Adult Programs

2013 Classes & Programs

April 5, 6, 7
Traditional Long Bow Workshop

9am - 5pm. Cost $200 plus a $75 material fee.
(for adults & ages 16+)

(Technically we are going to make self-bows, not long bows)
Have you ever picked up a stick in the woods and tied a string to it to see how it bends? Have you ever dreamed of walking softly through the woods with a wooden bow and quiver full of arrows, stalking silently toward a deer? As we can see from the popularity of characters like robin hood or ancient Japanese archers, there is a mystery and magic to having a wooden bow. Whether you would like to hunt with a tool you made yourself, or simply enjoy shooting for fun, this class will provide you with all of the basic skills you need to get started. Participants will each begin with a cured bow stave, and using tools we provide craft their own self-bow that with care can last a lifetime! Beyond this initial bow, we will also dive into resources and finishing touches that can with practice elevate your bowmaking into the highest art form. This class is appropriate for anyone over the age of 16, but is not for those who lack patience or dedication. Bowmaking is an easily learned and satisfying art, but requires attention to detail and dedication to produce great results. Over the two days we will cover wood selection, harvesting and curing, tools and techniques for shaping and crafting, bow design and psychics, and making strings, arrows, basic shooting techniques and accessories.

Taught by instructor Matt Bukowski.

April 20 - 21
Father/Son Weekend

Saturday 9am - Sunday 11am. Cost $175 (includes father and son age 6+, each additional child $50)

Come spend this special weekend in the woods together. We will spend time around the fire, telling stories, learning new crafts, and eating good food cooked over the campfire. This weekend is set up with choices for fathers and their sons to choose from- spoon making, bowdrill fire making, throwing sticks, archery and more. This is an opportunity for fathers and their sons to have a relaxing time in the woods, work on activities together, laugh, eat, and enjoy the peace of the woods with us. Besides a great weekend of fun, leave with new skills you can utilize together into the future. What more could you want?

Instructors Hub Knott and Kyle Scaggs.
Please fill out 1 registration form per family with all participants name and age listed, and 1 medical form per person.

April 20 - 21
Mother/Daughter Weekend

Saturday 9am - Sunday 11am. Cost $175 (includes mother and daughter age 6+, each additional child $65)

Come spend a magical weekend with your daughter immersed in the beautiful Virginia countryside with a winding river! We will connect with the natural world, cook over the fire, make wild edible teas, weave stories of mother-hood, daughter-hood throughout our day and spend special time together. Mothers and daughters will get to know local wild medicinal and edible plants, forgage, wildcraft, eat and make herbal medicines that will help keep the family healthy and learn the art of campfire cooking. Oh how yummy and tasty food is when cooked over the fire. Sure to make memories that last a lifetime.

Instructor: Kate Knott and Suzanna Stone.
Please fill out 1 registration form per family with all participants name and age listed, and 1 medical form per person.

April 27, 28
Bird Language Weekend

Saturday 9am to Sunday 3pm. Cost $170

Do you really want to know what is going on out there in the woods, or even your backyard? Wouldn’t you like to know? Yes, we all know the birds go about their daily life of feeding, preening, defending habitat, etc...but you would be shocked at all they could tell you!! Bird Language will open you up to another world.

The birds are the eyes of the land. Beyond their beautiful songs, they tell each other where the predators (hawks, foxes, cats, etc…) are hiding or moving, they indicate if all is safe, they even tell each other that we are there and if we are a threat. Why? There lives depend on it. The gift of all this is that we can tap into that inter-species communication and discover a world formerly hidden to us. We can use their communications to learn the fox is approaching before we see it (or even miss it), if it is hunting or returning to its den, that a hawk is sitting in a tree nearby, and they can even tell us that a human is coming down the trail.

How will this help you? This ancient skill of bird language, that kept our ancestors alive and thriving, will enrich your life in surprising and very practical ways. This class will tune your senses, slow you down to become more aware of your surroundings and what is Really going on out there… You can learn to move without creating a disturbance. It will blow your mind at how rich the world around us really is, in a way that you can actually experience. As you tap into this native intelligence, nature will become a mirror.

In this weekend class, you will learn the 5 voices of the birds, and the various “shapes” that will help us interpret what is going on around us. These “shapes” hold true wherever you go on earth. We will sit on the land, observe, map, ask questions, and piece together what is going on around us. The benefit of the group environment is that it’s the fastest way to learn bird language.

This class is appropriate for birders (of all levels), wildlife trackers, nature enthusiasts, outdoor educators, hunters, or anyone that is curious.

The seminal book by Jon Young What the Robin Knows recently brought this language of the birds to the national stage. Jon’s book has captured the attention of national bird organizations, and nature lovers alike. We have mentored with Jon for over 15 years, and are glad to bring this class to central Virginia. It will deepen your relationship with the earth and change the way you use your senses.

May 4
Animal Tracking Essentials

9 - 4pm. Cost: $50
(for adults & ages 12+)

Tracking is considered the first science. Its importance was paramount to our ancestors survival. A native trackers understanding of the landscape and its animals is unparalleled, even by our best scientist. Tracking will greatly increase your awareness and relationship with our wild allies. Though wild animals are not often seen, they leave so much (like tracks, scat, rubs, trails, etc...) for us to identify and interpret. It goes so much beyond who left the track. The Art of Questioning, that I will teach you, will help in interpreting the stories the animals leave behind. It will reveal the influences of the landscape and other animals. It will help you see through the animals eyes.

