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Available in West LA and North East LA!
We hike, play, and explore, all the while seamlessly weaving wonder, learning, and fun into our active days! Our thoughtful program itineraries are designed to increase your child’s connection to nature, stimulate their critical thinking skills and inspire their creative imaginations.
Although each day is different, our program is centered around hiking, nature games, team building, and the practice of inquiry-based learning as a way to unravel our local outdoor environments akin to a forest school!
With so many proximal natural settings, we are excited to share our favorites. Typical destinations include state parks, national forests, natural parks, native plant nurseries, and wildlife preserves!
“Our Place” runs Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-2:30 pm during these weeks:
Session 1: June 13 – 17
Session 2: June 20 – 24
Session 3: June 27 – July 1
Session 4: July 5 – July 8
Session 5: July 11 – July 15
Session 6: July 18 – July 22
Session 7: July 25 – July 29
Session 8: Aug 1 – Aug 5
Session 9: Aug 8 – Aug 12
Session 10: Aug 15- Aug 19
Session 11: Aug 22 – Aug 26
Sample Destinations:
Sample Destinations:
Sibling Discount
Concurrent sibling enrollment qualifies for 10% off for each additional student during checkout – discount will automatically apply upon registering two or more siblings in the ACTIVE Network.
Scholarships / Payment Options
Need-Based Scholarship – If you are interested in a scholarship for your child, check this link to apply!
Estas interesado en una beca para venir al campamento ¡marque este para solicitarla!
Merit-Based – Application coming soon
Biocitizen LA is transitioning to a new system for registrations: ACTIVE, a Camp & Class Manager. This system will bring many new benefits to the Biocitizen community; it will streamline the registration process for families and help Biocitizen staff better manage our sessions. As you register with ACTIVE, you can: create an account to save your information, autofill forms, and register two or more students at the same time!
There will be new registration fees with this new database. Biocitizen LA will offer two options for the ACTIVE database fee:
Ages: 5 – 14
Group Size: 12 kids and 2 staff
Session Pricing: $585.00 (5 days)
*10% discount available for concurrent enrollment of siblings
**Scholarships are available as well!
Time: Drop Off at 8:30 AM, and Pick Up at 2:30 PM (6 hrs.)
Locations: Drop Off and Pick Up at Specified Locations (Locations sent out prior to session start)
Transportation: Provided by families (Covid-19 Protocols)
For pick-up and drop-off, the lead teacher of the group will send out an email with GPS links to all the pick-up and drop-off locations by the Friday before the start of your student’s Session. The locations are dependent on the activities scheduled and all locations are regionally appropriate.
Drop Off at 8:30 AM, and Pick Up at 2:30 PM (6 hrs.)
Locations: Drop Off and Pick Up at Specified Locations (Locations sent out prior to session start)
Transportation: Provided by families (Covid-19 Protocols)
Here’s what a typical day in the field looks like:
8:30 -8:45 AM – Student Drop-off
8:45 – 9:00 AM – Morning Circle: Intro circle, name games, sharing pronouns (optional, Day 1 only), review plan for the day
9:00 – 10:00 AM – Morning Activity: Hiking, exploring, connecting.
10:00 – 10:15 AM – Snack break
10:15 – 12:30 PM – Activity Continued: Usually this is more hiking and exploring nature. We’ll dive into discussions about whatever our topic or theme for the day is.
12:30 – 1:00 PM – Lunch break: We often sit in the grass and eat our lunch and chill out for a little while.
1:00 – 1:30 PM – Game/Craft: We’ll dive into a daily game, or a nature craft for the day.
1:30 – 1:50 PM – Nature Journaling: Kids love drawing and writing about their day in their journal.
1:50 – 2:15 PM – Hike back to pick-up location
2:15 – 2:30 PM – Closing Circle and Share highlights from the day.
