Program Spotlight: Live Oak Wilderness Camp:

Live Oak Wilderness Camp is more than a summer camp—it’s a community focused on bringing together a diverse group of young people to build relationships, friendships, and connections to become the future leaders of New Orleans. Campers connect through unique experiences at summer camp (located about two hours away from New Orleans in Mississippi) and continue growing and learning together through camp-like events and leadership development courses back home during the year.

Live Oak has campers of all gender identities who are encouraged to try new activities—archery, wilderness survival skills, origami, and more—and be whoever they want to be. After enjoying camp from ages 8-14, Live Oak campers advance into the Coaches in Training program (ages 15-17). They earn stipends while working at camp and participate in a four-year leadership seminar series with their cohort of camp friends.

“Camp is my home away from home. A place where I can be myself no matter what. The people, the activities, and the places make camp so valuable to me. It is where I belong.” — AJ Young (15)

“Being at Live Oak has changed my life in more ways than I can count. I’ve made friendships with the most incredible people, and I’ve been able to grow immensely as a leader. I’m encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and do things that might be a little bit uncomfortable but, in the end, lead me to great rewards. Every summer when I go to camp, I know that I will come back with new friends and memories.” — Emilie Saucier (15)

“I love camp because it has always been a place where I can be myself. It is a judgment-free place and I always feel cared for. To me, camp is a place where the ones who might not be the biggest and boldest can come and learn who they are. They can open up. They can be themselves. They can try new things and really be free to express themselves authentically.” — Diva Dollis (16)

“One of my favorite parts of Live Oak is the community spirit that everyone has. I love getting to meet new people every year while keeping my old friendships. This year will be my fourth year at Live Oak. I am so excited to see the people I love and grow as a person.” — Lucy Rhodes (12)

Interested in Live Oak?

If you’re between the ages of 8-12, you’re welcome to apply as a new camper. You must submit a written application, a letter of recommendation, and attend an interview with the Live Oak team. Applications can be found at liveoakcamp.com/join-us/.

Camp usually fills up by early October so check back this fall for Summer 2022 applications! When reviewing applications, the Live Oak organizers are looking to bring together a diverse mix of personality types, interests, backgrounds, and strengths. They seek to build a camp that reflects the diversity of New Orleans, particularly those who demonstrate bravery, awareness, and kindness above all else.

Scholarships:

Live Oak provides nearly $150,000 in scholarship funds annually to make camp available to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend. Live Oak partners with several open-enrollment public charter schools to diversify admission to camp, and all applicants can request scholarship support during the application process.

Where to find Live Oak:

liveoakcamp.com

@liveoakcamp on Instagram

Make a Nature Collage

“Making art with nature helped me learn that you don’t need everything to be bought and paid for.
You can use everything around you to do anything.” — Diva Dollis (16)

1. Go outside and collect things from nature—sticks, leaves, flowers, rocks and grass.
2. Make a scene or mosaic with what you’ve collected. Glue them to a piece of construction paper or cardboard.
3. Take a picture of your art and share it with friends, inspiring them to make something too!

Design Your Own Flag

“Find a phrase, a message or a concept that you really believe in and make a flag!”
— Caleb Dufresne, Live Oak program director

1. Take an old or new sheet, some markers or paints, and masking tape.
2. Cut the sheet to the size of the flag you want. You can sew the edges or leave them as is!
3. Use the masking tape to write a word or create a design on the sheet, such as a simple sun with masking tape for the rays. You can use paper or cardboard to make the design (for example, the round sun) to tape on the sheet.
4. Paint on top of the design or splatter paint all around it.
5. Once the paint dries, peel off the taped design and you’ll have a crisp outline to paint over to make the design pop out more.
6. Feeling ambitious? You could even sew different pieces of fabric together (old towels, shirts, and other pieces of recycled fabric) to make a big quilted flag!

Make Sun-Baked S’Mores

“My favorite is the sun-baked s’mores because all you have to do is coat a cardboard box in foil and put an unmelted s’more on it in the sun.” — Lucy Rhodes (12)

1. Coat a recycled cardboard box or shoe box in aluminum foil.
2. Layer a graham cracker with marshmallow on top and another graham cracker with a chocolate bar square on top inside the box (open face).
3. Leave them out in the sun until they melt, usually about 90 minutes.
4. Sandwich together and enjoy your daytime s’mores! No campfire required.

Stamp a Camp Shirt

“You can take a potato (or sponge) and cut out different shapes to stamp designs on a t-shirt. Only shirts you have permission to alter, of course!” — Caleb Dufresne, Live Oak program director

1. Use a knife to cut a potato into different shapes—cut the potato in half for a round shape, cut it in half again for a half-circle shape. You can also use sponges—use scissors to cut them into stars, hearts, or other shapes.
2. Dip the stamps into acrylic fabric paint. Don’t use washable paint or your design will wash right out of the shirt!
3. Get creative and have fun stamping your shirt.