Wild Creatures, Bows & Skills

Try your hand at shooting a bow and arrow.

Meet local wild animals face to face during our animal visits.

Gather plants to dye your camp t-shirt.

Spend a summer week tracking, practicing wilderness skills, doing archery, and adventuring the hills and woodlands of Stafford Lake. Become a naturalist learning about local animals and even get to meet some at one of our animal ambassador visits or on the landscape. Go on fun hikes and play games that enhance your stealth skills. Make friends and connections to the land that can last a lifetime.

In addition to our core curriculum this program may include:

• Archery
• Animal visits
• Carving (for ages 9-12 and sometimes for the younger group as well)
• Fishing (when conditions allow)
• Wild edible plants
• Stealth and awareness games
• Attainment of badges from our badge system
• Nature based crafts and projects
• and more...

• Ages: 6.5–12 (we will split into groups by age)

• Location: Stafford Lake, Novato, CA

• Schedule: Multiple weeklong sessions are offered throughout the summer, 9am–3pm daily

• Price: Tuition Per Session Rate A: $798, Rate B: $676, Rate C: $575

Wild Creatures, Bows & Skills is part of Vilda, which is dedicated to facilitating meaningful connections with the natural world. Vilda started in Fairfax, California in 2008 and has been running programs since then, now serving over 1000 kids a year in Marin, Sonoma, and Tahoe. The organization is a 501c(3) non-profit and provides nature education, youth programs, homeschool programs, and summer camps in several Bay Area communities and in Tahoe and Truckee. The program is led by Vilda’s founder, Mia Andler, and uses a badge system for the attainment of skills badges.

One parent of a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl describes the camp as a unique and positive nature experience of exploring and learning, speaking highly of the counselors. Another parent of two 7-year-old girls reports seeing changes in how their children notice nature, and a parent of a 9-year-old boy asserts that Vilda is their son’s favorite camp.

Vilda states that families in the Bay Area have differing abilities to pay and that it wants its programs to serve as many children as possible regardless of financial situation. Scholarships are available.