Mentoring Through the Seasons Series: An Adult Nature Connection Group
2022/23 Dates:
Fall: Nov 5-7
Winter: Jan 7-8
Spring: March 18-19 & April 29-30
Summer: early June
Description
This is a chance for adults to connect to themselves and with other adults in a facilitated nature connection experience. We get to unwind and leave with a deeper sense of connection and renewal to ourselves, our paths, our community, and the land around us. You can think of this as a combination of personal growth, learning on many levels, professional development, and enhancing sense of well-being. How do we do this? We engage in a wide variety of practices that support us in connecting with ourselves, connecting with each other, and connecting with the land.
More specifically what some of this may look like......We may learn fire by friction and cook over the fire, we may sit around that fire and share stories, we might go out tracking, we might go on a solo wander, we will definitely play games (all abilities welcome), we might map out the landscape and begin to interpret the language of the birds, we may learn about edible and medicinal plants and how to harvest them with care, we may even turn some of those plants into cordage, there will surely be fun and laughter.....come find out what exactly will take place! If you are interested please email us at [email protected].
We have 5 pathways. This year we will be offering the 1st pathway plus for anyone who has done the 1st pathway we are offering the Acorn training (more on this below). You must complete the prior pathways before moving on to the next one. Each year deepens upon the previous.
1. Mentoring Basics & Nature Connection Core Routines
2. Acorn Training
3. Acorn 2
4. Dirt time : Naturalist Skill & Knowledge training
5. Ancestral Arts & Crafts
Who is this for
Any adult who wishes to bring deeper connection into their lives, their family, their work place, and/or their community. This was previously known as the facilitator/mentor training. It is still very much this, and we also have realized that for many folks it ends up being time to get outdoors to slow down, to be nourished and rejuvenated, to connect and listen to yourself, sit and share in a circle of others doing the same, and connect more deeply with nature. You do not have to be a teacher or facilitator of any sort to join this. For those who join us who want to bring Nature Connection into their workplace, there will still be didactic components to talk about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how to integrate it into your home and work lives.
While this is for adults, be ready to let yourself be childlike for big chunks of time this week as you engage with a whole bunch of our favorite activities. Through a carefully orchestrated mashup of gratitude, songs, games, primitive skills, survival skills, tracking, wandering, special awareness activities, team building, storytelling, council, and more. We'll experience slowing down and syncing into the rhythms of nature. We will spend time discussing the mind of the mentor (how decisions are made, what observations led to what activities/decisions, how to plan a Nature Connection experience, Q&A, and more). We expect to have fun, and be tired and smiling at the end of each day with you!
The Acorn Training
This is for anyone who has completed year 1 of The Mentoring Through the Seasons with us. This includes those who attended in 19/20 and Spring was cancelled due to Covid. This is a model for creating connective containers....containers which support deepening connection to all aspects of life. This model can be used at events, in programs, and ideally ripples naturally out into our communities. We put this training under the umbrella of cultural repair. Imagine attending an event where a team of folks were looking out for the needs of all those attending......comfort, beauty, warmth, inclusivitiy and belonging, honored for who you are and your life stage, support with your young ones, etc. Each of these folks on this team are also holding an energy of connection, like conduits, this energy is transmitted throughout the gathering. Creating a connective community container allows for people to feel safe and cared for which supports deepening connection, supports learning and growing. This can be used in a classroom of any age, at weddings, at public events, in businesses and organizations, and in day to day life, etc. This training will be didactic up front, mostly experiential (the learning is in the doing) and ongoing debriefing and processing our experiences. Up front you will learn about this model and what it entails. From that point on we will then form a team (some call an Acorn) that will then create this container for the rest of our gathering time and for those in the first track. There will be a lot of time where you get to participate in the track one activities.
"The first time I attended an event with this model, I knew I had found what I wanted to learn how to do. I could tell something really good was happening and I felt it. I felt safe, held, and cared for by people I hardly knew. This is what I wanted to create in my life and my community. I want other people to experience this depth of what is possible in connective community containers. I didnt want to leave!" - Heather Hutchinson, Co-Founder and Co-Mentor of the Adult Mentoring Through the Seasons.
Registration
Sign up for the whole year. Know that each seasonal cycle builds toward the next both with content but also group unity & connection. Currently our seasonal cycle is 3 days in the fall, 2 days in the Winter, 2 days in March, 2 days in April, and 3 days over a weekend in the summer for a total of 12 days. The dates for the 2023/24 cycle are yet to be determined.
No refunds for missed dates once the cycle begins, unless we cancel, or at our discretion in special circumstances.
