Happy Hollow Elevates Outdoor Learning with Viristar’s Expertise
Case Study
Collaborating to create engaging, standards-based outdoor curriculum and resources
Challenge
Happy Hollow Children’s Camp, a nonprofit offering summer camp and academic-year field trips, aimed to develop high-quality curriculum materials for their programs. The goal was to advance its 2024–2028 strategic plan, strengthen audience engagement, and enhance financial sustainability.
Solution
Viristar partnered with Happy Hollow through collaborative curriculum design sessions and ongoing consulting support. Together, we created tailored deliverables aligned with the camp’s mission and strategic priorities.
Results
Happy Hollow gained a complete suite of program schedules, lesson plans, staff training materials, and resources for both academic-year field trips and summer camp programs, including the foundation for a multi-year “adventure camp” experience.
Challenge
Happy Hollow Children’s Camp, based in Brown County, Indiana, USA, has provided outdoor learning experiences to over 45,000 youth since 1951, with a focus on serving children from underserved communities, including those in foster care and from economically disadvantaged households.
As the organization looked to expand and enhance its impact, several opportunities for growth emerged:
- Developing a clear progression model to maximize opportunities for multi-year skill development.
- Strengthening alignment with academic standards.
- Further enhancing staff training materials to support instructional consistency and program delivery.
Happy Hollow’s 2024-2028 strategic plan outlined a vision to offer year-round outdoor experiences and establish a multi-year adventure education curriculum, and additional expertise was sought to help bring this vision to life.
“I was impressed by the thoughtful process in which Viristar engages its clients, which led to deliverables that are tailored to our property and the unique populations we serve.”
Serae Neidigh, Camp Manager
Solution
Viristar’s expert team of consultants collaborated closely with Happy Hollow to design and develop a comprehensive curriculum package tailored to their goals, including:
- Four sample schedules were created for grades 3 through 6, progressively increasing in length and complexity (day trip through three-night trip).
- The schedules incorporated Indiana Academic Standards for Earth and Space Science and Life Science, where feasible.
- Corresponding lesson plans for each grade level were designed to build on each other, supporting year-over-year progression and school group return visits.
- Lesson plans followed a structured template and included learning outcomes, assessments, safety considerations, and nature-based activities.
- A detailed primer was produced to help Happy Hollow staff create their own lesson plans.
- The guide covered educational theory, curriculum components, templates, and best practices in environmental education and outdoor learning progression.
- A new summer camp theme, “Adventure Camp,” was developed for three age groups (7–9, 10–11, and 12–14).
- Each age group received a dedicated schedule, complete lesson plan, and activity descriptions.
- Outputs also included staff position descriptions and a handbook outlining standard operating procedures and safety guidelines.
“Viristar made the process so easy!”
Serae Neidigh, Camp Manager
Results
Viristar’s contributions equipped Happy Hollow with a structured, standards-based curriculum for grades 3-6, enhancing both academic-year field trips and summer camp programs.
The new field trip schedules and lesson plans will allow the organization to build and maintain school partnerships.
The project also introduced a multi-year Adventure Camp theme to promote personal growth and outdoor schools, while tools, templates, and training materials expand programming, strengthen recruitment, and improve instructional delivery, advancing Happy Hollow’s strategic goals and capacity for high-quality outdoor education experiences.
