| GENERAL INFORMATION
A DAY’S FLOW
Most days we will wake in the morning and celebrate the new day
with a stretch and swim, followed by camp and farm chores. Sitting
down for our morning meal, we have a moment of thanks and quiet.
Then we move on to an exciting day filled with adventure and meaningful
work. After a hearty lunch, we take time to rest, read, reflect
or write in our journals before bursting out with an afternoon
full of energy. At the close of the afternoons activities, we
work together preparing supper and helping with other chores.
As the day comes to an end, we join hands, sing together and with
gratitude, fill our tummies. Our nightly ceremony around the fire
brings sharing, songs and read aloud. Finally we drift off to
sleep filled with memories of a good day.
LOCATION
Kroka Expeditions is located on the Marlow-Alstead border in
Southwestern New Hampshire. Our base camp is close to the White
and Green Mountain National Forests and the Adirondacks of New
York. It is a short drive to the best white water paddling and
climbing in the Northeast. We are 2 hours from Boston and 4
hours from NYC. Program areas include New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Northern Canada and Central
and South America. While most families drive students to camp,
staff is available, for a fee, to pick up students at the Manchester
Airport, as well as at the bus or train station in Bellows Falls,
VT. Advanced notice is necessary. There is also a shuttle service
available from all local airports. Please refer to our Parent/Student
Handbook for details.
FACILITIES AND FOOD
Our village and farm are nestled in the high country between
the watersheds of the Ashuelot and Cold Rivers. We are blessed
with 75 acres of forests, fields, cliffs, streams and ponds
all adjacent to a large wilderness area. Here, time has stopped
its fast pace. Gathering water from a spring, cooking on an
open fire, and reading by lantern light are some examples of
the immersion students will undergo while with us. Students
live in traditional hand crafted shelters from around the world,
which were built with students. Our energy comes from the sun.
Footpaths lead to many
magical places in the forest. While on the trail, students live in
tents, in shelters they have created, or sometimes under the starry
sky! Kroka Expeditions provides students with well crafted and
cared for expedition equipment, often made by our teachers and
students. We serve delicious trail meals and use as much locally
grown food as possible. Vegetables from our garden, eggs from our
chickens, bread from our neighborhood bakery and wild-harvested
foods, when in season, supplement our diet. Students are involved
in the preparation and clean up of all meals and are responsible for
helping with all aspects of camp and farm life, including care of the
horse, sheep, chickens and cows.
A NOTE ABOUT OUR AGE GROUPS
Most programs are offered to specific age groups (6-8; 9-11:
11-13; 14-18, and up). Some skillintensive programs are offered
to a wider age range to allow younger advanced students to learn
in a challenging environment. On those programs, younger kids
look up to, and learn from, older students, while older students
take care of and share responsibility for younger ones. This
creates a village like atmosphere of mutual care and respect.
During skills classes, students are grouped by their ability
levels. While in social activities, such as hikes and group
meetings, they may be split up by age. Our high expectations
and our teachers’ pedagogical experience combined with the beautiful
surroundings create a special community for people of all ages.
MEDICAL CARE & SAFETY
Lead teachers are certified Wilderness First Responders. Many
natural and homeopathic methods are used to treat common colds,
headaches, bug bites and sore muscles associated with wilderness
sports. Each program has its own emergency plan with access
to medical facilities. Common sense and an intimate knowledge
of the land, combined with careful trip planning, are our main
ways of preventing the need for medical care.
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