2:30 – 2:45 PM – Pick Up
Students will develop a deeper awareness of the biodiversity of our local wilderness and urban areas, including the desert and coastal habitats, and how healthy biodiversity impacts us all. Students will also be encouraged to develop a deeper sense of their own resilience and endurance as we will be covering a good amount of trail (or pavement) each day.
Our classes are designed to counteract “nature deficit disorder.” Slowing down and being mindful while we walk, increases the students’ perceptual abilities, while group generated inquiry, activates their critical thinking skills. Our structured yet flexible daily curricula are designed to inspire them to go from being passive receivers of “reality” to be active participants in, and shapers of it.
As of April 2022, masking will be optional for our outdoor programs. We continue to encourage reasonable social distancing and increased hygiene protocols. Check out our full description of our current COVID 19 Protocols and feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We’d be happy to discuss them with you!
Although we cannot require testing, we can vehemently implore our community to do the following:
1. Get a free COVID-19 Test by the Friday before the session start. (At the latest)
2. Quarantine (actually) over the weekend.
3. Check for fever or any symptoms and if any are present DO NOT send your student.
Follow these three simple steps, and you can help ensure we all have a safe and healthy summer!
Let’s all do our part to be “Covid-Cool” this summer!
Biocitizen LA’s “Our Place” Summer Camp provides your child with the opportunity to experience the environment in playful, mindful, and wild ways while exploring the meanings and systems that formed the places we inhabit each day.
Our Place is designed to “unplug” your child by bringing them into direct contact with “Our Place,” the natural and urban environment of the Los Angeles River Basin Biome.
Our daily explorations bring students into direct contact with LA’s myriad of wild and urban habitats and ecosystems. Our classes are active, immersive, and reflective: We hike, climb, swim, share, and always take time to simply sit and observe the world around us.
Each week-long session is self-contained with five highly active days in which we roam multiple outdoor classrooms all over the Los Angeles area, and beyond; on a treasure hunt in pursuit of natural and cultural signs and stories…an active and immersive adventure! Our students walk 1.5 – 5 miles per day and will get to carry their own lunch, snacks, water, and personal belongings!
We are able to offer scholarships to students interested in joining us either based on merit or need. Scholarships cover only a portion of the camp cost.
If you would like to apply for a scholarship click here.
Check out our FAQ page for more information!
Q1: What are your educator’s qualifications?
Our talented educator team loves the outdoors, and loves working with kids!
All staff possesses the following:
Q2: What’s the best way to get on the waitlist? Is the website up to date on availability?
Biocitizen LA has transitioned to ACTIVE, a registration management software, that will place you on the waitlist during the registration process if a session is full. In the event that a spot opens up for you, an admin team member will register you for the session through ACTIVE, and you will receive an email receipt from ACTIVE.
When you are registered from the waitlist, you will have an outstanding balance in your ACTIVE account. Here are a few options to access your account to pay any balances:
If you encounter any issues paying your account balances, please reach out to our admin team!
Q3: How will you communicate pick-up & drop-off locations?
Each Thursday/Friday, before the start of your student’s session, our lead teacher of the group will send out an email with GPS links to all the pick-up and drop-off locations.
Q4: Are Camelbacks cool?
You better believe it! 1.5 – 3-liter bladders are great to throw in the backpack and can help make hydrating fun!
Here are a couple of recommendations – DO NOT GET A SUPER CHEAP ONE, it will leak all over your student’s belongings and then everyone will be both sad and wet 🙁
Q5: Will my child get to play in the water?
Absolutely! From streams, creeks, sprinklers, we aim to have at least 1 day/week for water time!
Q6: Physical Distancing for pod buddies or siblings?
If your child and their friend(s) are in the same pod or has a sibling in their group, we do not require them to be physically distant.
Q7: Will the program be too strict that students won’t have an enjoyable experience?
The last two summer seasons have been absolutely amazing, and we have no doubt this one will be as good, if not better!
Our team of highly trained staff, incorporate a diverse range of games and activities, awesome nature crafts, and tons of classic Biocitizen fun!
