Our Allies, Partners and Past Projects
Walking Water
Walking Water, Phase 3
Mono Lake ~ Owens Valley ~ Los Angeles
Walking Water is an invitation, an action, an educational journey and a prayer intended to bring together the voices of the many Peoples of the Eastern Sierra and Los Angeles watersheds through the act of walking together, following the waterways — natural and manmade — between Mono Lake and Los Angeles. It is a call for collaboration, joining together in vision and hope for water.
We are now beginning to prepare the 2nd phase of Walking Water, to take place in Fall 2016. We will begin on September 22nd at Owens Lake and walk 200 miles in 3 weeks, arriving at the Cascades in Sylmar in mid October. For much of the journey this year there will be no open bodies of water, instead following the path of the Aqueduct pipes. We have begun inviting walkers to participate and if you feel called to join then please let us know and we can send you more details. This year we will have the Harmey Bancroft Scholarship for young tribal members that we hope will support an increased participation from tribal members.
We will again look to be supported by local and other organizations who could provide food, equipment, trucks and other needed items. If you feel you could contribute in such ways then please let us know. All contributions, large or small, are very gratefully received. If you feel that you would like to be part of Walking Water but walking is not for you then get in touch – we are looking for logistics people, writers and social media people who could offer some time and skills.
http://Walking-Water.org/
Mono Lake ~ Owens Valley ~ Los Angeles
Walking Water is an invitation, an action, an educational journey and a prayer intended to bring together the voices of the many Peoples of the Eastern Sierra and Los Angeles watersheds through the act of walking together, following the waterways — natural and manmade — between Mono Lake and Los Angeles. It is a call for collaboration, joining together in vision and hope for water.
We are now beginning to prepare the 2nd phase of Walking Water, to take place in Fall 2016. We will begin on September 22nd at Owens Lake and walk 200 miles in 3 weeks, arriving at the Cascades in Sylmar in mid October. For much of the journey this year there will be no open bodies of water, instead following the path of the Aqueduct pipes. We have begun inviting walkers to participate and if you feel called to join then please let us know and we can send you more details. This year we will have the Harmey Bancroft Scholarship for young tribal members that we hope will support an increased participation from tribal members.
We will again look to be supported by local and other organizations who could provide food, equipment, trucks and other needed items. If you feel you could contribute in such ways then please let us know. All contributions, large or small, are very gratefully received. If you feel that you would like to be part of Walking Water but walking is not for you then get in touch – we are looking for logistics people, writers and social media people who could offer some time and skills.
http://Walking-Water.org/
Welcome, dear Refugees ~ Norwegian Friluftsliv with new immigrants
Welcoming, dear Refugees, to Friluftsliv - Connecting new immigrants to nature and community in a Bjørnebekk forest, Ås, Norway
Why do Norwegians spend hours in nature, even in winter, and manage to have fun? "Friluftsliv” is the Norwegian culture of spending quality time in nature to restore peace and connection. In the winter of 2016, Live Danielsen of the Norwegian Environment Agency Statens Naturoppsyn and Scott Davidson of Deep Nature Guides, in close collaboration with the Bjørnebekk immigration office and the local community in Ås, Norway, offered three days of Welcome to Friluftsliv to refugees from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Uganda. Most had recently fled war-torn homes and walked across Europe to find refuge. This project was specifically designed to:
“My tribe use to make fire like this and share stores and knowledge around the fire.”
Read more about Welcoming, dear Refugees
Why do Norwegians spend hours in nature, even in winter, and manage to have fun? "Friluftsliv” is the Norwegian culture of spending quality time in nature to restore peace and connection. In the winter of 2016, Live Danielsen of the Norwegian Environment Agency Statens Naturoppsyn and Scott Davidson of Deep Nature Guides, in close collaboration with the Bjørnebekk immigration office and the local community in Ås, Norway, offered three days of Welcome to Friluftsliv to refugees from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Uganda. Most had recently fled war-torn homes and walked across Europe to find refuge. This project was specifically designed to:
- Wholeheartedly welcome people into this new community
- Cultivate trust in community
- Introduce the local ecology and safely make fire together
- Deepen personal connection to nature
- Cook over a fire and share a meal
- Hold a safe space for everyone to share their knowledge and personal stories
“My tribe use to make fire like this and share stores and knowledge around the fire.”
