Rustic Falls Nature Camp

06/25/2025

The joy parade continues at camp with a fun-filled retreat alongside our wonderful friends from . This June, we had the honor of hosting 12 children from Ukraine for a summer camp experience that celebrated all the best parts of being a kid—swimming at the pool, trips to Dairy Queen, tie-dyeing t-shirts, scavenger hunts, making pizzas, and singing karaoke in the barn under twinkling string lights on a warm June night.

The camp was bursting with laughter, play, and pure joy. We’re deeply grateful for moments like these, when this special place can simply be a space for kids to feel free, safe, and happy. As these kids continue to write their stories here in the United States, we’re honored that our little camp gets to be waypoint in their unfolding journeys 📍☀️

06/17/2025

A blank canvas and a week of creativity are just the beginning here at Rustic Falls! Today, we’re kicking off the first of five Creative Art Camps happening this summer. For each camp we will partner with a different organization and the retreats are designed to explore a different artistic medium. At the end of every retreat, participants will create something meaningful to take back to their community.

This week, our friends from are painting a mural that will soon brighten their own space. Follow along as this beautiful piece of art comes to life!

06/09/2025

The students from Dawes School traded their desks for some fresh air and the great outdoors during their visit to Rustic Falls! 🌿📚 Taking the classroom outside gave these curious minds the chance to explore, unwind, and connect with nature. Time outdoors can be especially powerful—it supports sensory regulation, reduces stress, and nurtures confidence and connection. We loved seeing them learn, laugh, and recharge under the open sky. ☀️🌻

06/05/2025

We were honored to welcome the incredible Noah’s Arc Foundation and The Ladies of the Arc for a truly special Healing Retreat here at Rustic Falls Nature Camp this week🌿✨

Together, we spent the day surrounded by the peace and beauty of the camp—walking our trails, creating artwork as a form of expression, and gathering around the bonfire for a moving letting-go ceremony.

It was a day filled with restoration, connection, and community. We’re so grateful to have held space for such meaningful moments and to witness the healing power of nature and creativity 💛

06/04/2025

May brought joyful gatherings, incredible volunteer efforts, and meaningful connections—all reminders of the powerful community growing around our mission. Check out our recent blog post to see what we've been up to!

Check out what we have been up to this month at the camp

06/03/2025

We had the most joy-filled weekend hosting the amazing D.Y. Chitown Elite Cheer & Dance team! Their contagious energy lit up Rustic Falls with dance parties, sunshine-filled moments, and s’mores by the fire. They reminded us all of the power of joy, movement, and community 💛✨

05/20/2025

And just like that, we’re bidding farewell to the final moments of our beautiful tulips at Rustic Falls. Until next year! 🌷

05/18/2025

Another great volunteer day in the books! Today we tackled some big projects. We prepped and planted all the garden beds behind Kay’s cottage. We added a vibrant cut flower garden to the grounds featuring zinnias, lupines, snapdragons, cosmos, and amaranthus. We got 15 new trees in the ground—including 7 pear trees and a mix of native species. We also planted strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, and peppers, cleared sections of the forest, wood chipped the trails, and built a brand-new rack for firewood storage.

We’re endlessly grateful to the incredible volunteers who showed up with heart, skill, and serious determination. Everyone brought their A-game.

At Rustic Falls, we’ve always believed in the beauty that grows from collective care. Every seed planted, every tree placed in the soil, is a small act of hope. We can’t wait to watch it all grow and bloom in the summer months ahead 🌱🌻

05/17/2025

Yesterday was a blast with our awesome little helpers from Magee Elementary! These stellar second graders jumped in to prep flower beds, spread wood chips, and soak up the sunshine with some outdoor fun. Big thanks to these young gardeners in the making and their amazing parents and teachers!

05/15/2025

Rustic Falls Nature Camp is honored to be chosen as a beneficiary of the 10th Soul Jam at Soulful Prairies in Woodstock.

We’re incredibly grateful to be part of this special celebration of music, community, and generosity. Soul Jam is more than just a music festival—it’s a gathering of hearts and purpose, bringing people together to support organizations like ours that are working to make a difference.

Tickets for Soul Jam will go on sale on June 1st. But in the meantime, you can enter the VIP Cabin Raffle by purchasing a ticket here: https://soulfulprairies.ticketspice.com/soul-jam-2025

Package includes:
~ Overnight accommodations for six guests
~ Bottle of bubbly
~ Another bottle of bubbly
~ 6 Soul Jam tickets
~ 4 pizzas from Pizza Fresca at Soul Jam
~ $200 Soulful Prairies Gift Certificate
Only 50 raffle tickets will be sold for this exclusive opportunity! Grab yours today!

Get tickets online for Soul Jam 2025 here.

05/12/2025

Our hearts are full after a beautiful weekend retreat with the Stephens family at the camp. The days were filled with sunshine, laughter, running through the grass, arts and crafts, and shared meals. One of the highlights? A 10/10 Mother’s Day brunch lovingly prepared by the kids!

A heartfelt thank you to for connecting us with this wonderful family.

At Rustic Falls, our mission is to offer families who have faced pediatric cancer a chance to pause, breathe, and simply enjoy time together. Seeing this space come alive with joy and connection is exactly what we envisioned—and what continues to inspire everything we do❤️

02/24/2025

This Sunday, green thumbs unite! 🌱 Come join us at Rustic Falls for a volunteer day! We’ll be planting 1,000 tulip bulbs in crates and prepping our greenhouse for a springtime of growth. Let’s dig in and grow something beautiful together! 🌷 more information and the link to register is in our bio! Hope to see you there :)