22/23 Cohort is closed
To join list of interested for 23/24 please contact us at [email protected] or (608) 286-9087
Covid
Since we are outside and can easily distance, we will do this. We will not require masks to be worn when outside and more than 6 feet apart. This can always change. We will keep our awareness on what is happening and make decisions based on this. Since this is a group of adults, we will also include you in decisions. We understand that not all people feel concerned and that others do. We are working with many walks of life and would like to include those who want to be included. We will do our best to support each person in feeling safe regardless of our personal beliefs. We also know that we might not be able to meet everyone's needs around felt sense of safety. We will not require vaccination. We will require bringing masks so that we can wear them in situations that it might feel supportive. We sing! Yah! When singing we will take an extra step or two back to create a bit more space. Otherwise, expect to maintain 6 feet distance without wearing masks. We request an "ask before assuming" approach. This means that you ask if a person feels ok with a handshake or hug before just doing it, or to ask if you need to be closer than 6 feet if folks want masks to be worn. There might be an indoor space to be used for bathroom use, or severe weather. We will ask for masks to be worn when indoors if this happens. If you would like to participate and have needs other than what is mentioned here, please let us know and we will see what we can do.
Tuition
*Our Tuition is sliding scale, and payment plans are available. We ask that those who can pay more do so and that allows those who need to pay less to do so and for us to get our financial needs met. If there is a community wide reason that the session needs to be cancelled (ie Covid) then we will look at rescheduling. If the sliding scale is out of your budget, please inquire with us. We can look at bartering and exchanges like work trade. At times we have scholarship money available. We may have BIPOC reparations scholarship available as well. Please email us for more info at [email protected]
*2022/23 tuition was $1450-2100 (3 days Fall, 2 Winter, 2 March, 2 April and 3 days Summer
Contact us at [email protected] or (608) 286-9087
Past Trainings and what people have said....4 day training in June of 2017
"Not only did the Wild Harvest Facilitator Training provide me tools to work with children in nature, but it also gifted me personal enrichment far beyond practical skills. Quite unexpectedly, I experienced profound healing and transformation in just four days. This positive growth could not have occurred without the authentic, heart-felt connections I developed with the land, myself, and others as a result of Alex and Heather’s intentional facilitation. Walking away with such an invaluable gift has equipped me with the equanimity and compassion to share this work with others. After the training I felt reawakened to my life’s purpose and inspired to learn more. I would participate again and again!"
-Sarah Delany, MS OTR/L, RYT-200
"The Facilitator Training with Heather and Alex of Wild Harvest Nature Connection was pivotal in my development as an outdoor educator. Through drama, play, activities and exploration, we learned about nature and its inhabitants. I came away with ideas I could immediately implement in my work with children, as well as some big idea program changes to benefit my students. I formed new friendships and feel like I am a part of the Wild Harvest family. And best of all, it feels great to spend the entire day outside; learning, playing, and connecting."
-Weslie Cymerman, Health and Wellness teacher at Wingra School
BS in Elementary Education from UW Madison (B.S. Ed.)
Masters Certificate in Sustainability Leadership from Edgewood College
2022/23 Dates:
Fall: Nov 5-7
Winter: Jan 7-8
Spring: March 18-19 & April 29-30
Summer: early June
Description
This is a chance for adults to connect to themselves and with other adults in a facilitated nature connection experience. We get to unwind and leave with a deeper sense of connection and renewal to ourselves, our paths, our community, and the land around us. You can think of this as a combination of personal growth, learning on many levels, professional development, and enhancing sense of well-being. How do we do this? We engage in a wide variety of practices that support us in connecting with ourselves, connecting with each other, and connecting with the land.
More specifically what some of this may look like......We may learn fire by friction and cook over the fire, we may sit around that fire and share stories, we might go out tracking, we might go on a solo wander, we will definitely play games (all abilities welcome), we might map out the landscape and begin to interpret the language of the birds, we may learn about edible and medicinal plants and how to harvest them with care, we may even turn some of those plants into cordage, there will surely be fun and laughter.....come find out what exactly will take place! If you are interested please email us at [email protected].
We have 5 pathways. This year we will be offering the 1st pathway plus for anyone who has done the 1st pathway we are offering the Acorn training (more on this below). You must complete the prior pathways before moving on to the next one. Each year deepens upon the previous.
1. Mentoring Basics & Nature Connection Core Routines
2. Acorn Training
3. Acorn 2
4. Dirt time : Naturalist Skill & Knowledge training
5. Ancestral Arts & Crafts
Who is this for
Any adult who wishes to bring deeper connection into their lives, their family, their work place, and/or their community. This was previously known as the facilitator/mentor training. It is still very much this, and we also have realized that for many folks it ends up being time to get outdoors to slow down, to be nourished and rejuvenated, to connect and listen to yourself, sit and share in a circle of others doing the same, and connect more deeply with nature. You do not have to be a teacher or facilitator of any sort to join this. For those who join us who want to bring Nature Connection into their workplace, there will still be didactic components to talk about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how to integrate it into your home and work lives.
While this is for adults, be ready to let yourself be childlike for big chunks of time this week as you engage with a whole bunch of our favorite activities. Through a carefully orchestrated mashup of gratitude, songs, games, primitive skills, survival skills, tracking, wandering, special awareness activities, team building, storytelling, council, and more. We'll experience slowing down and syncing into the rhythms of nature. We will spend time discussing the mind of the mentor (how decisions are made, what observations led to what activities/decisions, how to plan a Nature Connection experience, Q&A, and more). We expect to have fun, and be tired and smiling at the end of each day with you!
