A Bay Area children’s camp was tantalizingly close to its ambitious vision to help nearly 1,000 kids a year get off screens and into the woods for a “profound weeklong experience in nature.”
The Oakland-based Mosaic Project had purchased 37 undeveloped acres in a rural part of Castro Valley where it hoped to build 12 cabins, a dining hall and staff residence building, while leaving 35 acres untouched. It would be a place for fourth and fifth graders from many different backgrounds to bridge divides while they stargaze, sing, dance and hike through tree-lined trails.
But despite donors and the nonprofit pouring approximately $3 million into the project, strong local opposition could kill it and the existing overnight camp program could shut down for good…