Programs

Red Oak offers year-round programs for youth of all ages. Whether following deer trails through heavy snow, rounding up acorns in autumn, or making a salad from tender spring greens, our programs are tied together by a central thread: supporting youth to know and love the place they call home. Below is a general overview of our year-round and seasonal programs. Click on the links on each to learn more!

Year-round Programs:

Weekly programs (1 day/week)

  • Sparrow Song (ages 5-6)

  • Catkins (ages 7-9)

  • Kestrels (ages 10-12)

  • North Star (ages 13-14)

  • Squirrel Tales (ages 6-8)

  • Fox Tracks (ages 9-12)

  • Fire Tenders (ages 13-16)

Weekend programs (1 day/month)

Seasonal Programs:

Into the Woods Summer Camps

7 weeks for youth ages 5-12!

Winter Programs

HeartSong: Winter Series

Teen Wilderness Trips

Backcountry adventures for teens ages 13-16!

In these 12-week programs we venture out into forests and fields near Decorah to get to know the local inhabitants and learn through play, projects, and adventures. Where does the robin sleep at night? Is it possible for us to disappear into the bushes as quietly and completely as the coyote? Where is the best spot to build a rain shelter, and why? What do the oaks need to grow tall and strong? What do we need to grow tall and strong? What is it like to ask for what we need in a group of friends? What can we learn from willow stalks as we weave them? These are the sorts of questions that will guide our days together, as we follow our curiosity and creativity in conversation with the land.

Activities include sensory awareness games, adventures in bird language, edible and medicinal plant harvest, weaving and hand crafts, fire by friction, animal tracking, shelter building, story telling, singing, carving, improvisation and adventures in expression, land stewardship, and more!

Weekly Programs

Sparrow Song

Ages 5-6
Mar 4th -May 27th
12 Tuesdays, 9am-12pm
With an all-family celebration on May 30th

Rooted in foundations of play and imagination, the children will build their sense of home in the outdoors. Joining the land in its daily rhythms, we will take up the invitation from the trees to climb, the squirrels to gather food, the beavers to build and the birds to sing, diving into the vital learning that comes with exploration.

Catkins

Ages 7-9
Mar 5th -May 28th
12 Wednesdays, 9am-3pm
With an all-family celebration on May 30th

Learning the basics of plant, bird, tree, and track identification, the children will be supported in forming their own unique relationships as both researchers and participants in the life of the forest. Expanding their ecological literacy and sensory awareness, the children will build confidence navigating the land they call home.

Kestrels

Ages 10-12
Mar 5th -May 28th
12 Wednesdays, 9am-3pm
With an all-family celebration on May 30th

As they approach the changes and growing awareness of adolescence, youth are supported by building authentic connections with one another and finding allyship in the more-than-human world. Through skills such as fire tending and shelter building, they will build their sense of competence and growing leadership.

North Star

Age 13-14
March 6th- May 18th
9 Thursdays 9am-3pm
With an overnight trip from May 16th-18th
And an all-family celebration on May 30th

North Star is the final season for students completing their pre-teen years at Red Oak. In these ten weeks, participants will be supported to set personal goals for their completion and draw on the skills they have built over their years in Red Oak programs for a final solo overnight on the land followed by a group campout.

Through exploring, stories, craft, and adventure, participants are supported to develop a stronger connection with themselves, the natural world and their community. Immersed in nature through the seasons, they will build their sense of competence and comfort in the land they call home. Activities include sensory awareness games, adventures in bird language, edible and medicinal plant harvest, weaving and hand crafts, fire by friction, maple sugaring, stories around the fire, winter animal tracking, singing, carving, and more.

Monthly Programs

Ages 6-8
October 13th - May 4th
8 Sundays, 9am-3pm

Squirrel Tales

Ages 9-12
October 5th-May 3rd
8 Saturdays, 9am-3pm

Fox Tracks

Fire Tenders

Age 13-16
October 19th - May 17th
8 Saturdays, 9am-3pm

Into the Woods Summer Camps

Into The Woods Summer Camps support youth to deepen their sense of place through earth-based skills, ecological awareness practices, and connection with one another on the land. Our days are centered around play and exploration, building relationships through games, adventures, and spacious time following our curiosity and creativity. Come join us!

Possible activities include: sensory awareness games, adventures in bird language, edible and medicinal plant harvest, weaving and hand crafts, fire by friction, animal tracking, shelter building, story telling, singing, carving, improvisation and adventures in expression, land stewardship, and more!

Chipmunks

Ages 5-6

August 4th-8th
9am-12pm M-F

Bobcats

Ages 7-9

Week 1:

July 7th-11th
9am-3pm M-F

Week 2:

July 14th-18th
9am-3pm M-F

Coyotes

Ages 9-12

Week 1:

July 21st-15th
9am-3pm M-F

Week 2:

July 28th-August 1st
9am-3pm M-F

Into the Woods Overnight

Ages 10-12

August 11th-15th

For campers returning for 3+ years or the equivalent in yearlong programs


This week of camp will be held from 9am-3pm Monday-Wednesday, with a campout from 9am Thursday morning until 3:00pm on Friday.

HeartSong Backpacking Trip

A backpacking and singing trip for young women 13-16 years old
June 22nd-29th

Singing is an ancient form of human connection that helps us to remember on a cellular level that we are not alone. Spending time outside brings our senses alive in ways for which they have been wired for millennia. As we lift our voices under the open sky and tune our ears to the subtle music of the land, we will build relationships with the more-than-human world, remembering that we are a part of the song of the wild. 

Supporting participants to build confidence in their voices,
kinship with the land,
and connection with each other.

What We’ll Do:
Singing: Throughout the week we will rehearse a small selection of polyphonic folk/choral songs, and explore the range of our voices through warmups, playful exercises, and vocal games. As we listen and respond to the voices beside us, we will practice ways that our voices can blend and clash, be soft and loud, boisterous and tender. Upon completion of camp we will have the opportunity to share some of the songs and sounds that we’ve made together with our families and friends. 

Backpacking & Earth Skills: Our days and nights will be immersed in nature, engaging in activities that invite us into our sense of interdependence with the land. Carrying what we need on our backs, we'll draw on our perseverance and resilience as we hike along rivers and through forests stopping by lakes to camp. We’ll cook over the fire, and learn the fundamentals of plant identification and honorable harvest practices. In the afternoons we’ll have time to relax before joining together around the fire for dinner and evenings of games, stories, sharing, and songs.

Location: 
We will meet in Decorah IA where we'll load into a van and drive 6 hours North to the Porcupine Mountains, MI. We will arrive back in Decorah on Sunday the 29th where we'll share a potluck meal with families and friends and have a performance!

Please Note: 
No formal vocal training or experience is required to attend this camp. However, it is necessary that you can match pitches and sing simple melodies.

Maximum number of participants: 10 // Minimum number of participants: 6