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Big Sur Basecamp Program

Standard length of trip: 3-10 days
Recommended group size: 10 to 200
Standard size of trail group: 12-15 participants

Course Overview

The Boojum Institute's Big Sur Basecamp Program offers a premium-quality outdoor education experience set amidst the lush redwood forests, verdant streamsides and gorgeous coastline. This area is rich in both natural and human history, and is an excellent location for outdoor studies.

The campgrounds Boojum has selected for Big Sur courses offer the structure of an established camp in a spectacular outdoor setting. Full bathrooms with flush toilets, running water and showers are available. Students eat hearty meals as trails and sandy beaches beckon. A variety of ecosystems and habitats--aquatic, redwood forest, and coastal--are ready for exploration by eager students.

The pleasant camp environment helps participants focus on the learning activities at hand. A myriad of activities ensure that students will experience a diversity of compelling and interesting curriculum options and that the course can be tailored to the client's needs. The structured, established campground setting offers an atmosphere in which to focus on group and personal development and meet client goals.

The Big Sur basecamp programs take place in state parks along the Big Sur Coast and Ventana area of the Los Padres National Forest, south of Santa Cruz, California. Students are exposed to one of the country's greatest natural and cultural resources and have the opportunity to study mountain ecology, national lands management, and landscape

geography. The campgrounds offer exceptional and inspirational outdoor experiences which provide students with the opportunity for personal reflection and growth.

A sea kayaking option can be added to the hiking-based program for an additional fee. From a two-hour introduction in the local coastal waters to a full-day "Ride the Tide" experience in Elkhorn Slough by Moss Landing, the sea kayaking adventure adds diversity to the course by introducing students to the marine environment and a new way to travel.

Sample Activities

Activities offered vary by specific location and may include the following:

Guided natural history and ecology hikes
Lessons in biology, geology, weather, aquatic, and marine science
Team-building initiatives and group development challenges
Environmental awareness games & lessons
Classes in outdoor survival skills, native plant use, and many more

Journal writing & creative assignments
Early morning sunrise hikes, stretch circles or yoga
Small group presentations
Free time, recreation and fun games

Evening programs occur in large groups or smaller "trail groups" and may include:

Campfires with skits, songs, stories, and s'mores
Town Hall environmental resource use discussion
Astronomy observation and lessons

Native American myths and stories
Council meeting & group topical discussions
Night-hikes focusing on nocturnal animal adaptations

Sample Goals for the course:

To build character, confidence, and life skills through outdoor adventure activities.
To foster responsible environmental citizenship and ecological sustainability in the lives of program participants.
To facilitate group cohesion, teamwork skills, and positive group development.
To learn outdoor science, including natural history and ecology, tied to state science standards.
To develop communication and problem-solving skills, independence and leadership skills.
To teach specific outdoor skills, field science topics or other areas requested by the client.
To have fun!

Sample Itinerary (five-day program):

Day One
Participants are welcomed by Boojum staff upon arrival at the campground, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park or another nearby park. The group receives an orientation that includes a safety briefing, introduction to the environment, expectations of conduct, a schedule overview, staff introductions, and brief ice-breaker games. Participants set up tents and settle into their accommodations. Students are then divided into learning teams and begin to bond as a small group through games and initiatives, and establish learning goals for the course. Guided explorations of the local landscape and ecosystems, complemented by additional teamwork exercises and outdoor lessons, fill the daylight hours. The day ends with an evening program.

Days Two through Four
Groups go on structured day-hikes from the basecamp to local destinations, which may include coastal forest trails, scenic vistas, and redwood glades. Groups may have all-day outdoor excursions, or return to the central camp area at lunch-time. A certain amount of free time is offered. An evening program rounds out each day.

Day Five
Day five brings camp cleanup, final short hikes or team games, and a review of the program's significant learning moments. A favorite activity is the "Boojum relay," a fun review game where participants go over the course's environmental and social lessons while completing an obstacle course. The last moments of the program are spent in small groups bringing closure to the week's activities.

For an alternate last day, groups have the option to travel north to Moss Landing for an all-day sea kayaking experience in the estuarine sanctuary (shorter local options are also available). Seals and other pinnipeds, water birds and more may be sighted in this pristine reserve. Following the sea kayak trip, groups turn-in gear and depart following a large group closing.