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Campership Program

Photo of Urban Park Ranger with teens in canoe

Attention parents of children 12-17!
The Campership Program, a program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), sponsors children for a free week at one of NYSDEC's upstate camps.  Activities include fishing, canoeing, swimming, archery, bog exploration, and overnight camping trips.  Participants are split into two groups: 12-14 years of age and 15-17 years of age. 

For more information, contact the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:

Jessica Perez, Campership Coordinator
NYSDEC
47-40 21st Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
P: 718-482-7387

–OR–

Betsy Ukeritis
Regional Environmental Educator
NYSDEC
P: 718-482-6404

DEC Environmental Education Summer Camps

For more than 50 years, the Department of Environmental Conservation has provided a residential summer camp program in conservation education for young New Yorkers. At the camps, youth become immersed in conservation education, participating in fun activities and games that teach the wise use of natural resources.

Youth between the ages of 12 and 14 attend Camp DeBruce (located in the Catskills), Camp Colby (located in the northern Adirondacks), or Camp Rushford (located in the Genesee River Valley). The camps are located in a natural setting with ponds, streams, and wetlands.

Youth between the ages of 15 and 17 attend Pack Forest, which is located north of Warrensburg in the southern Adirondacks. The camp comprises some 2,500 acres, including an 85-acre lake and many streams and wetlands.