Who We Are
A place where timeless values meet the evolving ways people learn, make, and grow — set in a beautiful island environment built for meaningful, shared experience.
Camp Denman Society is a not-for-profit organization founded in August 2025 by Dr. Samia Harris, Dr. Rebecca Nykwest, and Tony Aly — three family members with decades of experience in educational programming.
How Camp Works
At Camp Denman, each day is built around three core values.
Connection
Conversations, shared meals, evening sing-alongs, and stargazing are at the heart of camp life. Collaboration is not forced. It happens in the spaces between workshops, meals, studios, trails, and late-night conversations — where one person’s practice opens a door in someone else’s.
Creation
Here, making has room to breathe. With professional artists as faculty, dedicated studios, real materials, and focused time, ideas have the space to become something real — shaped slowly, shared generously, and brought to life in the company of others.
Collaboration
At Camp Denman, a filmmaker may find the sound of a story through a musician. A writer may see a new scene emerge beside a painter. A coder, a poet, a dancer, and a designer may sit at the same table and leave with something none of them could have imagined alone.
What We Make
Disciplines, welcomed as equals
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The Setting
Where the island sets the pace
Deep forest, oceanfront along Baynes Sound, and a heritage orchard that still bears fruit. Slow mornings, coastal fog, long evenings — the land keeps its own rhythm, and everything made here carries a little of it.
37
Acres
1,000
Feet of oceanfront
1908
Ormiston Farm house building
A Place With History
A 1908 farmstead, then a beloved Elks summer camp for generations. We are continuing that legacy — a historic camp, renewed for arts, culture, and community.
Our story →Who We Welcome
A Creative Community
Camp Denman welcomes artists, makers, storytellers, performers, facilitators, builders, and curious learners from all disciplines and backgrounds. We are deeply inspired not only by the natural beauty of our surroundings, but also by the creative spirit of the Denman Island community — an island with a rich tradition as a haven for artists, artisans, musicians, writers, and makers of all types.
Faculty and staff are local residents who bring professional experience, sheer talent, and a strong connection to the land and community into the work they do at the camp. The vision is for Camp Denman to contribute meaningfully to the island in return: creating local jobs and opportunities, offering spaces for learning and gathering, supporting creative and educational programming, and building strong partnerships with organizations and people across Denman Island and the surrounding region.
Our Philosophy
Creativity thrives in community
Camp Denman exists to create the conditions for meaningful creative work. We believe great work rarely happens in isolation — it grows out of conversation, collaboration, and the unexpected exchanges between people working side by side.
We welcome contemporary tools as part of the modern creative landscape, used with intention and a light hand. Technology is a guest here. People are the host, and human connection is the heart of every program.
Our Mission
Personal connection is the greatest catalyst for creativity.
We bring established and aspiring creators of all ages together for shared camp experiences where they learn, collaborate, and create together. Through hands-on experiences, shared discovery, and exposure to both timeless creative disciplines and emerging technologies, we provide the resources and guidance for people to develop real skills, positive relationships, and creative momentum.
Our Vision
Creative cross-pollination, on shared ground
For our camps
We bring together creators and artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, believing that the most transformative ideas emerge through diversity of experience. Surrounded by nature and a community of peers, participants sharpen their skills, expand their perspectives, and turn ideas into art, experiences, ventures, and movements.
For our space
We support educational, recreational, cultural, and community-focused programming, with facilities offered at significantly reduced rates to schools, youth organizations, and not-for-profit groups. By bringing both visiting groups and Denman Islanders into our programs, we keep this a place of learning, connection, and community benefit for generations to come.
What We Value
The values we hold in common
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The Land
Forest, field, orchard, ocean
The property sits on a remarkable stretch of Denman Island: thirty-seven acres of forest, a thousand feet of oceanfront along Baynes Sound, and a heritage orchard that still bears fruit each year.
Denman Island is not a backdrop — it shapes everything made here. The weather, the tide, the slowness of the place all shape the work made here.
