At Tree Pittsburgh, we’re getting ready for STEAM Outside Camp this July! It might seem far away, but excitement is bubbling through our busy spring schedules as Tree Pittsburgh educators. During preparations, this question comes to mind: Is Tree Pittsburgh’s summer camp the best-kept secret in Pittsburgh?
Coming up on its ninth year, our week-long day camp for rising fourth to sixth graders has a tendency to draw youth back again and again. It’s not uncommon to have a camper attend for three years in a row! It’s also common to see a sibling (or two) come to camp when they’re the right age.
Why do campers keep coming back? Parents and campers love STEAM Outside Camp thanks to the uniqueness of our site with its access to the Allegheny River, its leafy canopy, and the opportunity for youth to be right at the heart of our tree nursery and reforestation operations. The entire campus becomes a classroom and playground for camp week, with our open-sided barn acting as home base. From there, friendships form, seed experiments begin, the life of trees is investigated, creative muscles flex, and stewardship blossoms.
STEAM Outside Camp is affordable, and the scholarship process is easy. In addition, our group size is small (maximum 12 campers), so we have great instructor ratios.
We inject variety into our camp program so that it’s never the same experience twice. At the same time, we maintain consistency in staffing, quality, and overall format, as well as camper highlights. And here I’ve got to mention paddle boarding on the Allegheny with our friends at Watersmith Guild Pittsburgh, a hit year after year.
In addition to Tree Pittsburgh educators, we invite guest presenters. We’ve hosted, for example, Miguel Sague from the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (COTRAIC), who brought to life for us the Seneca culture and practices at the confluence of the Ohio, part of their ancestral territory. Last year, April Claus (Interactive Environmental Programs) shared her great passion for amphibians and reptiles, introducing us to her scaly and slippery teaching animals, and explaining their relationship to trees.
So we’ve had repeat campers, but it’s not our intention to keep STEAM Outside camp a secret. There are still spots available for 2026. No need to keep quiet – you can check it out and pass it on! One more thing new to 2026! Our partner Functional Roots will offer a SEL-ebrate Nature Drop-off Summer Camp at Tree Pittsburgh for younger nature-lovers/ adventurers (rising kindergarten-second grade) August 3-7.
-Maeve Rafferty, Tree Pittsburgh Education Program Manager