jewish community.

If you've read this far, you are probably really into EVC. Thank you! Please forward this email to anyone who you think may be interested.