Good Earth Village is located 6 miles northeast of Spring Valley, MN on County Road 8. For detailed driving directions, visit www.GoodEarthVillage.org/contact and click on the interactive map or call us at (507) 346-2494.

Good Earth Village (GEV) is committed to a safe and full summer camp experience. Campers, staff, and other program participants will be required, at a minimum, to follow state and local mandates, and requirements of our accrediting body, the American Camping Association. As of now, we are not requiring guests to wear a mask. This policy is subject to change throughout the summer based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state, and local guidelines. These procedures apply to onsite and offsite programs, including day camps.

Our week-long programs use the following arrival/departure procedures. If your child is attending a day camp, one night, two night, or half-week program, you will receive a custom information packet detailing arrival and departure times, as well as any other program-specific details.

ARRIVAL: Registration will be at Log Lodge on Sunday between 3 - 4:30. If you will be arriving after 4:30 please contact us in advance. Parents/guardians are free to leave once their child has met his or her counselor. Please Note: Early or late arrivals may slow the registration process as our staff is attending to other program responsibilities.

DEPARTURE: On Friday at 1:00, parents/guardians are invited to join us for a brief closing program, after which campers are free to leave. The camp store will be open after the closing program and is located in the lower level of Log Lodge.

If your child needs to leave camp during the week for any reason, we need to have prior notification. Please bring or send written documentation of who will be picking up the camper, the day they will be gone, the time they will be leaving and the time they will be returning to camp. If someone other than you will be picking your child up from camp, we encourage you to notify us in writing. This ensures that we are releasing your child to the appropriate person.

You will inform us of any food allergies and special dietary needs your child has in your child’s Health Form. We will make arrangements for gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, etc. meals based off of the information we receive in the health forms. Your child’s dietary needs are a priority for us, and we do our best to meet the dietary needs of all our campers. If you would like to give our staff any further information about your child’s dietary needs or make special arrangements, please contact the camp office.

Please note: while we are able to make arrangements for special dietary needs such as food intolerances/allergies and vegetarianism, we are unable to cater to individual food preferences.

Safety is a top priority for us, which is why we are accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). Our policies and practices meet the ACA’s requirements. These requirements include high standards for site management and maintenance, food service, health and wellness, operational management and safety, human resources, program design, specialized activities, aquatics, and trip and travel programs.

Good Earth Village will provide your child with three meals and two snacks each day. You may send additional food with your child, but it must be given to a counselor and stored in our Canteen (snack) area, available upon request during Canteen time. This is to prevent critters from visiting our cabins. Sample Breakfast Menu: pancakes with syrup, sausage, fresh fruit, milk or juice. Corn flakes and rice krispies cereals are always available in addition to main breakfast item. Sample Lunch Menu: sub sandwiches with a variety of toppings, potato chips, fresh fruit and vegetables, a cookie, milk or lemonade.

Sample Dinner Menu: spaghetti with plain or meat sauce, breadsticks or garlic bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, ice cream, milk or lemonade.

Snacks: may include granola bars, candy, ice cream, popcorn, snack mixes, Gatorade or juice.

All of our summer staff members are First Aid and CPR/AED certified, as well as trained in Good Earth Village’s emergency procedures. Minor injuries that are manageable with basic First Aid will be attended to by our summer staff and/or Health Care Manager.

In the event of a more serious or complex injury or illness, we will seek professional medical care. This may involve us transporting your child to a clinic or emergency room, or calling for Emergency Medical Services. Parents/guardians or emergency contacts will be called and informed of the situation before the camper and staff members leave camp. The camper’s health form will be taken to the hospital with them. Parents/guardians are required to sign a permission to treat statement in all registration and health forms. This allows us to seek any necessary medical care for your child if the situation arises.

Good Earth Village has secure storm shelters which are used in the event of bad weather. In addition to having our own NWS/NOAA radios, we are also contacted by local officials and told of changing weather conditions. Our storm response communication and procedures are comprehensive and practiced. If storm damage leads to a need to send campers home, you will be contacted.

We recommend that you leave all cell phones and electronic devices at home. Camper use of these items while at camp is not permitted. One of the many valuable experiences at camp is uninterrupted time away from one’s home and normal routine. If you have concerns, our staff will be glad to discuss your child’s experience with you and can relay messages to your child. In the event of an emergency, Good Earth Village contacts a camper’s parents and ensures access to a phone for a camper.

