For people who live with intention and love to have fun
Picture all the playful energy of Adult Summer Camp, mixed with workshops designed to help you feel more connected to yourself, your life, and the people around you.
Over the course of one long weekend, you will feel seen, heard, and understood as your true, full self, while having more fun than you thought was humanly possible.
We’ve been hosting this retreat every summer since 2016, formerly as Startup Island. Since rebranding to Third Nature in January 2022, our community has continued to grow and the experience gets better and better.
Who it's for
Third Nature Summer Camp has always been about the people. A beautifully diverse group of multi-passionate individuals who come from different backgrounds, and are at different stages of their journey – yet have a shared mindset and outlook on life. It’s not about what they do. It’s about who they are.
These are people who:
- Are kind, curious, thoughtful, and generous.
- Are reflective deep thinkers, lifelong learners, and optimists.
- Think and act outside the box.
- Can’t be described with any one label.
- Believe in the possibility of a better world, and in their own ability to create positive change.
- Take action with intention.
- Enjoy deep conversations, are active listeners, and ask good questions.
- Support and celebrate one another, while energized by each other’s success.
- Know how to have fun, prioritize play, and don’t take themselves too seriously.
- Love life, and help restore our faith in humanity.
Many of these people have achieved incredible levels of success in their personal and professional lives. Many are on their way. Regardless, we remember that we all have something to learn and something to teach every time we come together.
Sound like the kind of people you want to surround yourself with?
What to expect
Third Nature programs consist of workshops, facilitated discussions, coaching, and mentorship, combined with time to relax, reflect, and refocus. You will form meaningful connections with new friends, collaborators, and mentors to help you create the career and life you want.
In addition, there will be plenty of activities that make camp as magical as it is: swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding on the lake, team sports, singing & dancing, campfires, s’mores, lakeside BBQ’s and more.
Expect to feel welcomed and at home right from the start + pleasantly surprised and delighted throughout the weekend.
Leave feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and ready to take on the next season of life.
2024 Trip Leaders & Facilitators
A wide array of life and business experience has made these folks the successful entrepreneurs, creators, speakers, thinkers, coaches, and influencers they are today.
Plus, they are some of the kindest and most genuine people we know.
In addition to leading sessions during the trip, these facilitators will continue to support you as part of the Third Nature community through ongoing friendship and mentorship. These are people you’ll have in your corner forever.
We’ll be announcing facilitators for 2025 in the months to come. To be the first to find out who’s leading workshops at Summer Camp 2025, subscribe to our newsletter!
Emily Chertow
Workshop:
Mindfulness Journaling Workshop
In this workshop, we’ll connect deeper to ourselves as we flow in pen2paper with prompts that will support you in self-discovery. Following each prompt, you will have the opportunity to reflect and connect in community and conversation.
Emily will support you as we explore the depths of our hearts and minds, while inviting in joy, play and connection to spark inspiration and clarity.
Abrielle Mason
Workshop:
Loving Your Fears
The brighter you shine, the more shadows you cast. Fear of the dark – material or in our minds – shapes us; here we learn to dance with our shadows, to love and accept ourselves and overcome our fears and the darkside that animates them.
Jan Almasy
WORKSHOP:
So You Believe You Have ADHD…Now What?
In this workshop, we’ll collaboratively explore our experiences and personal challenges related to ADHD. Then we’ll deconstruct limiting beliefs, and discover hidden strengths that highlight our unique abilities. Finally, Jan will share his own experience with late-diagnosis ADHD and answer any questions.
Join us as we build self-awareness, confidence, and help dismantle the idea that having ADHD is anything less than a superpower.
Nicole Kelner
Workshop:
Visualize your Future Creative Self: A Guided Meditation and Art Experience
Nicole will lead a guided meditation to help you reflect on past creative experiences and imagine your most creative future. You will then have an opportunity to channel this vision through art by drawing the creative future you want to build. We’ll close with time to share, enabling you to feel seen as your most creative self.
Derick Adams
Movement:
Primal Flow
Derick will be offering his unique ground based movement practice, taking inspiration from animal locomotion, breakdancing, yoga, martial arts, parkour and many more body weight disciplines.
After Primal Flow, Derick will facilitate an open discussion called Playing With Your Food.
We’ll talk about making meal prep more fun, bringing a playful mindset into the kitchen, and what being healthy means for each of us.
Marissa Berio LeBeau
Movement:
Asana Flow
Marissa will be offering holistic hatha-vinyasa yoga flows to serve mind, body, and soul: physical movement paired with attention to breath, awareness, and self-study.
After Asana Flow, Marissa will facilitate an open discussion called Yoga Philosophy Beyond the Mat.
Yoga is not just a way to move, but a way to live: we’ll explore how to bring intention, authenticity, and peace into every second of life with this powerful wisdom tradition.
