Above and beyond skills and classes, Green University exists as a live-in laboratory where students and teachers find the freedom and security to explore alternative pathways within a tribal community.

Green University® LLC
Organizational Structure

      Green University is both a school and a community, a fully residential program with Immersion Students, Interns, and Facilitators living and working together.
      You won't find a hierarchical structure with teachers who pour knowledge into students. At GU, every person is valued as a learner and teacher, and we cooperatively work together to make camp run smoothly. GU is supported by Thomas J. Elpel and assistants in Administration, plus the Facilitators and the Council of Elders. Everyone serves as camp hosts when we are joined by guest instructors and guest students for individual classes.

Immersion Students
      Immersion Students attend Green University for a six-month semester or a full year, taking a deep dive into wilderness survival skills, crafting, and alternative lifestyles within a supportive tribal community. Hands-on skills are the primary focus of the program, yet students also learn to thrive outside the mainstream paradigm of 9 to 5 employment. Over time, the River Camp community bonds together as family. Anyone who has completed the yea r-long Immersion program is welcome to apply to continue their residency as an Intern or Facilitator.

Interns
      The internship program is an opportunity for the individual to further develop their skills in teaching and participating in the mentorship and management architecture of Green University. The internship program is a full work-trade opportunity open to students who have completed a least one full year in the Immersion Program at GU. Interns engage all the vital functions of an innovative, creative, and functional camp life. The goal is to foster self-reliance, confidence, and skillfulness across the domains of living, especially food, shelter, fire, water, medicine, harmony and empowerment.

Facilitators
      Green University Facilitators live at River Camp and help guide day-to-day operations, covering everything from tending to the livestock and garden to mentoring students in primitive skills, tribal living, and facilitating group discussions. The number and role of facilitators is variable, but generally covers:

Permaculture Facilitator
      The Permaculture Facilitator tends to all things living at River Camp. Through the diligent cultivation of food, herbs, medicine, and tending sheep, the Permaculture Facilitator helps create food security and self-reliance. The Permaculture Facilitator directs our learning as a community toward permaculture principles and skillful, sustainable food systems.

Primitive Skills Facilitator
      The Primitive Skills Facilitator coordinates and teaches the primitive skills curriculum of the immersion program. This individual is not only skillful in teaching the bricks and mortar of primitive skills, but understands the soft skills one must learn to thrive outside of the main stream; communication, conflict resolution, self-reliance, self-advocacy, and resourcefulness. From processing road kill to expressing ones needs skillfully, the Primitive Skills Facilitator directs our learning as a community toward capturing every opportunity for being schooled by one another and by Nature.

Camp Life Facilitator
      The Camp Facilitator has their hand on the pulse of camp life. They coordinate the tribe; work parties, creative culture-building, and preparations for events to name a few. The Camp Facilitator is aware of the need for specific resources and speaks to the inputs needed to build an innovative, healthy and dynamic tribal culture proactively. The Camp Facilitator directs our learning as a community toward skillfulness-in-relationship with one another and the earth.

Administration
      Administrative duties and Green University development are managed by G.U. founder/director Thomas J. Elpel and various assistants. The administrative team manages event scheduling, marketing, and admissions, while also stewarding the longterm vision for Green University and River Camp. Administrators lead major work projects at River Camp and intermittently serve as instructors. The team brings Students, Interns, Facilitators, and Elders together to form a functioning tribe that honors individual pathways within a community setting.

Council of Elders
      The Council of Elders is comprised of individuals who have skills, experience, and wisdom to share. These individuals bring seasoned insight to each new cohort of Immersion students, providing a richer and more authentic learning experience.
      The goals of the Council are to enrich community life at River Camp and support the maturation and development of teachers and students. This might include sharing knowledge and experience, sharing resources, providing growth experiences, witnessing student development, attending monthly set-the-month meetings, and being available in relationship with wonderful aspiring individuals, to name but a few.

Interested? Check out our
Immersion Program