Indian Valley Summer Camp

The Indian Valley Summer Camp (IVSC) is an innovative program designed to improve watershed health by connecting youth to the outdoors through empowering hands-on experiences.  The camp started in 2001.  The Camp is free to all Trinity County youth ages eight thru fifteen.  Each summer the camp provides 80 to 90 youth with a productive, healthy and engaging summer program.  In 2004 the Camp became an official summer school program for Mountain Valley Unified School District (MVUSD).  Curricula is led by a credentialed teacher and delivered through hands-on activities by natural resource professionals and local experts in a variety of fields.    Participants take part in a wide range of activities that instill self-confidence and reliance.  There is also focus on career opportunities, arts, culture, and team building. 

IVSC is truly a joint effort of multiple organizations and individuals.  The camp’s collaborative partners include MVUSD, USFS, Resource Conservation District, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, The Trinity Wildlife Survival Center, California Fish and Game, CAL FIRE, Bar 717 (a for profit, non-competitive, co-educational camp located in Trinity County), Trinity County Child Abuse Council, Trinity County Health and Human Services, and the Hayfork Rotary Club.  Through the collaborative effort of multiple organizations and individuals the IVSC provides youth with a fun, proactive, educational program focusing on the health of our watershed and natural resources.

 Goals

Our goal is for youth to gain self-confidence, build a better understanding of natural sciences, have more respect for the environment in which they live and increase their understanding of the opportunities that surround them. We strive to promote healthy youth development, engage an entire community and provide a high-quality program that sparks youths’ interest of the natural environment. 

 Audience

The youth living within this community are geographically, socially and culturally isolated.  With the counties per capita income estimated at $21,648 (Bureau of Economic Analysis) and where 83% of the elementary school students participate in the schools Free and Reduced Lunch Program (Mountain Valley Unifies School District), the youth of this town are at an extreme economic disadvantage. Positive activities and opportunities for young people are extremely limited. The youth of this community is in need of extra support, direction, and encouragement regarding their future. The camp provides an avenue for youth to explore and learn about diverse geographic areas within the county, presents educational and career opportunities that relate to natural resources, and encourages stewardship for the environment.  The camp provides healthy and constructive alternatives to drugs, alcohol and self-abuse by utilizing Hayfork’s best recreational opportunity…our National Forest.  Activities are geared to foster self-confidence and self-reliance as well as develop leadership and teambuilding skills.

 Description

The Indian Valley Summer Camp is located within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest just outside of Hayfork.  The camp operates during the summer months of June and July.  Local professionals from around the area lead campers in multiple hands-on natural resource related activities.  Focus areas include: botany, archaeology, wildlife, Native American education, cultural history, forestry, aquatic systems, wildland fire, fisheries, invasive species, community service, soils, watersheds, art, recreation, team building and leadership skills.