Read more about Welcoming, dear Refugees
Tracking & Nature Connection Series ~ Deepening your tracking and connection journey every season
TNC Essentials: March 19, April 9, April 30, May 21 in Marin County, CA
TNC Deepening Skills: June 3-5 in Marin and Sonoma Counties, CA
There are plenty of coyotes among us, and finding tracks and signs of their lives is a treat. Have you ever tried following it's trail to learn of its habits? Have you noticed their calls and known what they were actually saying to each other? Where is the nearest coyote right now? Sure coyotes live here with us, often in surprising places, and still there's so much more to learn!
What mysteries will this Spring bring? Are you excited to know the animals who move through your land or cross the trails you haunt? Your local female deer are pregnant now - how has their behavior changed? Which birds are singing as you awaken each day, and what are they saying about you as you step outside? How can you feel supported to take time to be in nature and receive all that comes to you?
Our much-loved Tracking and Nature Connection Series begins this Spring on March 19th in the wilds of West Marin county, and continues through the Deepening Skills weekend immersion June 3-5.
Registration is now open. Please join us!
Our TNC Essentials Series takes place on four Saturdays and is a thorough introduction to the art and science of tracking. This series focuses on building your foundation for relating more fully to Nature and wildlife.
Our TNC Deepening Skills Immersion takes place over a full 3-day weekend from Friday June 3rd through Sunday June 5th. This second level series empowers you to choose an area of tracking to develop and integrate into your life with intentions and goals - skilled steps on a path that draw you deeper into reciprocal relationship with nature (previous tracking experience required).
http://regenerativedesign.org/programs/tracking-and-nature-connection-series
What mysteries will this Spring bring? Are you excited to know the animals who move through your land or cross the trails you haunt? Your local female deer are pregnant now - how has their behavior changed? Which birds are singing as you awaken each day, and what are they saying about you as you step outside? How can you feel supported to take time to be in nature and receive all that comes to you?
Our much-loved Tracking and Nature Connection Series begins this Spring on March 19th in the wilds of West Marin county, and continues through the Deepening Skills weekend immersion June 3-5.
Registration is now open. Please join us!
Our TNC Essentials Series takes place on four Saturdays and is a thorough introduction to the art and science of tracking. This series focuses on building your foundation for relating more fully to Nature and wildlife.
Our TNC Deepening Skills Immersion takes place over a full 3-day weekend from Friday June 3rd through Sunday June 5th. This second level series empowers you to choose an area of tracking to develop and integrate into your life with intentions and goals - skilled steps on a path that draw you deeper into reciprocal relationship with nature (previous tracking experience required).
http://regenerativedesign.org/programs/tracking-and-nature-connection-series
Tracker Academy ~ Restoring Indigenous Knowledge in Africa
The Tracking Academy is a non-profit organisation in South Africa which trains disadvantaged rural people in the traditional skills of wildlife tracking. More than 94% of Tracker Academy graduates are permanently employed in the nature-based tourism industry of South Africa. I was honored to be a guest guide at the Tracker Academy in the Samara Game Reserve near Graaf-Reinet in Eastern Cape in Oct 2014 to guide experiences that explore possibilities in reclaiming rites of passage, wildlife tracking and ancestry.
http://www.trackeracademy.co.za/
http://www.trackeracademy.co.za/
School of Lost Borders ~ Month-long Vision Fast Guides Training
Month-long Vision Fast Guides Training - Payahuunadu and the Inyo Mountains, CA
For more than thirty-five years the School of Lost Borders has offered a unique training for students, therapists, teachers, caregivers, and guides interested in deepening their understanding and in-depth experience in the principles of the Vision Fast. Although this training has supported those who choose to creatively transform and adapt this work to a variety of professional, community and personal settings, our teachings remain rooted in the core tradition of wilderness rites of passage; namely four days and nights of fasting alone in a wilderness place, and returning with a “vision” in service to one’s community. I am honored to assist many of my own guides in this month-long training.
