About
Camp KEEP (Kern Environmental Education Program) is a residential outdoor science program where students take nature walks to beaches, tidepools, forests, creeks, sand dunes, and Morro Bay. During the day, they work on art projects, write letters home, fill out their KEEP journals, play soccer, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong, and tether ball, and participate in snake holding and touch tank exploration. In the evening, they play various science games and end the day with a campfire that includes songs and stories.
• Schedule: Daily schedule includes morning and afternoon nature walks, picnic lunch, teacher-led activities, recreation and shower time, dinner, and an evening science and campfire program.
For over 50 years, students have participated in this shared living experience at Camp KEEP. The program is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards, and naturalists use hands-on, experiential activities to teach ecological concepts in the natural environment that support school science curriculum. Students conduct field studies of the estuary by examining plankton, observing underwater habitats, and exploring the salt marsh and mudflats, and they study food webs, interdependence, the riparian ecosystem, and the history of the Native Americans (Chumash) at the creek hike. Additional hikes include climbing coastal mountains through the chaparral ecosystem, visiting sand dunes described as a dynamic landscape overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and exploring beaches, tidepools, and rocky shorelines of the state park.
Camp KEEP’s outdoor education program is certified by the California Outdoor School Association (COSA). The program includes three well-balanced, kid-friendly meals a day with optional morning and afternoon snacks, a hot beverage and snack bar for adults, recycling and food scrap composting, and optional menus for vegetarians and those with food allergies. Students are advised to bring proper footwear, dress in layers, pack a warm hat, gloves, and jacket, label all clothing and equipment, and bring a good attitude about getting dirty.
Last updated March 16, 2026.
• Schedule: Daily schedule includes morning and afternoon nature walks, picnic lunch, teacher-led activities, recreation and shower time, dinner, and an evening science and campfire program.
For over 50 years, students have participated in this shared living experience at Camp KEEP. The program is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards, and naturalists use hands-on, experiential activities to teach ecological concepts in the natural environment that support school science curriculum. Students conduct field studies of the estuary by examining plankton, observing underwater habitats, and exploring the salt marsh and mudflats, and they study food webs, interdependence, the riparian ecosystem, and the history of the Native Americans (Chumash) at the creek hike. Additional hikes include climbing coastal mountains through the chaparral ecosystem, visiting sand dunes described as a dynamic landscape overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and exploring beaches, tidepools, and rocky shorelines of the state park.
Camp KEEP’s outdoor education program is certified by the California Outdoor School Association (COSA). The program includes three well-balanced, kid-friendly meals a day with optional morning and afternoon snacks, a hot beverage and snack bar for adults, recycling and food scrap composting, and optional menus for vegetarians and those with food allergies. Students are advised to bring proper footwear, dress in layers, pack a warm hat, gloves, and jacket, label all clothing and equipment, and bring a good attitude about getting dirty.
Last updated March 16, 2026.
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