Apply to Camp 2025

Creating solutions and building community, in-person and outdoors.

Welcome to Footprints Camp.

Footprints inspires community-level climate action by providing people a holistic suite of educational resources, connections, and ongoing mentorship.

Camp is the unforgettable cornerstone of this experience.

Continue reading to learn more about what takes place at Footprints Camp, why it matters, and how you can apply today!

The community we created and nurtured over this week has changed me forever. We not only learned about environmental justice, indigenous knowledge and resistance, greenwashing and so much more — we took off our armor, opened our hearts, and became brothers and sisters, bonded through the tears of our shared failures and aspirations.

Gavin Wilson, sustainability consultant, Community Facilitator at Climatebase, and Footprints Fellow (Craftsbury Camp ‘24)
Footprints connected me to an inspiring group of individuals and rejuvenated my optimism in community action to make a difference in tackling climate issues.

Zander Chase, software engineer, data scientist, Executive Director at The Wander Project, and Footprints Fellow (Craftsbury Camp ‘24)
It’s rare to find spaces that allow for such deep interrogation of systems — colonialism, capitalism, and anti-Blackness — while also honoring our emotional truths. But with Footprints, there’s a focus on bringing forward the depth of what we're feeling to exist in the space as much as — if not more than — our project ideas or climate solutions.

Rey Lynch, Jr., writer, educator, Co-Founder at Burton Bond, and Footprints Fellow (Craftsbury Camp ‘24)

What is Camp?

Footprints Camp is an annual gathering of 15 adult campers passionate about just, community-led climate action for one week of communal learning, personal development, and fun in the outdoors with people you never knew you needed to meet until now!

Campers arrive curious and committed to taking community-centered climate action and leave with:

A global network of mentors and friends that care about your work.
A strategic action plan to bring your community climate action project to life with confidence and humility. Check out past projects here.
An expansive toolkit to grow as a person and professional passionate about climate justice and the outdoors.

So, what are community climate action projects?

At Camp, you’ll be focused on creating or continuing to develop a project that is specific to one or more communities, capable of making a meaningful impact on the lives of people and their environment, and aligned with Footprints’ values of accessibility, collectivity, compassion, confidence, humility, reciprocity, and resilience.

When you arrive to camp, your project can be at any stage of development: from just an idea to an existing organization or career. Community climate action projects can take many shapes! Camp provides you structure to discover your personal motivations and build your project with intention. Why now? What’s realistic? How will you measure success?

We help you answer these questions and develop a strategic action plan that scopes your work, identifies your stakeholders, and charts a clear path forward.

What happens after Camp?

Footprints aims to be a global community of people taking action action locally. You may complete your project, but the life-long learning and creation you begin at Camp never stops.

After graduating at the end of the week, you will become a Footprints Fellow and join the 18+ month mentorship program where your choort will receive ongoing project development support from your assigned mentor and the larger network. You’ll regularly connect with the friends you’ve made, meet past campers, and continue connecting with experts who can support your ongoing project build, and give back.

We’re currently developing opportunities for Footprints Fellows to return to Camp.

Keep scrolling to see frequently asked questions about Camp and submit your application!

