Teen Community Camp
2022 Community Camp details
July 18-24
Ages: 13-18
Capacity: 16 campers
Tuition: $1,000 (base rate), $1,300 (restoration rate)
Session Info
Youth 13-18 are invited to spend a week together in the spirit of self-discovery and community building in nature. This week of camp will include time for reflection, connection with horses, playing games, sharing music, a campout under the stars and crafts. We will learn about the plants and animals of this place in a way that helps us understand ourselves.
Ekone is a tremendously empowering environment for young people—this week, we'll place our focus on the lessons that the land and animals offer us as we grow into ourselves.
We'll develop new relationships with our horse friends, spending intentional time interacting with horses from the ground and allowing them to teach us about ourselves. While we won't be riding during this session, we can promise a powerful experience with these gentle teachers.
This session we’ll also focus on intentionally creating a supportive and strong sense of community with peers. Campers will have space and time to develop deep friendships and experience an exciting new depth of community, sense of place and self-awareness that is both fun in the moment and can also ripple through the rest of their lives. Whether you are brand-new to Ekone or have been coming for years, you will leave with a deeper understanding of yourself, a greater connection to the earth, and a new appreciation for the wisdom of horses.
If you haven’t already, please visit our main About Camp page
to get a feel for our camp philosophy, history and the scope the Ekone Summer Camp program
Please visit our Apply Here! page for information about applying for a space in summer camp and a link to our registration system.
Lead Staff
Julia Hess
she/her
Julia first arrived at Ekone in 2010 as a camper with a fascination and love for horses.
She came for the horses and stayed for the incredible people that make up the Ekone community. Julia is excited to be part of the horse staff and to learn from the other staff, horses and campers. She has ten years of riding experience in western and english riding that compliments her knowledge of Ekone horsemanship. She loves how Ekone’s horse program is focused on developing communication and trust with the horses and enjoys getting to know all of their unique personalities. Julia also loves leading chore crews, helping with bedtime and doing service projects.
When she isn’t at camp, she can be found running, cooking, backcountry skiing or backpacking. She is from Whidbey Island and will be attending Whitman College this fall as a freshman.
Her favorite Ekone activity is coming up with fun, creative challenges for campers to do on horseback!
Ruby Catterson
they/them
Ruby first came to Ekone Ranch for a horse camp in 2016 and after the first day, they knew that Ekone would always have a special place in their heart. They have returned every year since, first as a camper, then a youth volunteer and now as a staff member. Ruby lives for Ekone's camp community and is happiest when working alongside campers and staff. Ruby prides themselves on their attention to detail. You will often find them bustling around the ranch making sure everything is in order.
When not at Ekone, Ruby enjoys hiking, reading, and tending to their various farm animals.
Ruby is from Olympia Washington and will be attending Warren Wilson College starting fall 2022.
Ruby’s favorite camp activity is music night!
Evelyn Kent
she/they
Evelyn first came to Ekone with her cousins and grandma when she was 8 years old and fell in love with the ranch. Since then she has made many valiant but failed efforts to never leave, as a camper, volunteer, and now as a staff member. Evelyn loves to do all the things from cooking, playing music, working with horses, and everything in between. She loves the friends and sense of self she has found at Ekone and hopes as a staff member she inspires and gives the same love and care to others. Evelyn is from Portland Oregon and attends Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota. Their fav camp activities are writing silly camp songs, becoming friends with the horses, working in the garden, and stargazing.
Caitlin Jones
she/her
Caitlin is excellent at making lists, keeping everyone organized, and nurturing Ekone Magic at camp.
Now our Camp Director, Caitlin has been coming to Ekone summer camps since she was 8 years old, and has grown into a strong and compassionate leader. She has ridden horses most of her life, and believes them to be some of the most wise and loving of all animals (especially Ekone horses). One of the things she loves most about Ekone is being able to ‘get back to basics’ and work with nature rather than against it. She is holds a degree in Social Work from New York University in New York City.
Caitlin says Ekone is a second home for her, somewhere she always feels welcome. Some of her favorite summer Ekone activities? “Helping campers improve their riding, throwing bales of hay, and seeing billions of stars every night!”
Kayla Kawalec
she/her
Kayla loves doing ALL OF THE THINGS!
Complete chance and pure intuition led Kayla to Ekone in the summer of 2021. She arrived as the garden intern on the record-shattering hottest weekend in the NW and hasn’t been able to keep her cool about how much she loves the ranch since! After staying on through the wildly fun and busy summer ’21 season she’s back again to get a dose of that Ekone magic everyone’s always talking about.
Kayla received her dual BS/BA degrees in telecommunications and sociology from the University of Florida in 2016, and hasn’t done anything remotely related since! She’ll be happy to share one (or all) of her tales of adventure over a meal at the YT, but loves more than anything hearing and collecting stories from everyone else who pops up throughout the summer. In fact, her absolute favorite part of Ekone is all of the amazing people it attracts and the stories they have to share.
It’s hard to say where the most likely place to find Kayla on the ranch is. She’s been known to go on early morning runs with Julia, get into all of the mischief with Adela, sing along out of tune to the Moon Song, hold meetings of the Tender Hearts Weeding Society in the garden with Michelle, Shampoothie in the bath house, stroll to Mizar’s Bluff with Caitlin, or maybe dig a grave in her spare time!