Discover wildlife tracks and sign, and learn to interpret the stories that they tell. This workshop offers "tools" that will enhance your skills as a wildlife tracker. Topics will be addressed as we encounter them in the field, but they will most likely include: identifying species from tracks, scat, feeding signs, and other markings, interpreting behavior from track patterns, and understanding interactions between an animal and its environment. The workshop is open to all skill levels.

Hub Knott has thousands of hours of journaling and interpreting track and sign over the past 16 years. He has been teaching tracking for 10 years for the LES, Ivy Creek Natural area, many national gatherings, and the Virginia Master Naturalists. He is certified Level III in track and sign by Cybertracker Conservation (an international tracking evaluation system). He has studied with many well known trackers from around North America.

Please fill out the adult registration form, no medical form needed.

May 11
Tree I.D.~ Learning the Trees in Your Backyard
Advanced Class: Useful Trees and Reading the Landscape

Part one: 9am-12pm Part two: 1pm-4pm.
Held at our Afton basecamp. Cost $20 per session or $35.

This is a two-part class beginning in the morning with basic tree identification--focusing on the most common trees you might find in your everyday life. This is a great opportunity to become more familiar with the trees in your backyard, or in your local park, even the trees you might see on your way to work. You will also gain an understanding of how to use field guides and dichotomous keys to identify trees.

The second part of the class will go deeper into both human and ecological uses of these trees, how they fit into landscape patterns, and begin to understand the significance of individual characteristics of trees. This class can be a great complement to part one, or perhaps a way to push your edges in your relationship to your landscape.

May 17, 18, 19
The Power of Mentoring

Friday 7pm to Sun. 3pm.
Cost: Adults $195 / Kids (age 5-15) $100.
Kid's program is for children of adults attending the workshop.

Come learn some of the most valuable mentoring techniques to be found. Our mentoring model is rooted in the heart of nature. It facilitates deep connection to nature, personal growth and community. This ancient practice has been around since humans have walked on earth, it is how we are designe to learn. In recent times this powerful practice has been fading in our technological age. And it has come with a serious loss to true connection.

The mentor facilitates a powerful heart-centered journey of growth and discovery for the student. It values long term relationships over short term ones. It centers around the students passions, hands-on experience, figuring things out for oneself, walking to the edge of ones comforts, and the transitions periods of ones life. It encourages them to step fully into their life, to take personal responsibility for it, and to work from a place of selflessness.

If done well, it is almost invisible. The student feels as if they are discovering and achieving all on their own. From this, the student learns their personal gifts, gains an expanded senses of self, their genius arises, and the fertile ground is set where vision can come forth.

But this all does not happen by accident. On the ground, it appears free form, yet it is intentionally facilitated. It all stems from connecting with the heart. The mentor discovers the student’s passions, fears, anxieties, the stories they live by, gaps in awareness, and areas they will take risks in. The mentor looks to see what they don’t see and aims to get them to see beyond what they think is possible, and reach beyond it.

In this weekend you will learn:

The Art of questioning- where endless learning and curiosity are birthed
The Cycles of learning- where the secrets to the net step are embedded
Power of immersion and experience
What tools they have, what tools they need
How to capture and harvest learning moments
7 Indicators- a way to profile effective mentoring
and more….

This weekend will be highly experiential, hands on, with some really productive discussions that will help us all become better mentors, to inspire the next generation to live more fully.

June 7, 8, 9
Living With the Land- The Art of Wilderness Survival

Friday at 7pm to Sunday 3pm. Cost $175.
(for adults & ages 14+)

Come learn the skills of survival. These skills will deepen your connection to the earth, and yourself. We have found that these skills carry over into so many aspects of ones life. We have taught hundreds people these skills, and many have said it has changed their perspective, increased their confidence, and steered them more towards their purpose. Wilderness survival opens a doorway to a deeper understanding of nature, builds connections, and understanding of the meaning of life. There is an ancient wisdom to selecting priorities when one finds them selves in a “situation”. There is a mindset that goes along with it. These simple factors, determine who lives and who dies (or at least suffers unnecessarily).

This weekend, you will learn about shelters, fire making, wild foods, water, tools, and the survival mentality. You will make your own bowdrill fire, help build a debris hut, cook wild foods over the open fire and more. This class is very hands-on, as that is the best way to learn. We will share stories of our survival trips, so you can learn from our experience. These skills, well known to our ancestors, help us provide for our most basic human needs. We will provide great food, mostly organic, and a lot of laughs.

Years ago, we (Kate and Hub) adventured out into the wilderness of Hiada Gwaii, along the awesomely wild coast of northern British Columbia. We took our hand-made Kayaks, and a few other modern conveniences. We adventured every day, gathering food in the deep old growth forest, fishing below Bald Eagles, making fire from the resources at hand, soaking in hot springs, and more. As experience has shown us, when one is living deep in the wilderness, unplanned surprises come up, sometimes life threatening. These moments test ones physical skills and mental resolve, and add an inherent fuel to life.

Bow Making