Fieldston Outdoors Summer Day Camp offers an adventurous program that fosters self-awareness, concern for others, and the deep satisfaction of being in touch with the earth. With a unique focus on nature and the Hudson River, campers learn about the influence of local geography on the native American and colonial residents of this area as well as our present impact upon the environment. We observe nature directly and look at it through the eyes of earlier peoples as presented in their songs, stories, folklore, and crafts.

n the early 1980s, a group of three Fieldston Lower School teachers with a keen interest in nature, the outdoors, and the environment proposed starting a day camp based on this focus and implementing a hands-on "curriculum" based on the Hudson River and its inhabitants, both human and animal.



So, from the beginning, the camp has had a focus on nature and the environment, especially towards the Hudson River. In addition, a folk music component has also been a major part of our program, instilling a sense of history in the music we sing. In fact, Pete Seeger, the folk music legend, was very involved with the camp for many summers up until about the year 2000. The whole camp would visit Pete in upstate New York and spend the day cleaning the Hudson with his family, and he would then sing and tell stories to the campers. Through him we began our annual journeys on the Clearwater sloop that sails up and down the Hudson, teaching young people about how to keep the river clean.