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In 2021, some camps are organising camp experiences for you to participate in. We are hopeful that they will be able to go ahead. Camps will follow the local conditions closely, and may have to cancel activities if the local COVID-19 situation forces them to do so. If you have already signed up for a camp-activity you will be informed when this happens. We will update the website also, when such decisions are taken. Please check your own local authority travel advisory to see if you can travel to or return from the camp after the activity. At all times, when at camps, please observe it’s COVID-19 policy (such as wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, etc).
CAMP EMBERCOMBE
Devon, England
Camp Embercombe is a 20 year old education centre nestled in a wooded valley on the edge of wild Dartmoor, in the South West of England.
It is embarking on a new and exciting journey to rewild it’s 50 acre site and welcome local farmers and members of the Devon community, as well as anyone interested in this subject, to take part in this adventure.
What makes the rewilding at Camp Embercombe interesting is it’s intention to continue as a centre for personal, social and environmental transformation, welcoming hundreds of people to the site each year. Therefore the central question is: How to rewild a relatively small piece of land that is so used and loved by us, humanity, whilst also increasing biodiversity, creating habitats, drawdown carbon, and all of the other amazing benefits that rewilding can offer?
Embercombe’s work revolves around this question, weaving together the different aspects across society that need transformation in order for rewilding to truly succeed. How do we rewild ourselves, our families, our homes, our gardens, our workplaces, our farms, out communities, our society, our culture and our politics?
What to expect at camp
Your stay at Camp Embercombe will be revitalising, inspiring and educational. This is a very special place where nature is in the driving seat. There is a special feeling in the air as a result.
The courses and experiences at Embercombe are holistic, diverse and multifaceted, reflecting the interconnectedness of the different elements of rewilding that are woven together here. Therefore the activities are practical, theoretical, spiritual, with heads in notebooks, hands full of soil and eyes full of stars.
You will sleep either in our beautiful yurt village, in a shared yurt with 2 or 3 other people or in the campsite, with indoor and outdoor bathrooms. All meals are organic, local and seasonal, and will be served in our dining yurt.
We have a large group room for when we gather for sharing, dancing, music, and have lots of outside structures and spaces with fire pits. There is even a stone circle for holding ceremony.
Upcoming Camper Opportunities
Camp Embercombe is running a series of Rewilding Camps in 2021, one for every season.
These camps are opportunities for anyone to learn how to rewild themselves, their communities, the land and our society, learning from the wealth of knowledge Embercombe has accumulated over the last 20 years, as well as the new learnings we’re discovering as we rewild our own site and the learnings of the more established rewilding projects in the region.
Camp Activities include:
- Being out on the land and getting to know who and what is living there
- Getting in touch with and exploring your inner world, your outer life’s purpose and your place in the web of life
- Talks and workshops from experts and inspiring speakers on topics such as species reintroductions, how to rewild your family, and what needs to be done to make rewilding mainstream
- Practical activities that help regenerate the land such as data collection, fence laying, hedge-laying, invasive species removal and tree planting.
- Visits to learn from other more developed rewilding projects in the area
- Creative activities such as story writing, story telling, drawing and painting of species present and arriving
- Nature connection activities to help you live a wilder life such as bushcraft and wild play
Who is needed?
Anyone who is interested in rewilding and eco-restoration both of the self, the land and our communities and society, as people, both collectively and as individuals. We are looking for people who are interested in practical work, inspired by new ideas, willing to contribute and share in community activities.
As well as those coming for camps, we are planning to organise open days and volunteer days, as well as online masterclasses in themes relating to rewilding and regeneration.
We do not have the capacity or the need for long term volunteers.
What do we still need?
We have everything we need to accommodate campers, but funds are always very welcome for tools, trees and animal care as well as gifts to cover places for people to come on bursaries that would not be able to come otherwise.
Vision and socio-economic context
Our aim is to become an international centre for the rewilding of people and places.
Ecosystem restoration camps are a wonderful way to become involved at an early stage in the practical and philosophical evolution of this vision and we hope that our campers will leave inspired and empowered to work and advocate for rewilding and restoration in their own places.
Apply for the Next Camp
Please complete the form below to express your interest in joining the Camp Embercombe Restoration Experience
Established Camp
Next Camp
16th August – 19th August 2021 – The Rewilding Launch: A Celebration!
Join us as we celebrate the official launch of the Rewilding here at Embercombe. Expect:
- Talks from inspiring experts in the field introducing what rewilding is and why it matters
- Citizen science on the land such as moth and bat surveys, soil sampling and species tracking
- Family fun for children such as building dens, making fires and story writing, telling and performance
- Workshops on rewilding the self and rewilding the family
- A chance to get to know the species already present, how they live and what to expect as the rewilding unfolds
Full schedule is currently being created! Watch this space! To sign up for the first Rewilding camp, click here!
Organising Partners
Facilities
Camping (Yurt)
Camping (bring your own tent)
Sanitation (advanced)
Kitchen (plant-based)
Electricity
Wifi
Cell service
Swimming facilities
Children’s play facilities
Restoration Activities
Tree planting
Soil building
Erosion control
Community building
Regenerative entrepreneurialism
Restoration of livelihoods
Habitat creation
Restoration holidays
Latest News from the Camp
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What you must do to ensure your own safety at an Ecosystem Restoration Camp
Your safety is very important to us. Most camps are in locations that are completely safe for you to travel to. Some camps are in locations where there is civil unrest, higher levels of crime, or in areas where there could be severe nature events (earthquakes, tornados, vulcanic eruptions). We strongly advise you to check with your national authority’s travel advisory service to see if there are specific travel advisories for the region you are travelling to. We strongly advise you to comply with that travel advisory. If there is a negative travel advisory for the area you plan to go to, we want to impress on you that it is your decision to not heed the warnings and go. ERC can then not be liable in that situation if something happens to you.
Work at camps is usually safe. The camp coordinators make your safety their highest priority too. But you will be working with tools and sometimes even (heavy) machinery. Sometimes the terrain can be slightly treacherous. Heat or cold can become a problem for people at work that do not take the necessary measures to prevent injury from weather conditions. Especially in remote locations, all people at an Ecosystem Restoration Camp will need to watch out for eachother’s safety. For this reason we ask you to also sign our Code of Conduct, through which you commit to contributing to a safe environment at camps for all that are there with you. Take yours and all other camper’s safety seriously! Together, while watching over eachother, we can restore our ecosystems safely and successfully.