http://schooloflostborders.org/
For more than thirty-five years the School of Lost Borders has offered a unique training for students, therapists, teachers, caregivers, and guides interested in deepening their understanding and in-depth experience in the principles of the Vision Fast. Although this training has supported those who choose to creatively transform and adapt this work to a variety of professional, community and personal settings, our teachings remain rooted in the core tradition of wilderness rites of passage; namely four days and nights of fasting alone in a wilderness place, and returning with a “vision” in service to one’s community. I am honored to assist many of my own guides in this month-long training.
http://schooloflostborders.org/
Stepping Stones Project
The Stepping Stones Project guides and supports youth and families across the threshold from childhood into healthy adolescence through contemporary rites of passage. Stepping Stones Project addresses the developmental needs of today’s youth by providing extended group mentoring and nature based experiences, helping them to develop a strong sense of self, a solid internal compass to navigate life’s challenges, and a deep connection to nature.
http://SteppingStonesProject.org/
http://SteppingStonesProject.org/
Renew Your Creative Life
Renew Your Creative Life - January 10, 2016, in Østmarka, Sandbakken, Norway
We invite you to join us in Østmarka, Norway to reflect and renew your creative steps with Life. People have gathered together in circles for ages, to mark significant changes in life through the seasons, to share equally, intentionally and collaboratively. Please join us for a day in the forest to walk with the questions most important to you, followed by an evening inside to safely share your story and renew your creativity.
The first questions that you may want to consider are:
“When in your life do you feel most connected?"
"What interrupts your feeling of connection?"
We invite you to join us in Østmarka, Norway to reflect and renew your creative steps with Life. People have gathered together in circles for ages, to mark significant changes in life through the seasons, to share equally, intentionally and collaboratively. Please join us for a day in the forest to walk with the questions most important to you, followed by an evening inside to safely share your story and renew your creativity.
The first questions that you may want to consider are:
“When in your life do you feel most connected?"
"What interrupts your feeling of connection?"
Wilderness Guides Council ~ Annual Retreat
Wilderness Guides Council Annual Retreat
We are an international network of guides and supporters who offer wilderness fasts, rites of passage, and other healing and educational experiences in Nature. The annual gathering is intended to support and empower guides and their organizations in bringing this powerful work to the world.
http://WildernessGuidesCouncil.org/
We are an international network of guides and supporters who offer wilderness fasts, rites of passage, and other healing and educational experiences in Nature. The annual gathering is intended to support and empower guides and their organizations in bringing this powerful work to the world.
http://WildernessGuidesCouncil.org/
7th International Gathering of Wilderness Guides
6th International Gathering of Wilderness Guides - October 5-12, 2014 in Stafford Valley near Cape Town, South Africa. The 7th International Gathering will be in Germany.
Read the story and see picture here.
http://www.globalritesofpassage.org/
Read the story and see picture here.
http://www.globalritesofpassage.org/
Buckeye Gathering ~ Ancestral Arts and Technology
Art of Mentoring ~ Because it takes a village...
Anderson Valley near the Navarro River, CA - Reconnecting with our roots in community, nature and ourselves
http://8shields.com/programs/art-of-mentoring/
http://8shields.com/programs/art-of-mentoring/
Bioneers Conference ~ Revolution from the Heart of Nature
Bioneers Conference - Marin County, CA
For 25 years, the National Bioneers Conference has connected thousands of people with practical, visionary solutions for humanity's most pressing environmental and social challenges. Join us for a revolution from the heart of nature! Join Ilarion Merculieff and Sharon Shay Sloan in the Council Tent. All are welcomed.
http://conference.bioneers.org/
For 25 years, the National Bioneers Conference has connected thousands of people with practical, visionary solutions for humanity's most pressing environmental and social challenges. Join us for a revolution from the heart of nature! Join Ilarion Merculieff and Sharon Shay Sloan in the Council Tent. All are welcomed.
http://conference.bioneers.org/