Off Campus Programs
Our Leadership Development Program offers additional opportunities outside of our Westport and Colchester campuses. As the campers progress through our program they will have the opportunity to apply for a session on NOLS, in Germany, or in Spain. These experiences help develop leadership skills and ultimately, return to Dudley and Kiniya as more confident individuals.
Learn more about our programs!
Overview & History
Dudley has offered leadership-based, extended wilderness trips for over ten years. These trips are designed for our leaders in training and take place in both summer and winter. In 2008, this branch of the Camp program was dubbed the Boys’ Camping Society after Camp Dudley’s original name. As Dudley and the BCS continued to evolve over time, we’ve found ourselves ready to take the adventure to the next level. In the past, our trips have ventured into the Adirondacks, White Mountains, The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, the Maine Coast, and even to northeastern Ontario.
In 2012, we partnered with NOLS, one of the oldest and most prestigious outdoor leadership schools in the country, to create an even bigger and better wilderness trip for our young leaders.
About the Trips
The focus of these trips is on leadership development in small groups, and in a wilderness setting. In addition, trips maintain a firm grasp on Dudley & Kiniya’s roots, staff and leadership, and traditions. “The Other Fellow First,” our Camp Motto, remains part of an ongoing conversation. While on the trail, we do Vespers and Sunday Talks and relate much of what we learn back to leadership at Camp. We maintain Camp continuity by balancing our 4 Dudley pillars in our daily activities, Athletics, the Arts, the Outdoors, and Spirituality
See more trip photos and get excited for next summer’s adventures out west.
We are excited to be again offering the Dudley and Kiniya NOLS Leadership Trip for the upcoming summer. The full trip description of our trip will be posted on the NOLS website shortly.
NOLS 2025 Tuition
First Session Expedition: 2025 Dates TBD
Second Session Expedition: 2025 Dates TBD
Trip Description
Camp’s 2025 NOLS Leadership expedition length and curriculum will be the same as the past few years, with trips happening each session. The expedition is 15 days in length and will have 8 to 11 other participants as well as a Kiniya and/or Dudley Leader.
This year’s program will run in the Teton Valley in the Absaroka Mountains.
Daily travel can and will be arduous. You may be bushwhacking off-trail through thick vegetation, scrambling over refrigerator-sized boulders, or battling rain, sleet or snow. Rivers are icy from snowmelt and can be difficult or impossible to cross. You may have to traverse slopes of loose rock and carry a heavy backpack up steep passes sometimes covered in snow. NOLS courses are not easy; for most students it will be the most physically challenging experience of their lives thus far. Students of average physical fitness can have great success – but they should not expect it to feel easy. Effort and attitude are the biggest predictors of student success.
Next Steps
If you are interested in participating in this experience, please apply here.
*NOLS reserves the right to deny admission to anyone that NOLS, in its sole discretion, believes is unable to meet the physical, psychological, cognitive, social, or safety demands of the Camp Dudley Leadership Expedition.
Questions?
Contact:
Evan George
evan@campdudley.org
Overview & History
This innovative program was developed between Camp Dudley and Camp Abbensen in the early 1960’s by Camp Dudley’s Bob Marshall and Camp Abbensen’s Herr Walter Lutz. The program introduced the concept of “fellowship and international understanding.” Hundreds of American and German campers have experienced this program, with fathers and sons now having participated on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2013 Dudley, Kiniya, and Abbensen celebrated the 50th anniversary of the program and the 1st summer of Kiniya’s involvement. Dudley & Kiniya sent a delegation of program alumni to Germany for the event.
Every year, Dudley & Kiniya sends a group to Germany, and, in return, Dudley & Kiniya host a group from the Hannover Branch of the German YMCA (CVJM). The trip is an incredible opportunity for our campers. We send a group of campers (approximately four boys and four girls) to Camp Abbensen in Hannover. Most campers who participate are 15-16 years old and have completed their Senior year.
Dates
2025 Dates TBD
Abbensen and Travel
Just like Dudley & Kiniya, campers at Abbensen return year after year to enjoy an unbeatable summer experience. Abbensen is co-ed, has about one-third the amount of campers as Dudley (about the size of Kiniya), runs for two and a half weeks, and is situated in a forest rather than on a lake…but they have a pool!
The Abbensen program stresses diversity, understanding, creativity, and fun, and the campus is rustic and beautiful. With a supportive staff and a genuine effort to serve the “Other Fellow,” the feel is just like Dudley & Kiniya’s. In recent years, along with our Dudley & Kiniya contingent, campers from Russia, Spain, and Japan have participated. Besides attending Camp Abbensen, the program includes…
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- A stay at the Hannover YMCA, Camp Abbensen.
- A stay with a German host family affiliated with the YMCA
- A tour of selected areas of Germany, organized and run by Abbensen staff. In recent years we have visited Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Munich.
Click here for German Exchange photos from the past few summers.
How to Apply
The Dudley & Kiniya application must be submitted by January 1st for any person interested in participating. Please contact Evan George at evan@campdudley.org for more information.
Tuition
Tuition for this program is the same as our on-campus program tuition and includes airfare. You can review our Tiered Tuition here.
Overview & History
In 2015, we began our first Spain Exchange program at Dudley and Kiniya. Every year since, we have sent campers from both camps on this travel program with two of our Leaders. In the past, the trips have included a homestay in Valencia, travel around the city of Madrid, and a summer camp experience. This summer, we are anticipating changes to the itinerary. Most campers who participate are 15-16 years old and have completed their Senior year.
Click here for Spain Exchange photos from the past few summers.
2025 Dates
2025 Dates TBD
How to Apply
The Dudley & Kiniya application must be submitted by January 1st for any person interested in participating. For Camp Dudley participation, please contact Evan George at evan@campdudley.org for more information. For Camp Kiniya participation, please contact Marnie McDonagh at marnie@campdudley.org for more information.
Tuition
Tuition for this program is the same as our on-campus program tuition and includes airfare. You can review our Tiered Tuition here.