Brian Helfman
Founder, Chief Experience Officer at Third Nature
Andrea Maeng
Director of Wellthyness at Third Nature Summer Camp
Brian Ardavin
Program Manager & Community Connector
Our location for 2025
August 29 - September 1, 2025
Camp Scatico, Elizaville, NY
We’re excited to be back at our home away from home, Camp Scatico.
Located about 2 hours north of NYC, Scatico is known for its picturesque rolling hills, the beautiful lake that no motor has ever been inside (making it clean AF), the center of campus hangout area where time stands still, and so much more.
For information about getting to camp, check out our handy Traveling to Camp PDF.
What's included in your trip
During the trip:
- 3 nights lodging in big, beautiful bunks (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night)
- 3 meals per day, snacks, drinks, and adult beverages (dinner on Friday – lunch on Monday for a total of 9 meals)
- 4 personal development workshops led by trained, master facilitators
- Guided yoga, meditation, and fun wake up activities available every morning
- Full use of camp facilities, including tennis & pickleball courts, basketball, gaga, volleyball, arts & crafts, nature trails, weight room, and more
- Full use of the lake, with paddle-boards, kayaks, canoes, our on-water trampoline, and more offered throughout the weekend
- Friday & Sunday campfires with s’mores
- Assistance with travel to and from camp
- Bonus materials & SWAG bag
- 24/7 support staff and guides on private grounds
Upon returning home:
After the weekend is over, you will receive lots of additional resources to keep the momentum going: things like our shared reading list, a contact sheet that makes it easy to stay in touch with the people you met, and photos from the weekend.
Aside from everything we offer, you will leave the trip feeling part of a truly supportive community with meaningful connections to new friends and mentors who want to see you succeed.
And of course, don’t forget about the alumni meetups, dinners, happy hours, group workouts, coworking, and community member-hosted events that occur year round.
All-Inclusive Pricing:
Early Bird (apply before January 1st): $675
Pre-Summer Rate (apply before June 1st): $780
Regular price: $880
dates:
Labor Day Weekend:
August 29 – September 1, 2025
*Must be at least 21 to participate in this program
Words from our community
Hear it from those who experienced it
Frequently Asked Questions
Summer Camp is just the beginning. Once you travel with us, you become part of our growing community of good humans from all over the world. This community is available as a resource to you for life.
Specific takeaways our travelers experience include:
- Increased self-awareness, clarity, confidence, perspective, and empathy
- Refined goals that are consistent with your core values, and an action plan to achieve those goals
- New business ideas, partnerships, and collaboration opportunities
- Leveling up side-projects
- Energy and stress-management techniques
- Tools to flex the idea muscle and become a creative machine
- A healthier relationship with technology
- Deep, meaningful friendships
Workshops will be led by expert facilitators within the Third Nature network with a unique story and area of expertise. More information about this trip’s facilitators and workshops will be provided in the coming months.
We aim to have everyone arrive at camp by 4pm on the Friday that your camp begins. The program ends at 1pm on Monday. You’ll be amazed at what we can accomplish and learn together in less than 72 hours!
We do our best to work with all participants to coordinate transportation to camp from the surrounding areas.
If you’re coming from outside of the northeast U.S., we recommend flying into LaGuardia airport (LGA) and arriving before 1pm EST on your trip’s start date. We’ll do our best to help you arrange a carpool or public transportation from there to camp.
If you have a car and are willing to carpool 1-3 other participants, we offer a $20 per rider credit for drivers.
For more information about getting to camp, check out our handy Traveling to Camp PDF.
We send out a packing list one month before each of our trips, to ensure that you have enough time to prepare. In the meantime, think minimalism.
There is WiFi available in certain buildings at our camps, so that you can check in with the outside world during free time if you’d like. The general service at camp is also pretty decent. All that said, we aim to create a space that’s healthily disconnected from technology, where you don’t need or want to use your devices.
You will be sleeping in big, beautiful cabins with 6 – 15 fellow travelers. Everyone will have their own twin bed and cubby space for clothing and personal items. Campers are asked to bring their own bedding, or rent linens for the weekend – if you’d like to rent linens, you can do so via our pre-camp questionnaire, after you register.
All cabins have bathrooms with private stalls, private showers, and running, drinkable, cold & hot water.
Honestly, it’s pretty good! We include a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, along with snacks, coffee, tea, and other fun beverages provided by our awesome sponsors. We can accommodate any dietary restriction, and will have vegetarian and vegan options, plus a salad bar. If you have any restrictions or allergies, you will have a chance to let us know on your pre-trip questionnaire, which you will receive after you are accepted into the program and your spot is secured.
After you apply, we will be in touch with next steps. If accepted into the program, you will receive a registration form, where you’ll be able to pay for the trip using a credit card. Once you submit payment, you will receive a confirmation email and be added to our official trip roster.
We also offer monthly payment plans, for participants who need more time to submit the full balance. If you’d like to set up a payment plan, please mention so on your application.
Awesome! We’re excited to get to know you. Click here to apply now.
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Can't make it to Summer Camp this year?
If you are interested in this experience but can’t make it on these dates, subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop as we add more dates and new experiences.