How to Prepare for Overnight Camp

Below you will find everything you need to know to prepare for overnight camp. We've included information about travel and carpooling, meals, communicating with us while at camp, as well as what to bring and what not to bring. At the bottom of the page, you'll find the week overview as well as a sample day schedule. Should you have any unanswered questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. 

Traveling to CYO - SUMMER 2021

The CYO Retreat Center is located minutes outside of downtown Occidental and about an hour and a half drive from SFO International Airport.

Arrival: Sunday between 3:00 - 3:45 pm

Camp activities will begin at promptly 4:00 pm. Please arrive between 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm to check in. To limit the number of people on campus, we ask that only one (preferably vaccinated) adult accompany their camper(s) to campus and that any children not attending camp remain home. If families are unable to make arrangements to leave other children at home, they will be asked to remain in their vehicle during check-in. 

Adults will be permitted to leave their vehicle during check-in but will not be allowed to explore the campus, use restroom facilities, or enter cabins or any other indoor space at CYO. All staff, campers, and guests are required to wear a properly fitting mask covering their mouth and nose at all times during check-in. We will further require households to remain at least 6 feet away from one another. If the check-in area becomes crowded at any point, our team will instruct family members to remain in their vehicles until the area has cleared. 

Check-in will include the following:

• An in-person health screening 

• Review of each camper’s health information and needs

• Collection of all medications (including over the counter meds, vitamins, and supplements)

Rides to Camp: We are limiting carpool arrangements in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. If your family is unable to bring your camper(s) to camp, we will work to find a carpool with another family in your camper’s cohort. We will require that all adults participating in carpools are fully vaccinated.

Flying: Campers who are not fully vaccinated must complete all travel 8 days prior to the start of their camp session. Fully vaccinated campers are permitted to fly to camp directly before their program begins but must adhere to all CDC guidelines for domestic travel. Project Ember is not operating airport shuttles during the pandemic. If your camper will be traveling alone, please reach out to our team directly to discuss your travel plans. CYO is approximately an hour and 30 minutes from either SFO/OAK. The closest airport is the Charles M. Schultz- Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa.

Departure: Saturday at Noon
(Project Demonstration begins at 10:00 am)

Project Ember traditionally invites guests to campus on the final day of the program for a celebration of the campers’ work and project demonstration. We hope to continue this tradition with modifications to keep our camp community safe during the 2021 summer. We are limiting the number of visitors to campus to two vaccinated guests per family.

For the safety of our unvaccinated campers, all guests coming onto campus will need to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination. (Either a vaccine card with your name, type of vaccine, and the date of last shot or a photo of a vaccine card.)  Campers and staff will also wear masks while guests are on campus. 

We regret that guests will not be permitted to participate in project deconstruction during the 2021 summer, but we hope you will relax while campers participate in this final part of the program.

PROJECT EMBER OVERNIGHT PACKING LIST 2021 

Please, label everything. Kids lose stuff (we have a treasure trove of forgotten items to prove it). Help us help you get it back from our lost and found by labeling everything.

For our two-week campers: We will have very limited access to laundry services. Please pack enough clothing (especially socks and undergarments) for your camper's two-week stay. If you are traveling from out of town and cannot pack adequate supplies, we will prioritize an opportunity for your camper's items to be cleaned. 

 Masks will be washed one week into camp, and laundry will be available for soiled clothing. We will also change bedding over the weekend, so please pack an extra pillowcase. Camp will provide bedsheets.

REQUIRED

• Sturdy, closed-toe shoes (for the shop and for hiking)

• Water bottle (labeled with name)

• Eight (8) washable masks

• Secondary pair of shoes (slip-ons/flip flops are often best)

• Daily clothes including pants

  • Undergarments for the duration of your campers stay

  • Socks for the duration of your camper's stay

  • Layers for varying weather conditions (It can be quite cool in the morning/evenings and very hot midday)

  • Rain gear

  • Pajamas

  • Swimsuit

• Sleeping bag + pillow with two pillowcases (windows will be open in cabins overnight, so please pack a warm sleeping bag)

  • (Project Ember will provide a bottom sheet)

• Towel

• Day Bag/Backpack for hiking

• Sun hat + sunglasses

• Toiletries + toiletry bag/tote

  • toothbrush/toothpaste

  • soap/shampoo

  • Feminine hygiene products if applicable

• Headlamp + batteries (headlamps are better than flashlights for our purposes. A red-light setting is ideal for reading before bed without disturbing other campers.)

• Bug repellent

OPTIONAL/SUGGESTED

• Journal/pens + pencils

• Books

• Envelopes (addressed) and stamps (we'll send their mail!)

