Helping good kids gain character and resilience.
Philosophy-Purpose-History
The purpose of Birch Creek, and the schedule and philosophy we adopted, grew out of the Bennion Teton Boys Ranch tradition. Teacher, philosopher, and humanitarian, Lowell Bennion, started his program in the early 1960s…
Dates and Rates
There are three camp sessions each summer for 12-15 year olds. We want the ranch to be accessible to anyone interested and eligible, and try to keep tuition affordable, but for those who need it, we do offer some scholarships…
For Parents
For many 12-15 year old participants, this is their first extended time away from home on their own. For many parents, this is the first time they have released their kids to the care and supervision of others…
How Can I Help?
We teach kids to be service oriented and provide thousands of hours of community service each summer. In turn, our nonprofit relies on volunteers, financial support, and in-kind donations to keep the program thriving…
Camp Philosophy
Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you.
Learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and the sunset, the beating of the rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple, and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.
--Lowell Bennion
Improving while maintaining tradition.
Although Birch Creek is not an official successor to the Bennion Teton Boys Ranch (BTBR), we have taken it upon ourselves to carry on the tradition Lowell Bennion started. Many of our board members, counselors, and participants have some connection back to BCSR. The ranch can leave such a powerful impression on those involved, that the experiences they share, values they learn, and relationships they form have constant impact on the rest of their lives.
We want to recreate the opportunity for those positive, life-shaping experiences each summer. While maintaining the core tenets of the longstanding tradition, we gather feedback each year and make minor tweaks to the program in an effort to improve and adapt to changing needs of participants.