A Place With History
Generations have gathered here
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Under New Stewardship
A sixty-year camp, carried forward
For more than sixty years, the property at 2325 Northwest Road has served as a residential camp — first as the BC Elks' Camp Elkhaven, and now as Camp Denman. The Elks sold the property in 2025 to Samia Harris, a lifelong educator who retired last year after more than forty years founding and running a not-for-profit school. She recently moved to Denman to join her family — Tony and Becky, who have lived on the island since 2004, and their two daughters.
The Camp Denman Society was founded in August 2025 to operate the camp — a local, not-for-profit educational and recreational organization dedicated to continuing Elkhaven's long history. Together with a growing team of Denman Islanders, the family is working to preserve the property's historic use while creating new opportunities for education, employment, creativity, and community.
Care & Restoration
Renewed with care for the land and its history
Land & water
We've worked with local authorities, environmental professionals, and a Qualified Environmental Professional on water systems, occupancy, and operational planning, and we operate within the property's sustainable water capacity. Before renovations began, we commissioned an archaeological assessment through the K'ómoks First Nation to identify areas of cultural significance, and we've followed their guidance throughout.
Restoring the camp
Our first year has focused on restoring the existing facility. The main building — originally a 1908 farmhouse — had fallen into disrepair; we've brought it back to safe, functional condition, upgrading plumbing, electrical, and heating and replacing the failing deck. Accommodations have shifted to moveable bunk tents, freeing the main building for instruction and communal use. Much of the work has been carried out by Denman Island tradespeople.
A community asset
Tuition from off-island campers helps create local employment, support Denman-based instructors and providers, and purchase from island businesses. Every camp reserves low-cost spaces for Denman residents, and we're building a cohort of local artists, educators, musicians, craftspeople, and wellness practitioners to teach, mentor, and collaborate.
Our Community
Rooted in the creative spirit of Denman Island
Denman Island has a rich tradition as a haven for artists, artisans, musicians, writers, and makers of all stripes. Our faculty and staff are local residents who bring professional experience and a deep connection to the land and community into everything they do here.
Our vision is for Camp Denman to give back to the island in return: local jobs, spaces for learning and gathering, and lasting partnerships across the region.
You are invited to be part of what is taking shape here.
Three Ways to Take Part
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Inside the Studios
Summer 2026
Current schedule
Check-in Sunday, check-out Friday, with Saturday for changeover. Applications are reviewed before enrollment is confirmed.
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2026
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How a Week Runs
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Every cohort includes
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Ready to join a cohort?
One-week sessions begin August 2026. Spaces are limited and held in the order applications arrive.
Why Camp Denman
Some programs are delivered. Others are experienced.
Here, participants live, learn, and gather in one place. Shared meals, natural surroundings, creative spaces, and the unstructured time between sessions all add up to a deeper kind of engagement — the kind that strengthens connection, focus, and the experience of the program as a whole.
What We Offer
Accommodation
On-site tent accommodation for every participant, set among the trees and close to the studios.
Classrooms & studios
Indoor classrooms, flexible learning spaces, and creative studios spanning a range of disciplines.
Connectivity
High-speed internet across the entire property, ready for coding, media, and live sessions.
Gathering spaces
Outdoor gathering areas, fire pits, and covered dining for the moments between sessions.
Meals
Shared meals and full meal service — a long table that becomes a core part of the program.
On-site support
Operational support and logistics coordination throughout, so you can focus on the teaching.
Flexible hosting
We offer cohort-based hosting models for structured learning programs, and work with each operator to shape an approach that fits the size, structure, and goals of the curriculum.
Optional additions
Partners can layer in content documentation, evening cohort programming, or creative technology sessions that enrich the participant experience and extend the value of the program.
Who It's For
Camp Denman is well suited to immersive educational experiences shaped by community and place:
The Studios
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Where You'll Sleep
Rustic, charming, and close to the work
This is a camp. Accommodation is rustic by design — canvas tents and simple bunkbed cabins, set among the trees and a short walk from the studios and shared tables.
It's charming, comfortable, and refreshingly unfussy. The point is to spend your days making and your evenings around the fire — not in your room.
37
Acres
1,000
Feet of oceanfront
5
Studio spaces
From Forest to Shore
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Want to join us?