Frequently asked questions

We’re looking for 15 adults who will immensely benefit from one intentional week of deep learning, strategic planning, and relationship building as they create and/or develop a climate action project. If that sounds like you and you’re ready to spend a week meeting great people and appreciating the outdoors, you should apply!
While applicants living in the US are prioritized for program fee and travel scholarships, we welcome international applicants.
Absolutely not! Footprints was founded by trail runners and our early camps catered to the shared interests of our first campers. Many of us are runners and will run each day, but you never have to run at camp. We invite you to take advantage of outdoor recreation during Camp as a means to unplug, get closer to nature, and create community with people. But if you prefer to take a nap, go to the gym, write a poem, look at flowers, or call your mom during down time, we want you to do that, too.
Camp 2025 is October 5 - 12 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury Common, Vermont.
Driving
We encourage folks in the region who drive to do so! There is free parking.
Flying
To join the complimentary, 90-minute carpool from Burlington to Craftsbury Outdoor Center and back, you must arrive to Burlington before noon on October 5 and schedule your departing flight for no earlier than 2pm on October 12. If flights are difficult to find, consider flying into Boston and taking the bus to Burlington. Note that this might require you to stay the night of October 4 in Burlington to meet us in the morning.
Commitment
Programming begins in the afternoon on October 5 and ends in the morning on October 12. You must be available for the entire week.
If you’d like support communicating the value of this experience to take time from work, we’re happy to help! Email us.
The 2025 program fee is $1,000. This includes food, lodging, programming, materials, and transportation during the camp.
Campers are responsible for round-trip transportation to their home and Burlington, VT. If flights are difficult to find, consider flying into Boston and taking a bus to Burlington. Note that you may have to spend October 4 in Burlington for this to work.
Campers are required to pay a 50% non-refundable deposit by July and pay the full amount by August.
Yes! Footprints is committed to making all programming accessible to all participants, inclusive of but not limited to one’s age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, experience outdoors, and income.
We are pleased to offer limited need-based scholarships for Camp 2025. Scholarship awarding is need-unaware, which means that your financial need does not impact how your application is judged. If you cannot attend Camp without a full or partial scholarship, please let us know in your application.
Scholarship recipients will have all or a portion of their program fee waived.
If you cannot afford transportation to camp, please let us know in your application. Transportation scholarships may be awarded if all program fee needs are met for all campers.
Camp 2025 mentors will be shared in the Spring. Learn more about last year’s mentors by visiting our Instagram!
Past mentors have brought expertise in film production, environmental science, grantmaking, data, storytelling, product communications, and more.
Mentors are chosen not only for their content expertise, but their experience developing climate action projects, commitment to critical mentorship, and alignment with Footprints’ values.
Mentors are provided a stipend and travel support.
Mentors lead programming sessions throughout Camp. Acting as guide, listener, and friend, mentors help Campers feel safe and supported, take measurable climate action in their community, and make the most of their Footprints experience at camp and beyond. At the conclusion of Camp, mentors are paired with campers to continue developing their personal project. Mentors and Campers in a given cohort also meet regularly to stay connected and updated on one another’s work.
Get an idea of the kinds of projects campers have created here.
We will spend much of our time outdoors and together. Most days will follow this basic structure:
Early morning Free time
8am Breakfast
9am - 12:30 pm Project development
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
Break
2:30-5:00 pm Running, outdoor activity, or personal time
5:30-6:30 pm Evening project development outdoors
6:30-7:30 pm Dinner
Night Community building and free time
2025 Camp information will be updated in the Spring. In 2024, Camp was held at Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
Lodging is comfortable, dorm-style accommodations. You will share a room with another camp participant. Roommate assignments are done at random but we communicate assignments with all participants prior to Camp and you will have the opportunity to anonymously request another roommate. All rooms have two beds and two dressers. The building has a shared common area with couches and a small kitchen, but all meals are provided in the cafeteria.
If you have questions about lodging or sharing a room with someone else is not an option for you, please share this in your application! We want to ensure you are safe and comfortable.
Craftsbury Outdoor Center boasts a fantastic cafeteria that provides nutritious options for various diets, three meals a day. They work hard to incorporate local produce and products as much as possible, and they grow much of their vegetables right on the campus! Past campers have found the meals delicious, filling, and varied throughout the week, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free food items. We will ask you to share all food allergies and dietary restrictions before arriving to Camp to ensure your needs are met.
Yes! We gladly welcome additional guests during Camp. Footprints does not cover the cost of food for family guests. Campers may book separate lodging to share with family instead of staying in a shared room with another camper. If there is any chance that you will be accompanied by family, please let us know in your application and if you’re invited, we’ll work it out!
Applications are judged by a group of 6-7 person panel that may include selected mentors and staff involved in the camp experience, including Footprints board members.
Each person reviews all applications individually. They then score the applications based on the following criteria. Our goal here is to determine as well as possible how aligned an applicant and project are with the mission and resources of Footprints.
- Does this project mobilize people in their community? (Score of 1-3)
- Does this project have a realistic opportunity for impact? (Score of 1-3)
- Does this project address an important aspect of climate justice? (Score of 1-3)
The most successful applications will be those that demonstrate all of the above, regardless of where the applicant is in their project journey — it could already exist, or be a brand new idea!
Reviewers are also asked to consider the following questions for every application:
- What do you like about this project?
- What about the project do you think could be improved?
- What unique perspectives does this applicant bring to camp?
- Can Footprints provide meaningful support to this person and their project?
- Does this person and their project seem to embody the values and mission of Footprints?
After all applications are scored, the panel meets to decide which applicants will be invited to camp this year. They aggregate overall scores, discuss the strengths of each candidate’s application, and consider what participants may gain from (and contribute to) the Camp experience.
All applicants will receive a final decision by June 21, 2025.
If you are not selected to attend this year, please don’t be discouraged! We have limited spots and resources at Camp and cannot say yes to every incredible application. We encourage you to apply again and welcome requests for feedback.
Camp is grounded in the outdoors, but this is not a wilderness experience. Bring comfortable clothing, leave the sleeping bag at home, and get excited! See our packing list here.
No. Our days begin around 8am ET and end around 7pm ET. Please plan to be present and engaged during this time. Some staff and mentors may need to miss an hour or two of programming during the week to virtually attend to an obligation (i.e. therapy) and we encourage campers to do the same if needed.