You can write your child a letter and bring it to check-in or snail mail it to,

Camper Name Good Earth Village 25303 Old Town Dr. Spring Valley, MN 55975

Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/goodearthvillage for fun photos and updates from activities throughout the week! You do not need a Facebook account in order to access photos and updates.

Nervousness and homesickness are a natural reaction to separation from familiar surroundings and routines. While our staff is excited to spend time with your child and is prepared to work with campers who become homesick, there are a few very important things you can do to help before your child comes to camp:

Help your child understand that feeling homesick is natural

Language makes a difference. Emphasize that your child is “going” to camp; try to avoid saying you are “sending” them away to camp

Avoid statements like “I’m going to miss you so much. I can’t wait for you to come home.” Why? Camp will be a terrific experience so be careful not to make your child feel badly about going away. Instead, say things like “I’m so excited for you! You’ll have a great time!”

Share your own positive camp experiences

Please strongly avoid statements like “If you don’t like camp, you can come home.” Children who are experiencing difficulties adjusting to camp would then compound the situation by not giving it a fair chance and instead focus only on going home.

Please understand cell phones in their cabin makes matters worse, hindering their ability to build normal, healthy independence and teaching disrespect for basic rules.

By preparing yourself, you can help your child avoid homesickness and enjoy a fun, successful and wonderful experience with caring friends and staff members at camp.

Your child will be supervised by our highly trained summer staff members. Our summer staff are kind, caring, responsible college-aged young adults who are dedicated to being positive role models for your child. Each summer staff member is First Aid and CPR/AED certified, and has gone through an intensive two week staff training where they learn GEV policies, emergency procedures, leadership and interpersonal skills, and more. A comprehensive background check is done for each summer staff member. Staff members who are authorized to drive campers in camp vehicles are at least 21 years old, have successfully completed a camp-specific driver training session, and have a clean driving record.

There is a space on the registration form where you can request to be placed with a friend. This part of the form should be completed by each of the individuals requesting roommates. We do our best to honor these requests and are able to make arrangement in most cases, but cannot guarantee that you will be placed with your friend. If friends are not placed in the same cabin, they will still see each other regularly in program-wide activities.

All medications (including over-the-counter) must be turned in at registration to our Health Care Manager. All medicine must be in the original packaging clearly marked with your child’s name and the dosage instructions.

 Good Earth Village is a drug and weapon-free environment. In the event that a camper brings drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, knives, weapons, or explosive devices (including fire crackers) to camp, parents will be contacted immediately and the camper will be dismissed from camp.

 Good Earth Village also reserves the right to store camper’s contraband items that may not be appropriate for their stay. Items will be returned at the end of week.

 If a camper is destructive to camp property (discharging fire extinguisher in a non-emergency situation, graffiti etc.) the parent will be contacted for appropriate remuneration and/or dismissal from camp.

 Good Earth Village reserves the right to dismiss any camper. In this very rare and unlikely event, registration fees may or may not be returned at the sole discretion of the camp director.

 Pets may be brought only during arrival and departure, and must remain outside and on a leash. Pets may not stay with campers during the week. If your child has a service animal, please make arrangements with the camp office.

Yes. If a camper drives his or her own vehicle to camp, it must remain parked for the duration of camp. Campers who are of driving age are not permitted to use their own personal vehicle for camp purposes, nor are they allowed to drive camp vehicles.

We recommend that you not pack more than your child can carry on their own. Your child will be carrying their belongings at some point during their stay.  Bible  Sleeping bag and pillow  Clothes that can (and will) get dirty  Long sleeve shirts, pants, extra sweatshirt/jacket  Hiking shoes  Shoes to wear in the water that will stay on your feet (no flip flops please!)  Swimsuit / Towel  Toiletries (toothbrush/ toothpaste etc.)  Medications (in original containers/packaging)  Water bottle  Rain gear  Flashlight  Sunscreen/hat and bug spray  Disposable camera (no digital cameras)  Postcards/stationary/stamps  Optional: Frisbee, etc (also provided by camp)  A desire to have A LOT of FUN!

Cell phone  Digital camera  Electronic devices (iPods, hand-held games, radios, alarm clocks etc.)  Candy / Pop (critters would love to help themselves!)  Knives, weapons, fireworks, etc.  Pets  Nice clothes  We recommend you not bring expensive personal items, clothing, or jewelry.