Eden Village Camp

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Eden Village Camp is a co-ed Jewish sleep-away organic farm camp in Putnam Valley, New York. It is a non-profit sustainable-living "farm-to-table" camp founded by Yoni Stadlin and Vivian Lehrer, located on 248 acres (100 ha) touching the Appalachian Trail, 50 miles north of New York City.

Mission statement[]

"Rooted in the Jewish vision of creating a more environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually connected world, Eden Village Camp is dedicated to providing campers with an incredible summer experience while empowering them to promote a vibrant future for themselves, their communities, and our planet."^[1]

Food[]

Eden Village Camp serves food that is organic, local, kosher, and fair-trade. The campers occasionally assist chefs in preparing meals. Eden Village grows 2,000 pounds of organic produce on their farm to cook for meals.

Some of their additional suppliers include: Hudson Valley Fresh, Adirondack Creamery, Grow and Behold foods, Common Ground CSA, Arrowhead Mills Organic Flours, Bionaturae Organic Pastas, Bread Alone Organic Bakery, Eden Organics Beans, Grains, and Dry Goods, Frontier Organic Spices, Hepworth Farm: Milton, NY, Lucky Dog Farm: Hamden, NY, Muir Glen Organic Foods, Natural by Nature Dairy, Organic Valley Foods, Raw, Local Honey, Stonyfield Organic Yogurt, Sunspire Organic & Fair-trade chocolate chips, Taliaferro Farm: New Paltz, NY, The Farm at Miller's Crossing: Claverack, NY, Wildwood Organics, Wise Organic Meats, Woodstock Farms Foods. Dave's killer bread

Culture of Kindness[]

Eden Village promotes a "Culture of Kindness" to the campers. Part of that culture includes a guideline on "Body Talk." Campers refrain from talking about others appearances, positive or negative. This concept gained a lot of press in the NY Times and the Today Show.^[2][3] Commonly misconstrued as a strict rule at camp, body talk is a guideline that serves as an image-based break for campers and allows them to attempt communicating in alternative ways. The goal is to limit bullying, social cruelty, and an inflated focus on image during the campers time at Eden Village.^[4]

Age Groups and Programs[]

At Eden Village, the age groups are all named after different levels in Jewish Kabbalah. It's named after the Sefirot in the Four Worlds. If you are going into third grade through going into fifth grade, you would be part of the Yesod tribe. It's the youngest tribe at camp, and most years, take up a good chunk of camp. When you are going into sixth grade, you become part of the Tiferet tribe. Next up is the Chesed Tribe, who are people going into seventh grade. Chesed runs a festival called "Chestival" during the second and third sessions, which gives them a moment of leadership as they enter the older part of camp. After that, you have the Keter tribe, which is made up of people going into eighth grade. Keter now does an apprenticeship with a different activity at camp, with used to be done by the TAP tribe (which is not a current program). After that, you have Binah for incoming high school freshmen! In Binah, you are one of the oldest tribes at camp, and get to lead fun things like Share, a talent show when everyone at camp has a special opportunity to showcase their artwork, talents, or even a cool leaf! This is where the programs diverge. In normal years for incoming high school sophomores, there is usually a road trip down south, and for incoming high school juniors there is a CIT-like program, however, 2021 was different. In 2021, incoming sophomores and juniors were grouped together in a tribe called Malchut. They got to be the eldest at camp and even cooked their own dinners. If anything changes, this will be updated.

The Farm[]

Eden village centers greatly around a small plot of land used to grow and harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other plants. Several of these plants are used in their apothecary, or used as ingredients in meals. A variety of activities take place on and around the farm, with all age groups getting a chance to interact with the farm staff, and getting a chance to have a hands on experience working the earth. The plants they grow change from year to year, but expect things like a large variety of flowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, blueberries, corn, beans, and lots of others. The farm also contains the chicken coop, where we get eggs from every day. The goat pen, while not actually on the farm, is also technically a part of it.

History[]

Eden Village Camp was founded in 2006 by Yoni Stadlin and Vivian Lehrer. Their aim was to create a sleep-away camp based on the Jewish tenets of social justice, spirituality, and environmental stewardship. In 2010, the Jewish Week recognized Yoni and Vivian as two of the “36 under 36” (the 36 most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36). Yoni holds an M.A. in Informal Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and directed the 92nd Street Y's science and nature day camp for two years. He is a veteran educator for the Teva Learning Center, the country's leading Jewish environmental education program. The founders received a $1.16 million Incubator grant from the Foundation for Jewish Camp in September 2008, as one of five Specialty Camps supported by FJC and the Jim Joseph Foundation.^[5] The Incubator Grant provides mentorship and funding for Eden Village Camp for five years.^[6] The camp opened to campers for the first time in the summer of 2010, and now has over 400 campers per summer.

Activities[]

Eden Village Camp offers an earth-based focus to traditional overnight camp. Some of the activities include, farming, cooking, herbalism, yoga, wilderness skills, goat milking, arts and crafts with recycled items, guitar and drum lessons, boating, sports, Jewish learning, swimming, and bonfires.^[7]

Affiliates[]

Eden Village Camp is sited on land owned by the UJA-Federation.^[8] In addition, Eden Village Camp is supported by the Foundation for Jewish Camp and the Jim Joseph Foundation.^[9] Eden Village is an independent camp and is not affiliated with any one denomination of Judaism, instead aiming to create a diverse Jewish community. Though the camp is heavily influenced by the teaching of the Jewish Renewal movement and its founder, Rebbe Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.^[10]

References[]

External links[]

• EdenVillageCamp.org
• The Teva Learning Center

Coordinates: 41°24′45″N 73°51′55″W / 41.412512°N 73.865343°W / 41.412512; -73.865343