Mondamin, our brother camp, was founded by Frank Bell, Sr. (Chief) in 1922. In Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, Mondamin was a teacher who helped his people gain independence and self-sufficiency. Chief saw camp as a potentially powerful experience for helping children gain confidence, self-esteem, and independence through building outdoor skills and friendships. He based the boys' camp philosophy on that ideal.

The program grew and evolved, and by the mid-forties, Chief opened a similar program for girls in nearby Brevard. After four years there, Green Cove was established at its present location, about a mile from Mondamin.

The two camps have a capacity of 185 each. Each summer 35 to 40 states and 7 to 12 foreign countries are represented among the campers at Mondamin and Green Cove. Mondamin has fourth generation campers; Green Cove has third.

The camps have been owned and operated by the same family since the beginning. Frank Bell, Jr. has run Mondamin since 1973. Nancy Bell has been director at Green Cove since 1980.

To view more pictures of Green Cove's past, see our Alumnae section.

...but what is it? What is its goal? How is it achieved? Is it just to make a living, or to make living worth while?

Some confuse education with graduation. One gets the required number of credits, graduates, and is educated. His diploma so attests. Some teachers teach text instead of people, facts instead of values, knowledge instead of wisdom. The student ingests, regurgitates, passes, graduates.

The wilderness can be a magnificent playground and a great university.

If education is instead a series of continuing experiences that build the knowledges, the skills, the habits, the appreciations, the attitudes, the values, and ultimately and hopefully the wisdom that enrich living, then we need to go far beyond the classroom.

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Our Staff | Philosophy