• Sunscreen if you prefer a specific kind (we will provide our own)

• Dedicated Camera (no internet-connected devices permitted)

• Laundry bag labeled with campers name (example)

MEDICATIONS, VITAMINS, ETC

An additional medication form will be included in your camper's registration. 

All medications (prescribed and over the counter), supplements, and vitamins, are legally required to be collected by our staff at drop-off and stored in our health center. (Campers who need Epi-pens or Albuterol are exempt from this requirement and may keep these medications on their person if preferred.) Please ensure that you have packed adequate medication for your camper's stay; all medications must be in their original packaging. We are only permitted to administer the medication as prescribed on the packaging. 

• How to Add a Medication to your Camper's Account

FOR OUT-OF-TOWNERS

If you are traveling a long distance, we can provide sleeping bags, pillows, and towels. We will ask if you need these items in a survey before camp.

WHAT NOT TO BRING

As a camp, we're not anti-tech. However, a summer building cool projects with old and new friends is made richer with fewer distractions. Here are items that should not come to camp.

• Cellphones, computers, gaming devices, tablets, internet-connected devices 

• Pets

• Weapons

• Expensive clothing or equipment - items get torn, lost, or broken at camp.

• Cash- there won't be anything to spend it on.

• Jewelry (cannot be worn in the shop)

Food will be provided by the kitchen team at CYO for the 2021 summer season. All meals have vegetarian and vegan options available, and we can easily accommodate nut-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets. (CYO is a fully nut-free campus.) You will be asked to fill out an allergy and food preference form when you register your camper. If you have concerns about your camper's needs, please give us a call to discuss.

Reaching your camper

Part of the magic of summer camp is spending time fully immersed in a different environment and community. To preserve the container of camp, campers will not call home during the session unless there are extenuating circumstances. If you would like to connect with your camper, we will happily print emails sent to info@projectember.org. You are also welcome to send snail mail ahead of their arrival to be delivered while they are at camp.

Reaching our staff

The retreat center is outside of reliable cell range, but we are able to make outgoing calls from a landline. In the event of an emergency, we suggest you send an email to the info@projectember.org asking us to call you. The site has adequate WiFi, and we are more likely to receive your message in a timely manner through email. 

The below schedule is from our traditional one-week programs. Our two-week-long programs during summer 2021 will operate on a different schedule, but the sample will give you a good idea of a typical day at camp

week overview

Sunday: Welcome to Project Ember! Introductions + goal setting, expectations, evening hikes, and opening campfire
Monday: Welcome to the shop: tool training + an introductory mini-build challenge
Tuesday: Project Announcement - Initial design sessions and building
Wednesday: A day of steady progress
Thursday: Project time in the morning, beach-day in the afternoon, followed by movie night
Friday: Final full project day, closing campfire
Saturday: Demonstration! Deconstruction and Departure

A SAMPLE DAY AT OVERNIGHT

7:30 am - Wake up!  A little time provided for individual morning rituals
8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Project Session A: Planning - executing - snacking - progress - mistakes - revisions - play breaks
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 pm - Siesta, followed by small group meetings
2:00 pm - Project Session B
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Free play+build and/or shower time
8:30 pm - Campfire
9:15 - Winding down and getting ready for bed
9:30 - Quiet personal time
9:45 pm - Lights out

Need to make a payment or finish filling out your medical forms? Head to your UltraCamp account to make any changes, verify your reservation details, or to make an additional reservation.

If you’re new to Project Ember, you’ll need to create an account in order to sign up for any of our programs.

Having trouble logging in? First, make sure you are using either a link directly from our webpage or from your email to access UltraCamp. Many camps use UltraCamp for their registration platform, and each camp has a unique URL. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it here.

If you’d like to verify any of the details of your reservation, log into your UltraCamp account; your upcoming reservations are listed on your account homepage. You should also have received an email confirmation from info@projectember.org when you registered along with a receipt. We recommend adding info@projectember.org to your contacts/whitelist to ensure you receive important registration emails.

We are happy to help you switch your reservation to another session so long as the new session still has space. There is no fee for transferring between weeks. If the session you would like to move into already has a waitlist, you will need to join the waitlist and see if a spot becomes available. Should a spot open, you will receive an automated email notifying you that you may now register. We recommend calling us to register so that we can process it as a transfer instead of a new reservation.

To cancel your reservation at any time, please call or email our team. Our refund policy is outlined here.

Didn’t find what you need?

For any questions or concerns not addressed on this page, please reach out to us by phone or email. You’ll be able to speak with one of our Directors to get all your questions answered.