With a view of Crotchet Mountain in a sea of greens, yellows and oranges, a new amphitheater is the first addition to Dublin School’s new outdoor camp.
Now called Camp Nielsen, the private school’s lower campus area is intermingled with standalone oak and maple trees. In its final form, the camp will house a pavilion with a fireplace and cover, a bathhouse and three cabins across 12 acres.
Its purpose? Get students off their screens and into the wilderness.
The construction coincides with a cellphone ban implemented this year by the new head of Dublin School, Sam Bicknell. Now, students store their devices in their mailboxes during academic hours, from 8:25 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
Before joining Dublin School this year, Bicknell remembers touring the campus and seeing students with their heads down, staring at their phones instead of the world around them.
“It was kind of a no-brainer for me, and the students have done a great job with it,” Bicknell said.
During his time as dean at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, the private enforced a similar phone ban in 2022. Its success influenced Bicknell’s decision to bring the policy to Dublin.
The Legislature passed a law last year prohibiting students from using their cell phones during school hours at New Hampshire public schools. The statewide “bell-to-bell” ban has reduced distractions and improved engagement, a state Department of Education survey found.
“I feel very fortunate to be at a school where this is a priority, and we have this space to back it up,” Bicknell said.
As the school’s new head, Bicknell continued the Camp Nielsen project started by his predecessor. It’s aimed specifically at getting students off their phones and into the great outdoors.
“There was a lot of build-up to this moment,” he said, adding that the efforts were not his alone.
The camp is named after Helmar Nielsen, a parent and grandparent of Dublin School students who bequeathed the camp’s funds. Students will use the acreage and structures for class, camping and athletics.
The student body had its first schoolwide assembly at the amphitheater this September, and Bicknell loved the chance to use the outdoor space.
“It was this incredibly beautiful moment of having everybody here,” he said.
Recently, the English department used the new area to teach “Braiding Sweetgrass,” a popular collection of essays on nature and Indigenous values.
Additionally, the school has planned three separate events for freshmen, sophomores and juniors to camp in the open space before the cabins are built.
Bicknell said he hopes to finish the pavilion before snowfall, the three cabins by the end of next summer and the bathhouse by 2028.
Once the camp is ready, Bicknell plans to allow outside groups and school programs to use the space in the off-season.
“I want to use this space for sort of some campy type activities and programming during the summer. There are lots of possibilities for how we’re using this,” he said.
Bicknell said he wants to share his own fond memories of summer camp, camaraderie and living in nature with students.
“That was really important and informative for me, so I’d like to try to create that opportunity for more people as well,” he said.