at the Manice Education Center

Manice Summer Session Information

Session 1: Exploratory Course for 6th - 7th grades

Saturday, June 28th - Saturday, July 5th 2025

If you are new to camping or just want to play and learn outside, join us at camp! Backpack or canoe into a nearby state park for your first overnight trip in the forest and see parts of nature you never knew were there. Get away from it all and relax with new friends!

The Exploratory Course gives 6th and 7th-grade students an opportunity to learn and grow through an exciting 8-day residential camping program. As students in the Exploratory Course explore the surrounding nature, they can expect to participate in challenging activities of the Core Program. This session includes a 2-day, 1-night wilderness of either backpacking up Spruce Hill or canoeing on Bog Pond. Attending the Exploratory Course at MEC provides students with a solid foundation for the continued development of environmental knowledge and wilderness skills when they return for more advanced courses at Manice.

Session 2: Foundation Course for 7th - 8th grades

Tuesday, July 8th - Saturday, July 19th 2025

Embark on backpacking and canoeing adventures to learn survival trips, such as identifying wild foods you can eat and building a fire. See how teamwork makes it all possible!

The 12-day foundation course, designed for students in the 7th and 8th grades, further develops students’ environmental science knowledge base and includes wilderness backpacking. During this session, students embark on 5-day, 4-night backpacking and canoeing wilderness trip in the nearby Savoy Mountain State Forest. Challenge Course activities help students to plan and solve problems together, improve communication skills, and enjoy the thrill of success, together!

Students learn:

• Deep woods survival skills

• How to identify diverse plants and animals in their natural surroundings

• How local ecosystems work together

• New insights into their own abilities and their community at camp, at school and at home

Session 3: Advanced Course for 8th - 9th grades

Friday, July 25th - Friday, August 8th 2025

Hike the Appalachian Trail to the top of Massachusetts’ highest mountain, enjoy the relaxing rhythms of paddling a canoe, discover your personal leadership abilities — and learn how to protect the wilderness you’re enjoying!

The Advanced Course, for students in 8th and 9th grade, includes learning advanced canoeing techniques, a multi-day backpacking and camping trip, workshops on teamwork and communications, and in-depth investigations of the regional natural environment. During this session, students embark on a 3-night backpacking trip summiting Mt. Greylock AND a 3-night canoe trip down the Battenkill River in Vermont.

Students achieve:

• Growth in trusting themselves and their peers

• Team-spirited accomplishments in navigating lakes, streams, and mountains

• A sense of responsibility through trip preparation and participation in community service-oriented projects toward environmental action

• Builds early foundations in leadership through service-learning projects

• Develop and complete a Legacy Project at MEC to help improve the experience for others

• Prepare for entry to the advanced Elliman Scholarship Program

Session 4: High School Leadership Training Course for 9th - 12th grades

Wednesday, August 13th - Saturday, August 23rd 2025

Co-lead your friends as you hike and canoe together. The Manice staff are here to support you through these exciting challenges that prepare you to use your leadership skills both in the outdoors and in your daily life!

HSLTC is an intensive experience promoting self and community reliance while discovering existing leadership potential. Students will be challenged through workshops, team-focused problem solving, and leadership applications — both on campus and during student-led, staff-guided expeditions on beautiful trails and rivers. During this session, students embark on a 4-night backpacking trip along Long Trail/AT in Vermont OR a 4-night canoeing trip down the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers.

HSLTC includes:

• Workshops on leadership, decision making, communication, group & social skills, conflict management & cultural awareness

• Wilderness navigation and orienteering

• Emergency preparedness and procedures

• Equipment selection & usage

• Natural history lessons & environmental debates

• Leading the group for a day with a peer

• Daily journal reflections

• Evening discussions about leadership styles and group dynamics

• Self, peer, and staff course evaluations designed to relate achievements to everyday life

• College tour of Williams College or Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Session 5: BRIDGE COURSE for 10th - 12th grades*

Friday, July 25th - Friday, August 8th 2025

Lead a 7-night expedition into the wild to prepare for a career in leadership, outdoor education and wilderness navigation.

Our Bringing Reward and Investment to Developing & Growing Educators (BRIDGE) program offers select graduates from Session 4 an opportunity for early professional development in leadership, outdoor education and wilderness navigation. Students who apply should have a passion for the outdoors and a sincere interest in professional placement in outdoor, environmental science, and education fields. Participants plan and lead their 7-night expedition into the wild with seasoned instructors. Adapted from a nationally recognized curriculum, this course involves:

• Outdoor leadership and educational methods

• Studying local ecology

• Journal activities with a mentor & self-reflections

• Early mastery of wilderness skills

*A pre-requisite for BRIDGE is completing Session 4.

Do you have more questions? Check out our GENERAL PROGRAMS FAQ page. Or, send us a message!

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