Brandywine Red Clay Alliance Summer Camp

Brandywine Red Clay Alliance Summer Camp includes summer camp and summer nature programs that focus on environmental and watershed education. Campers take a hike and join hands-on conservation programs such as Red Streams Blue, along with activities connected to recycling programs and water-quality testing. The program is part of a larger set of family and member programs that also include the annual Red Clay Valley Clean Up and other environmental education experiences.

• Schedule: BRC’s nature preserves, where programs take place, are open to the public from dawn until dusk, seven days a week, with a few exceptions throughout the year.

Brandywine Red Clay Alliance Summer Camp is hosted at Myrick Conservation Center and has been running there since 1984. Saalbach Farm, a 225 acre property in Coatesville, is also home to environmental education and summer camp programs. Brandywine Red Clay Alliance was formed in 2015 from a merger of the Brandywine Valley Association, founded in 1945, and the Red Clay Valley Association, founded in 1952. For more than eighty years, the organization has focused on cleaning the water, preserving the land, and educating young minds about natural resources. Its mission is promoting restoration, conservation, and enjoyment of the natural resources of the Brandywine and Red Clay watersheds.

The organization engages volunteers in hands-on conservation programs like Red Streams Blue and the annual Red Clay Valley Clean Up, which have removed 592 tons of trash from 118 miles of roads and streams. Conservation work connected to the program includes restoring and protecting 109,982 feet of streams, permanently preserving 2,384 acres of land, and planting 22,000 trees and shrubs. Brandywine Red Clay Alliance educates students in Pennsylvania and Delaware classrooms, with references to educating 6,500 and 12,000 students per year. It works with governments, municipalities, and local and regional businesses to prevent pollution and works in partnership with Pocopson Township and others to preserve open space in the watershed.

Historically, the Brandywine Valley Association engaged scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences, led by Dr. Ruth Patrick, to perform the first water quality tests in the Brandywine, described as the oldest continuous stream-based water-quality study in the world. Brandywine Red Clay Alliance is described as a vital nonprofit organization nearly 900 members strong and as a local leader in protecting the environment.

Last updated July 11, 2026.