The Acorn Training
This is for anyone who has completed year 1 of The Mentoring Through the Seasons with us. This includes those who attended in 19/20 and Spring was cancelled due to Covid. This is a model for creating connective containers....containers which support deepening connection to all aspects of life. This model can be used at events, in programs, and ideally ripples naturally out into our communities. We put this training under the umbrella of cultural repair. Imagine attending an event where a team of folks were looking out for the needs of all those attending......comfort, beauty, warmth, inclusivitiy and belonging, honored for who you are and your life stage, support with your young ones, etc. Each of these folks on this team are also holding an energy of connection, like conduits, this energy is transmitted throughout the gathering. Creating a connective community container allows for people to feel safe and cared for which supports deepening connection, supports learning and growing. This can be used in a classroom of any age, at weddings, at public events, in businesses and organizations, and in day to day life, etc. This training will be didactic up front, mostly experiential (the learning is in the doing) and ongoing debriefing and processing our experiences. Up front you will learn about this model and what it entails. From that point on we will then form a team (some call an Acorn) that will then create this container for the rest of our gathering time and for those in the first track. There will be a lot of time where you get to participate in the track one activities.
"The first time I attended an event with this model, I knew I had found what I wanted to learn how to do. I could tell something really good was happening and I felt it. I felt safe, held, and cared for by people I hardly knew. This is what I wanted to create in my life and my community. I want other people to experience this depth of what is possible in connective community containers. I didnt want to leave!" - Heather Hutchinson, Co-Founder and Co-Mentor of the Adult Mentoring Through the Seasons.
Registration
Sign up for the whole year. Know that each seasonal cycle builds toward the next both with content but also group unity & connection. Currently our seasonal cycle is 3 days in the fall, 2 days in the Winter, 2 days in March, 2 days in April, and 3 days over a weekend in the summer for a total of 12 days. The dates for the 2023/24 cycle are yet to be determined.
No refunds for missed dates once the cycle begins, unless we cancel, or at our discretion in special circumstances.
22/23 Cohort is closed
To join list of interested for 23/24 please contact us at [email protected] or (608) 286-9087
Covid
Since we are outside and can easily distance, we will do this. We will not require masks to be worn when outside and more than 6 feet apart. This can always change. We will keep our awareness on what is happening and make decisions based on this. Since this is a group of adults, we will also include you in decisions. We understand that not all people feel concerned and that others do. We are working with many walks of life and would like to include those who want to be included. We will do our best to support each person in feeling safe regardless of our personal beliefs. We also know that we might not be able to meet everyone's needs around felt sense of safety. We will not require vaccination. We will require bringing masks so that we can wear them in situations that it might feel supportive. We sing! Yah! When singing we will take an extra step or two back to create a bit more space. Otherwise, expect to maintain 6 feet distance without wearing masks. We request an "ask before assuming" approach. This means that you ask if a person feels ok with a handshake or hug before just doing it, or to ask if you need to be closer than 6 feet if folks want masks to be worn. There might be an indoor space to be used for bathroom use, or severe weather. We will ask for masks to be worn when indoors if this happens. If you would like to participate and have needs other than what is mentioned here, please let us know and we will see what we can do.
Tuition
*Our Tuition is sliding scale, and payment plans are available. We ask that those who can pay more do so and that allows those who need to pay less to do so and for us to get our financial needs met. If there is a community wide reason that the session needs to be cancelled (ie Covid) then we will look at rescheduling. If the sliding scale is out of your budget, please inquire with us. We can look at bartering and exchanges like work trade. At times we have scholarship money available. We may have BIPOC reparations scholarship available as well. Please email us for more info at [email protected]
*2022/23 tuition was $1450-2100 (3 days Fall, 2 Winter, 2 March, 2 April and 3 days Summer
Contact us at [email protected] or (608) 286-9087
Past Trainings and what people have said....4 day training in June of 2017
"Not only did the Wild Harvest Facilitator Training provide me tools to work with children in nature, but it also gifted me personal enrichment far beyond practical skills. Quite unexpectedly, I experienced profound healing and transformation in just four days. This positive growth could not have occurred without the authentic, heart-felt connections I developed with the land, myself, and others as a result of Alex and Heather’s intentional facilitation. Walking away with such an invaluable gift has equipped me with the equanimity and compassion to share this work with others. After the training I felt reawakened to my life’s purpose and inspired to learn more. I would participate again and again!"
-Sarah Delany, MS OTR/L, RYT-200
"The Facilitator Training with Heather and Alex of Wild Harvest Nature Connection was pivotal in my development as an outdoor educator. Through drama, play, activities and exploration, we learned about nature and its inhabitants. I came away with ideas I could immediately implement in my work with children, as well as some big idea program changes to benefit my students. I formed new friendships and feel like I am a part of the Wild Harvest family. And best of all, it feels great to spend the entire day outside; learning, playing, and connecting."
-Weslie Cymerman, Health and Wellness teacher at Wingra School
BS in Elementary Education from UW Madison (B.S. Ed.)
Masters Certificate in Sustainability Leadership from Edgewood College