Nature offers important medicine for our times. Science shows that time spent in nature is essential to growing healthy brains and bodies.
OUR LAND PARTNERS
“To have a forest be my child’s classroom and adults who learn from students as much as they teach, is a rare gift. VWP provides us with the balance our child needs between their traditional school education and the learning one can only do in the imaginative wild of nature.”
Holistic learning
Nature (re)connection mentoring
at our heart
At the heart of Nature (re)Connection Mentoring is the conviction that, given the right opportunity, each of us will instinctively seek a personally meaningful relationship with the natural world. We look for - and cultivate - the magic of the moment, invite deeper engagement, and allow nature to be the ultimate teacher.
“… the future will belong to the nature-smart — those individuals, families, businesses and political and social leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world…”
~ Richard Louv
The Nature Principle
Last Child In the Woods
LEARN MORE about our annual Nature (re)Connection Mentoring Workshop on October 15th, 2023.
Core Routines
We offer many nature-based activities to cultivate sensory awareness and a way of being in and with nature. Practicing core routines not only creates new neural pathways for learning, but also opens our hearts, minds, and bodies to peaceful, reciprocal relationships with one another and the natural world.
Invisible Teaching
Humans are naturally curious, playful, inquisitive, and fun! And we love to engage the child in each of us! Playing games, getting muddy, sneaking and hiding are all natural motivators for exploration and discovery. Our experience shows that learning skills happens invisibly and effortlessly when we are are in a flow of play and experimentation.
Art of Questioning
We believe questions are more important than answers. And each person follows their own trail of learning. That’s why our role is to pay attention, ask insightful questions, help focus perceptions, inspire curiosity, and wonder and discover - together.
Trickster/Transformer
Mysterious, mischievous, and bold - “trickster” antics help us create moments of outrageous play. In this way, we capture imagination, introduce hilarity, redirect energy, and keep the flow of learning alive.
FOCUS
Following the rhythms and seasons of nature, we explore, learn powerful nature skills and practices, and embrace the diversity of the natural world:
Nature Awareness and Safety: Core routines, sensory awareness, nervous system balancing, hazards awareness, problem solving for physical and emotional safety.
Mammals and the Art of Tracking: Identifying animal tracks and sign, interpreting patterns of life, learning key survival strategies of the mammals, developing empathy, cultivate inner tracking (self-awareness).
Plants, Trees, and Ecological Principles: Direct sensory experiences with plants and trees; using field guides; honorable harvesting; making wild plant food, medicine, and tools; crafting with trees for survival.
Survival & Wilderness Living Skills: Building shelters; purifying water; creating friction fires; making objects of function and beauty from nature’s materials.
Birding and Bird Language: Moving gracefully and silently in the forest; deciphering bird vocalizations and behaviors; learning what birds tell us about how to stay safe from predators.
Natural History and Heritage: Developing powerful body-based tools for observing nature; discovering our place among the more-than-human world; learning the legacies of our local home, and honoring those who have come before us and who are still here.
Exploration of these areas of knowledge leads to a greater sense of place and confidence in the natural world, as well as a strong moral compass rooted from the inside out. From this experience and understanding, an invitation to explore personal passions and affinities arises. We encourage our students to manifest these gifts to honor themselves, and share with their communities.