We're always glad to hear from creators, mentors, and makers who share the vision. Reach out if you'd like to help build Camp Denman.
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Adult Creator Cohorts
Ages 19+{{ r.tier }}
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One Price, Everything In
What your week includes
A bed, three meals a day, studio access across film, music, art, and digital, and camp arts programming — all part of the rate. Shuttle transportation from Nanaimo or Comox airport and the ferry is included, along with day tours and field trips on Denman Island, so you can leave the car behind.
No add-ons at checkout, no surprises on arrival. You come to make things; we take care of the rest.
Youth Creators Camps
Ages 13–18 · Fully supervisedTeen Quad
Shared tent for four
Three meals daily, all studios, and age-grouped programming.
Inquire
For triple, couple, solo, or youth rates, email admin@campdenman.com.
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Getting Here
A ferry ride from Vancouver Island
Denman Island is a short, scenic ferry hop from Buckley Bay, north of Courtenay. Once you're across, our shuttle brings you the rest of the way to camp. Tell us your arrival plans on the application and we'll line up the timing.
Hold your spot
Tell us a little about you and which cohort you have in mind. We'll follow up with availability and next steps.
Start your application
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Your note is on its way to us. We'll be in touch soon with availability and next steps. We're glad you're here.
Rather talk first?
Book a call
Twenty minutes, no pressure. We'll answer questions about programs, the property, and what a week here is really like.
Find us
2325 Northwest Road
Denman Island, BC
The Living Archive · An Oral History
Echoes of Elkhaven
A community remembers the land that became Camp Denman
When we shared a handful of old photographs of the Elkhaven camp, the island answered with its memory. In a single conversation, neighbours and the grandchildren of campers pieced together nearly a century of life on this land — Girl Guide tents, an Elks lodge, an island preschool, a barn full of horse buggies, and a merry-go-round that no child was supposed to touch. These are their words, gathered and kept.
A Place Through Time
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Originally part of the Ormiston farm. After Leila Ormiston passed in 1944, the land was sold to Jack Boulton, who subdivided it in 1955. In 1959 it was sold to the Elks for use as a camp — and the site has served children's programs for at least half a century since. Compiled by Craig Williams from community records.
In Their Own Words
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Summer, 1986 · The Mystical Playground
“As children of the island, we were forbidden to go there. Rumour was, they had a great playground — just like in the big city, with a hobby horse and everything. We walked up from the beach one summer day and, lo and behold, there it was! We grabbed the handles of the upright merry-go-round and were having a blast — then we heard shouting. The caretaker was running towards us! We took off into the woods, never to return to that mystical place.”
— Heathcliff “Ole” Larsen
Elkhaven Remembered
An afternoon with Mike Lindsay
Mike came to Denman in the early 1980s and worked the property through the Elks years — the electrical hand who hiked the snow line to chase down a fault. He sat down with us to trace the land's older lives.
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“It'll still be Elkhaven to me, no matter what.”
— Mike Lindsay, on Camp Denman carrying it forward
The Soccer Camp Years
Nineteen summers with Shel Brodsgaard
After four decades in professional soccer, Shel came home to Denman and stumbled onto a place hidden behind a sign that no one ever passed. For nineteen years he filled Elk Haven with children.
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“I'm super jazzed that Elk Haven is going to survive — they're bringing life back into a place that was almost crumbling into the ground. Camp Denman could be a really beautiful landing spot.”
The Handover · June 2025
The torch is passed
For more than half a century, the Elks Recreation Children's Camp Society of British Columbia kept this property as a place for young people. In June 2025, after a careful, multi-year review, that long chapter drew to a close — and the land passed, with the Society's support, to the founders of Camp Denman.
The Society's one condition was never about a name — it was about purpose: keep running camps for young people on Denman Island. Faced with taking the aging lodge down and selling the land bare, the Society chose instead to keep the whole property intact, and to give it a new beginning.
With gratitude to the Elks of British Columbia — for more than half a century of welcoming children to this shore, and for entrusting it, with grace, to Create Together.
The Living Archive keeps growing. If these stories are yours, we'd love to hear them.