December 9th 2023
What a wild and wet day we had this time! And maybe especially because of the rain, the day was indeed an honoring and celebration of fire and the gifts fire shares with us. The colder temperatures and rain made us appreciate the gifts of fire even more than usual.
Read MoreDecember 8, 2023
We shared a beautiful day together on Friday. In the morning we brought fire (hud) into our circle and heard a story from Mélou about their first time tending hud through the night as a pre-teen, and the support they received when they remembered to practice deep listening to their body and the land.
Read MoreNovember 11, 2023
The winds were blowing strong, as we traveled down, down, down, to the beach. The big leaf maples near the road scattered bright yellow leaves, actively falling down and blanketing below. The beach is a wonderful mentor, calling each into activities that inspire.
Read MoreDecember 1, 2023
The Wind Gatherers shared a sunny day back together after break. Building shelters, playing games to honor salmon, making leaf prints and relaxing in the warm sun!
Read MoreOctober 25, 2023
Our last gathering together was hailed by sunny skies and cold winds. Our Wild Wanderers split into two groups: one around the fire and one wandering the land. Let’s see what feathers and fir needles had to do with this fine day!
Read MoreOctober 13, 2023
Coming together in a scotch broom clearing prepared last year by many in our group we were greeted by Boletes, Puffballs, and many more mushrooms as well as a lovely Yew.
Three groups set off to wander throughout Camp Sealth, our 400 acre home!
Read MoreOctober 14, 2023
The forests and meadow edges of our island are showing us mushrooms everywhere this season. Children have a special affinity with these plant friends that is a joy to be around!
We heard a story this month about a young girl named Keiko whose grandmother is Japanese. Oba-san loves to come from Japan to visit Keiko in her home near the Salish Sea during the Fall rains when mushrooms grow.
Read MoreOctober 14, 2023
On a misty new moon that coincided with a solar eclipse, we embraced our first day together.
We arrived by playing mushroom tag, observing tanned hides and working with our hands to make iris cordage until the time for us to have our morning circle.
Read MoreOctober 6, 2023
We shared another bright and sunny day together. hawadubš (thank you in Lushootseed) for those helped us carry wood for the many fires to come!
We gathered in our morning circle and heard a silly story about the bəlups (racoon) who inspired one of our mentors to get creative with one precious tomato she grew to court the bəlups out and away from the chickens she tends.
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2023
Blue skies, crisp cool air, and sunshine greeted us all last Friday as we gathered the wind for the second time this program year. At our home base, Toads Crossy Roads, we heard a story about Skywoman and the birth of Turtle Island in a story from oral tradition, reimagined by Robin Wall Kimmerer of the Potowatomi Tribe.
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2023
As the full moon worked their magic on the waters and land of this island, we dropped deeper into the land and our relationships with each other. One of our hopes for the children is that they might feel a sense of belonging, of home, amongst Hemlock, Song Sparrow, and our other wild kin. As a group we spent a large part of our day place-making - setting up our tarp to keep us dry through the winter, tending our hearth where fire will warm us, and harvesting hemlock and bracken fern so that even on the wettest of days we might call in fire.
Read MoreSeptember 22, 2023
We shared such a sweet and sunny first day together on the autumn equinox!
During morning circle, we greeted the land in the Twulshootseed language that has been interwoven in the land/Vashon since time immemorial by saying "hello taču!" (Sounds like: touch-oh). VWP staff learned this phrase from David Turnipseed, a Puyallup tribal member and teacher for the Puyallup Tribal Language program.
Read MoreThe PNW is a haven for mushrooms; our cool and moist growing conditions mean you can find mushrooms just about anytime of year, especially in late Summer into early Fall. This is great news as mushrooms are a delicious and medicinal gift from nature. Learning to positively identify and eat wild mushrooms can be tricky business, and requires more in-depth study beyond the scope of this article. However, here is some basic information to get you started.
Read MoreDear Kids, We need your help to solve a problem: a lot of grown-ups have forgotten how to play with Nature. If you’re up for a summertime challenge, read on and learn how you can help grown-ups in your life to make new memories playing with nature! You’ll have so much fun!!
Read MoreWith fires raging throughout the PNW and the west coast in general, poor air quality can irritate and inflame our bodies in many ways. Luckily, plants abound that can help. Here are some of VWP Mentor Jane Valencia’s favorites for soothing lungs, eyes, and heart during smoky times.
Vashon Wilderness Program condemns racism and the ongoing persecution and killing of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. As a nature mentoring organization, we affirm all humans have a right to exist and thrive, and we are committed to creating community in which our human family experiences connection, belonging, respect, reciprocity and peace in kinship with each other and the natural world.
Read MoreApril 11, 2020
It is said that every being on earth has been given original instructions – a blueprint for the unfolding of their life’s purpose. Our journey as humans is to remember our original instructions and to celebrate our interconnectedness with all beings. Birds in particular, it is said, are here to lift our spirits with their song.
Read MoreMarch 17, 2020
One of the most powerful ways to connect with nature and yourself more intimately is to find a place in nature that you visit regularly – your Sit Spot. With all of your senses awakened, being in this one special place again and again and over time helps you develop keen awareness and observation skills, and a presence with all life. You begin to experience patterns and cycles in nature and understand your place in the community of all beings.
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2020
Our day today was absolutely beautiful! The rain visited us for only a short while this morning and left behind droplets of moisture glistening on the edges of leaves, leaving the impression of being surrounded by fine gemstones in the varied green woods of Island Center.
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