Summer Sprouts
Ages 3-5

Seedling Camp
Ages 5-7

Sapling Camp
Ages 7-12

Summer Leadership Camp
For campers entering 7th through 10th grades

We are very excited about the Taproot 2012 Summer Camp programs, as we continue to grow and evolve.  There are a few changes this summer.  We'll be offering all three main camps--Sprouts, Seedling, and Sapling--each week of the summer, from June 11 until August 17, except the week of July 2-6.  We will also offer two different kinds of Sapling Camp--one with the Friday overnight and one version without the overnight.  We look forward to the second year of our Taproot Leadership Camp, what we've playfully named "Leadership: Evolution."  The week will build on the experiences of the youth leaders from last year and welcome new leaders into the group.  More details about all these changes are on each camp's individual page.

Taproot places great emphasis on learning about sustainability--living our lives in such a way that gives us what we need while protecting, or improving, the health of the earth and its inhabitants. Sustainability is about using--and re-using--resources wisely, but it also involves thinking about yourself, and your choices, as part of a system. Summer Camp groups will tour local farms and meet farmers in our community, and visit facilities such as the Johnson County Landfill, the Yoderville Biodiesel Collective, and the Iowa City Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants to learn how our choices can affect this system, our community, and the earth.

Taproot also places great emphasis on civil and kind interaction, effective communication, peaceful problem-solving, and personal responsibility. We expect children in Taproot programs to be polite and considerate of others at all times, especially when conflicts arise. We expect them to learn and use each others' names, and to choose their words carefully to clearly communicate their ideas and desires. The small size of Taproot groups allows Taproot Teachers to provide immediate and gentle guidance in these matters, and redirection when necessary.

Finally, an enjoyable experience is at the heart of Taproot.  Before a person can care for and protect something, she must love it.  We strive at all times to help kids discover and cherish the beauty, wonder, excitement and pure fun that is possible in nature.