CAMP VOYAGEUR | Celebrate Earth Day All Spring at Voyageur Environmental Center
The Earth deserves more than just a day in April. Help your students develop a care/concern for our natural world by helping them to connect and learn about nature in a fun active way. VEC believes the more fun a student has outdoors, the more likely they will want to learn about our natural world and how to protect it. Voyageur offers one-day to five-day overnight experiences to school groups all year-round.
Our core curriculum is based off of The Institute For Earth Education’s “Sunship Earth”. Emphasizing an experiential outdoor approach, your students will learn the key concepts of: Energy Flow, Cycles, Diversity, Change, Inter-relationships, Communities, and Adaptations.
Voyageur Environmental Center is located on 110 acres surrounding our own bay of Long Lake in Mound Minnesota. Having our own private bay allows us to study our lake unhindered by canoes, or by our 29ft Voyageur Canoes. We have 3 miles of hiking trails to explore. For recreation, we provide instruction in canoeing, kayaking, archery, and campcraft.
VEC also has 8 cabins that sleep up to 12 students plus 2 chaperones. Each cabin has it’s own bathroom area and a private shower room. Our Main Lodge offers full dining room service, with indoor (Covid capacity 50) and 3 outdoor (16-48 capacity) dining options. While the bulk of our classes are held outdoors, we have three indoor classroom spaces for inclement weather teaching.
Our core teaching philosophy is based off of The Institute For Earth Education’s “Acclimatization” curriculum. As we (both students and staff) explore together by hiking our woods, paddling our Voyageur 29ft canoe, dipping nets in the lake, or playing in our fields, our focus is learning about the seven “ECDCICA” secrets to life on our planet. Some of our more popular classes include: “Canoe Explorers”, “Tree Trek”, “Predator Prey”, “Outdoor Survival” and “Aquatic Invertebrates/Invasive Species”.
We tailor our curriculum to meet your needs. Our staff will go over our over 20 different class offerings to develop the right program for your needs.
Need a virtual experience? Our Tree Trek is now on-line on our website. Developed in partnership with Hennepin County Green Partners, students can now take a virtual hike of our forest and visit 24 sites along our trail. Learn about Voyageur’s unique topography which makes us a part of two different watershed districts. Watch an informative video on the birds that call Voyageur home.
At Voyageur, we live by our core values of “KIS-MIF-AED”:
“Keep-It-Safe”: Voyageur stays up to date and compliant with all CDC/MDH recommendations, as well as American Camp Association and Association of Camp Nurses standards. Our staff are trained to be safety conscience in all that we do.
“Make-It-Fun”: We love the outdoors, and having fun. Our staff will work with you to plan for the best experience/fun your students can have.
“Active-Every-Day”: We believe being active outdoors is healthy both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Especially in this past year, what we feel students need is to get outside and active as a way to rejuvenate their body, mind, and spirit.
