Gap at Glen Brook
Vitals
- GYA Accredited Since:
2018
- COVID-19 Plans: In-person only
- Enrolling:
- App Deadline:
- Next Available Departure? Sep, 2024
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Mission Statement:
We believe that each of us must unleash our authentic identity, craft interdependent capacities, and develop our wholeness to face the challenges of our times.
COVID-19 Update: https://www.gapatglenbrook.org/blog/2020/4/15/gap-response-to-covid-19 - Level of Independence/Supervision (mouse-over for definition):
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Attachments
Program Locations
Typical Itinerary
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
|
W e e k 1 |
A Sample Week from Phase I | Morning Meeting Food Studies Writing Intensive | Farm Life Timber-craft | Yoga Class Day Trip | Food Studies Writing Intensive | Basics of Building Farm Life | Day Trip Council Meeting |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
|
W e e k 2 |
A Sample Week from Intensive II | Hike out into Glen Brook Forest and build camp | Wildcraft skills: friction fire, shelters, etc. | Map-reading Council | Day Walk—a full day of Wandering | Journal Work Wildcraft, continued | Break camp and return to Gap House |
Gap at Glen Brook is a 11 week place-based program for 18-21 year olds that fosters personal development through practical skills, living in community, and engagement with the natural world. Gappers in a community house or campsite, depending on the stage of the program, while engaged in a full load of programming, including outdoor expedition, farm labor, working in a commercial kitchen, preparing all of their own food, and engaging in a personal development curriculum that requires a high level of introspection and vulnerability. Much of the program takes place outdoors, in the varied weather of New England, and we operate in a technology-light environment.
While things are different in timing and logistics depending on the season our program includes:
Orientation - A week of relationship building to the cohort, the land and our purpose.
Homesteading - Two weeks of digging deeper on the farm and in the kitchen.
Apprenticeships - Two weeks of learning by doing focusing on Farm, Facilities, Kitchen or Outdoor Leadership.
Orienteering - A week of developing skills with map and compass, learning to rely on yourself and others.
Canoe Expedition - A week of canoeing with the paddles you will carve for yourselves.
Electives - Two weeks of choosing your own classes, workshops and projects from an abundance provided by our staff from hewing logs to comedic improvisation. An array of skills for sustainable joy in life.
Deep Dive - The independence to create a project as a group that leaves a meaningful legacy for generations to come.
Community Learning - The cohort will take part in ongoing workshops throughout the program exploring their personal identity and impact on the natural world and society.
Peer Reviews
Program Details
- Program Starts: Fall, Spring
- Program Duration: Semester
- Program Cost: $12,500
- Program Financial Aid: No
- Other Financial Aid Details:
We are dedicated to providing access to all despite no formal scholarships. Please reach out if you would like to discuss a payment plan or even a work exchange.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Articulate your values, identify your goals, and clarify your dreams—then take self-directed steps towards them with consistency
- Map your emotional landscape and identify the holes in your wholeness
- Balance personal, social, and physical authenticity
- Practical Skills: gain confidence in the kitchen; have a basic understanding of tool use, working with wood, and construction; understand the principles and rigors of small-scale organic agriculture; and establish a foundational financial education
- Become facile with clear and empathetic expression, including giving and receiving feedback, and recognizing and validating alternative viewpoints
- Follow your curiosity and incorporate your findings
- Gain self-sufficiency and confidence in wild environments
- Demonstrate facility with writing as coherent self-expression
- Feel belonging and responsibility to the human and more-than-human world
- Foster a deep sense of gratitude for your life
Staff Training and Certification
Glen Brook staff is composed of educators, farmers, and homesteaders dedicated to human connection through work and play. Whether working with gappers, with other groups of children and young adults, or with the plants and animals of our land, we strive to embody a sense of stewardship, compassion, and personal responsibility toward all living things.