Our approach is simply based on connection.
It doesn’t take too much looking around at the modern world to recognize that things are out of balance and a change is needed. I see a world deficient in connection, and I believe cultivating more opportunities to connect with ourselves, our communities, and with the earth is the most efficient route to a more balanced future.
My approach to wilderness education and skillbuilding is three-fold: developing greater connection with the natural world, with our human community, and with ourselves. A long running Harvard study on happiness finds that the amount of human connection one has throughout their life is the factor that contributes most to one’s happiness. I love the implications of these findings, but I believe that human connection is only part of the picture. I believe that the quality of our connection and relationship with the natural world has an equally profound impact on our wellbeing, health, and vitality. The way we understand our relationship to the natural world also impacts the health and wellbeing of everything around us.
What if we made choices based on the wellbeing of the Earth first? What if we lived with the understanding that we are inseparable from nature, and depend on her for our very lives? Offering wilderness education programs that weave deep connections with nature is the way I encourage people to answer those questions for themselves.
Leading With Curiosity and Love for the Natural World
We practice living with open eyes, minds and hearts. We practice walking a little softer on this Earth, living with more temperance, and creating a future that honors all living things including ourselves.
My approach is also guided by the principles of Mirror Neurons which tell us that the best way to teach is to embody whatever we are teaching by living it in ourselves first. By exemplifying curiosity, connection, love, and care for the natural world, I elicit those things subconsciously in my students. The goal of Back to the Earth programs is connection, not knowledge. Knowledge can be gained by simply naming something and stopping there. Connection, on the other hand, always leads to knowledge, but includes many other things like awareness, curiosity, and empathy.
A mentor of mine, Jon Young, spent time with the bushmen in Africa. He shares a story in his own words about how the bushmen describe success in life. Every time you really connect with something, for example a small bird, there is a thread that develops between you and that bird. These threads form between anything and everything in our world. The next time you see that bird, the thread gets strengthened; it gets thicker. Eventually that thread turns to rope, and your degree of success is defined by the number of ropes you have created during your life. These are the ropes that support you, transform you, and help define you. What ropes are we creating within ourselves? We witness ourselves through challenge, success and growth. We develop awareness and understanding of our unique gifts and how we can best move through the world offering those gifts as our true selves. What ropes are we creating with the natural world? Do we really know the plants, insects, animals, rocks, fungi, and all other kin in the world? Imagine the depth of relationship that is possible by not only learning names of our fellow beings in the natural world, but creating ropes of connection with them. What ropes are we creating in our world of human relationships? Our programs develop a community, even if that group will only meet once. We gather in circles, share stories of our experiences, share gratitude, as well as challenges and frustrations. Through clear communication and intentional listening we grow together.
Igniting the Fire Within Each of Us
We intentionally provide age-appropriate challenges and opportunities to not just learn, but embody, new skills. The things we learn in the woods can be applied to many places in life.
One of the skills we practice is friction fire. Making a fire by friction provides a good challenge and an opportunity to connect deeply with the cedar tree. We learn where it grows, how it smells, how the bark feels, how easy the wood is to cut, split, and carve. Once you have harvested and made this ancient wooden tool, you begin learning how to use it. We listen to the spindle to tell us about the speed and pressure of our form. You are engaged with all of your senses as your hands begin to feel the heat of the friction, you smell the faintest hint of smoke, and you eventually blow the tinder bundle into flame. You get to experience that joy of bringing fire to life the way our ancestors have for thousands of years. It is truly magical to do this for the first time; it is far more than just knowledge or a skill. Making a bow drill fire is a rite of passage, and it is a skill that connects us with our wild landscape and our deep human history in a profound way. Igniting the fire brings you deep satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. When you’re going Back to the Earth, every skill you learn has this much sensory experience and depth of meaning.
We Avoid Hazards, but We Don’t Avoid Risks
There is a difference, and we learn together how to keep ourselves safe in the woods while engaging in age-appropriate challenges. Back to the Earth programs cultivate growth, confidence, and leadership. It’s not always going to be easy, but it’s going to be wild and fun.
Throughout my history in practicing and teaching wilderness skills, I’ve figured out that there are key ingredients to creating a good experience. I have very intentionally woven these key themes into the programs at Back to the Earth. First, we develop a clear understanding of Positive Risks and Hazard Awareness to ensure the safety of all participants. We regularly practice Gratitude, Storytelling, and the Art of Questioning to help engage more deeply with our group and with our environment. We choose Sit Spots where we spend ample time sitting quietly to drop into the rhythm of the woods. We play Nature Games that help draw out new skills and competencies as individuals and in teams. We have lots of opportunities to take turns in Leadership roles and encourage each other to Overcome Barriers whenever they arise. And we practice Type II Fun, which challenges us to redefine what we’re capable of.