Mission:
To serve an act of sacred reciprocity with the forest and the beings surrounding us. This act of reciprocity will be realized by the commitment to:
- Bring healing to the forest
- Bring knowledge to the people
Permaculture Class Note (Feb. 4, 2025)
You may be visiting this site as a result of the 2 Minute Ecoversity University Permaculture Design Class.
CREDITS: I’d like to acknowledge the talented creative team that helped me with this project:
Jon Ashley helped with creative concepts and pulled the final video together.
Maureen McCaffrey helped with creative concepts, edited the slide content and helped me with the filming.
Shep Lucas helped with audio and technical production.
Carol Carmon provided creative guidance, video advice and support.
I couldn’t have done it without them!
The Camp Broken Arrow Video can be found here.
History
Camp Broken Arrow began as a concept around 2018, as part of an exploration with a family group seeking a location to build a primitive cabin. After walking through 18 acres of forest, my nephew Vincent declared in his matter of fact tone, “this is the best spot for a cabin.”
Around 2021, my son Nick and I created a campsite area, added a fire pit and built an outhouse with a compost toilet.
After a false start in 2022 and 2023, I decided to work in earnest to start the project. In order to support the building of a forest preserve and primitive camp, I took the following steps:
- I made an offer to my neighbor to purchase the land separating my two parcels. The parcel surrounded the stream and was populated by a lush foliage of Mountain Laurel and pine trees. She accepted my offer.
I closed on this parcel on my mother’s 90th birthday, on property that she considered home. Although she passed away before reaching 90, I feel her presence at this camp.
I have identified a meditation spot near the stream that I will call “Peggy’s Place” at the suggestion of a cousin. - I had my friend and land steward, Tyler, come and help me survey the property and identify some areas for attention. We tackled a small area of invasives – and found a number of percolating springs throughout the property
- Based on Tyler’s recommendation, I put up Private Property signs. ATV riders had begun creating large gullies and even cutting new paths through the forest with landscaping gear.
If I wanted to preserve the forest, this had to stop.
Eventually, I plan to open the preserve to visitors and hopefully run educational programs from it. But one step at a time! - I engaged an architect, Ana from Coexist, who specializes in sustainable building. In late 2024, we were actively working on the completing the building of the primitive cabin.
Other Information, Links and Stories about Camp Broken Arrow
Where did the name “Camp Broken Arrow” come from?
Some background on Skip’s 2021 Shamanic Vision Quest
Photo album showing the Bottle Brick Artifacts, Hempcrete Wall, Compost Toilet