CALLING ALL CABIN CAMPERS!
We have started a mailing list to discuss ideas for the future of the camp. Please join! Send an email to info@cabincamp.org and we'll add you to the list.
Cabin Camp: Past, Present, and Future
Cabin Camp unofficially began in the mid-1980s when Anne Breckinridge began to bring local youth to the wilderness of her large property situated about one hour from Denver in Conifer, Colorado (roughly 5 miles off Highway 285 and Pleasant Park Road).
What began as just a few vans of kids enjoying informal summer activities evolved into a haven in which hundreds of children engaged their surroundings through open-ended educational activities. Campers from throughout Denver, many of whom might not have otherwise had the opportunity to be exposed to nature, came to Conifer to ride horses, tie-dye t-shirts, learn about wildlife, put on plays, swim in the pond, and much more. Many of the campers became counselors when they reached high-school age, giving them the opportunity to take civic responsibility for running the camp. Throughout this process, Cabin Camp developed a unique and positive culture and was the site of many formative experiences.
In 1998, after 10 years of being responsible for the ever-growing community with minimal organizational assistance, Anne decided to take a break. Cabin Camp went on what was intended to be a temporary hiatus as she contemplated the future of the camp. However, in 2001, Anne unexpectedly passed away, and the camp has remained dormant ever since. Nevertheless, the influence of Cabin Camp on its campers cannot be overstated, and Anne’s legacy continues to grow.
In the ten years since Cabin Camp was operational, the property has lain mostly dormant. It generally remains as it was when the camp was running, though most structures have fallen into some disrepair.
This year, the Breckinridge family decided to sell the property, citing the main cabin's deteriorating condition, the general cost of property maintenance, and the fact that none of the family currently live in Colorado. The property, which comprises just over 142 acres of meadows, woods, and the pond, has a total appraised value of $897,000. There is a pre-fab house where Victoria once stood (Victoria burned down in a fire in 1998) is currently occupied by a tenant who rents for $1075 per month.
Anne placed a conservation easement on the entire property to preserve its ecology and value as a community-recreation space. Building space is limited to the footprints of the existing structures, which means that a new owner could rebuild but could not expand, save an allowance for one additional residential structure. Given the possible cost of repair to the main cabin, it seems likely that a buyer would elect to replace rather than rebuild it. Other buildings on the property that were utilized during Cabin Camp might also be replaced, given the restrictions on development.
Today, the general age group of former campers is between 18 and 34. Members of this rising generation of peers are already connected by their shared Cabin Camp experience and are now maturing creatively, professionally, and economically. Very soon, a large portion of this community will start to grow in numbers as the second generation of campers (and counselors) is born.
Today’s society needs Cabin Camp even more than in the 90s. Children have become increasingly isolated from the natural world, a trend identified long ago that has now become critical. Child advocate Richard Louv attributes “denatured childhood” to many reasons, including our saturation with electronic media, relinquishment of green spaces to development, and a culture motivated by fear-based politics. At the same time, standards-based testing has come to dominant curricula in schools, discouraging kids from finding their own course of development, and sapping their motivation and artistic vitality.
Anne, however, "...reveled in risk and spontaneity. She loved doing messy projects, laughing and playing tricks, and feeling real feelings. She always loved drama and crazy, over-the-top productions of all kinds (rat weddings, pajama fashion shows, Grease, South Pacific...). Most of all, she loved really getting to know every child as a miraculous individual." (Liz Breckinridge) While infused with her originality and enthusiasm, Anne’s teaching philosophy was rooted in theories of developmental education developed by Rousseau, Froebel, Piaget, and Dewey. They believed it was the job of the educator not to instruct, but to facilitate the innate capability of children to self-realize their potential. In practice, this philosophy champions an experiential, imaginative, and action-oriented approach to learning that eschews rigid lesson plans.
Anne was a master of this method in her classroom, but it was with Cabin Camp that she was able to construct a holistic learning environment that reflected these ideals. Though known as a “summer camp”, Cabin Camp bore little resemblance to the traditional notion of outdoor education regulated by a pedagogy similar to the conventional classroom. Rather, with its deep sense of natural mystery and mythology, focus on the arts, and freedom for personal expression and exploration, Anne’s Cabin Camp was rich soil for kids’ natural development.
Without Anne, Cabin Camp can never be what it once was. However, we feel that the possibility of restoring the property as a vital community space that can be called “Cabin Camp” again is a goal worth pursuing. This is an opportunity for the existing Cabin Camp network to re-establish its identity and leverage its resources toward continuing Anne’s unique vision of outdoor education as only we can. This campaign aims to start a conversation about the possible steps toward this goal.
We are now soliciting help from the pre-existing Cabin Camp community to develop a proposal and find the necessary source of funding. We aim to activate a group of people who will participate in this, the most critical step toward restarting Cabin Camp. Together we will create a shared vision for the camp as we work to restore the property and develop an organization to oversee its future.
A proposal for mixed-use of the Cabin Camp property: mixed_use_proposal.pdf
Click to enlarge: Site Plan and Anne's Cabin Camp Map (1993)
Cabin Camp song: