Experience Camp Augusta | Local with Lisa Chan Carnazzo

You’ve probably seen kids at Piedmont Park getting on and off buses to Camp Augusta. 30% to 40% of the campers are from Piedmont. Let’s learn more about this magical place.

Rebecca Posamentier: Camp Augusta is a magical sleepaway camp in the Sierra foothills that allows campers to come into nature, leave behind their busy schedules, electronics, and peer pressure, and experience the beauty of nature and reclaim—really, what is the surprise and wonder of childhood.

Children from ages 7 to 17 come to Camp Augusta from around the world.

But a large percentage are from Piedmont. That’s because the camp was donated to the girls of Piedmont about 100 years ago. It was run by the Campfire Council of Piedmont. But at one point, I’m told the campfire organization closed the camp and tried to sell off the property.

Rebecca: There was a dedicated group of Piedmonters who decided to form a nonprofit oversight board and reclaim the land. They went into a legal battle, and they fought for quite a while and finally got the land back specifically for the children. Now, there are much wider open arms for anybody in Piedmont and open to anybody, all genders from any place in the world.

However, since Camp Augusta was vacant for 30 years during the closure and legal battle, the facilities need to be updated, which is why the Camp Augusta staff and board are having a fundraiser. They hope to raise $250,000.

Rebecca: Specifically to rebuild our very, very old, literally 100-year-old camp staff house built on a rock foundation. This means that there is no foundation that is literally built on rocks. It is past the point of repair. A couple of the, other buildings on site that are kind of next in line, they’ve reached their end of life, including our cedar bathhouse, which is our oldest boys’ unit bathhouse, which is notorious around camp for the number of spiders that you might find hanging out.

If you’re a huge fan of Camp Augusta or just want to learn more about it and meet some of the Camp Augusta staff, Wish, Wonder & Wine is Saturday, September 21st, from 5 to 7 p.m.