Adult Programs

2012 Classes & Programs

March 31, April 28, May 12, & June 2
Adult Nature Connection Series

Do you want to be more connected to the earth and your place in it? Come join part in a 4 weekend series that gives you the skills and experience, through guided mentoring, to rekindle your connection with the earth. Earth-bound cultures have an incredible knowledge of place, and it is not random how they develop this sense of place. It is learned overtime by core routines and careful mentoring that develop strong connections. This sense informs everything they do and shapes who they are. We have found that those who connect with nature also take a journey to the heart. This allows us to become more fully alive, inquisitive, self-sufficient, compassionate, and to walk with a quiet center. Who wouldn’t want this?

This is our core adult training program. This 4 weekend mentoring intensive for adults will cover our core curriculum including- plants, animals, survival skills, bird language, peace principles, silent movement and more. We will practice the core routines that help deepen our understanding of place and our part in it. This class is perfect for teachers, parents, and anyone wanting to deepen their relationship with nature. We will meet one Saturday a month from 9-5pm.

March 31
Skills Around the Fire

For millenia the fire has been a central gathering place for people to craft, share stories, cook good food, repair tools, and practice skills. Come gather around the fire with the Living Earth School to share a full day of skills, crafts, stories, and food cooked over the fire. Projects planned for the day include spoon carving, knife sharpening, fire building, and open fire cooking--however, additional skills and crafts are welcomed depending on the interest and passions of the group. We welcome all young adults and adults to the central fire, where skills, stories, and community are crafted with care.
11am & into the evening. Cost $50

April 14 - 15
Father/Son Weekend - the Skills of the Hunter/Gatherer

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

Sat 9 am- Sun 11am $165 (includes father and son age 6+, each additional child $50)
Please fill out 1 registration form per family with all participants name and age listed, and 1 medical form per person.

April 28
Wild Edible Plants- Forage the Abundance

This class will open up the world of the hundreds of local foods that are native to our home here in central Virginia. We are surrounded by such an abundance of green plant allies that are packed with flavor, nutrition, and beauty. If we care for them, they will continue to be abundant into the future. Add a little local flavor to your meals, connect with the earth in a more intimate way. Learn to identify, harvest and "Look 'em", caretake and prepare them into delicious meals.

Located in Afton, 10am - 4pm, $50
(for adults & ages 12+)

April 28 & May 5
Traditional Long Bow Workshop

(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 13, 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 three 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.
9am-4pm, cost $200.

May 3
Huarache Sandal Making (Barefoot running sandal)

Huaraches were made famous by the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Come learn more about the importance of barefoot movement and running. Huaraches are worn by the Tarahumara people of Mexico, who were known to run 100+ miles through rough terrain in these shoes. In this class you will make your own huarache or barefoot running sandal to wear and enjoy. Each shoe is made with a thin vibram sole, is durable, stylie and great for feeling the earth beneath your feet, while having protection. These shoes are amazing and they are all Kate wants to wear on her feet. No need to be a runner to wear these shoes, anyone who wants to walk with more awareness will love these. Though feel free to run 100 miles if you choose.

6 - 8:30pm, $45

May 5
Skills around the Fire: Making the fire

Humans have had deep relationship and understanding of fire since the beginning, it is what made us human. Our ancestors used fire to cook food, purify water, make tools, heat their homes, and as a center place for stories and ceremony. Fire is at the center of our universe- the sun, in the center of the earth, the center of earth-based communities-the hearth, and the center of our body- the heart. Everyone had an intimate relationship with fire, as it was a part of daily life.

Come rekindle your connection with fire. In this daylong workshop, you will learn how to competently build a fire, make a bowdrill fire kit (fire by friction), and learn other techniques for a matchless fires. You will leave with the skills to confidently build a fire, so you can spend lots of restorative time around a campfire.

$50 Saturday Afton base camp
(for adults & ages 12+)

May 10
Poplar Bark Bucket Workshop

This is part of our evening series of classes. A timeless Appalachian skill that is useful, easily made from local materials, is aesthitcally beautiful, and relatively easy to make. Come make your own poplar bark bucket out of the bark of a tulip poplar tree. You will learn tree selection, peeling, preparation and making of the bucket/basket. You will leave with your own poplar bucket and have the skills to make many more.

5:30 - 9:00pm, Charlottesville, $35

May 12
Animal Tracking Essentials

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.

Age: 12+, 9-4pm, Cost: $50
Please fill out the adult registration form, no medical form needed.

May 19 - 20
Mother/Daughter Weekend

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.

Instructor: Kate Knott and Suzanna Stone

Sat 9am - Sun 11am, $175 (includes mother and daughter age 6+, each additional child $65)
Please fill out 1 registration form per family with all participants name and age listed, and 1 medical form per person.

June 9
Flint Knapping- Turning Stone into Tools

In this class you will learn everything you need to make arrowheads, spear points, axes, drill bits and many other tools. We will also cover where, what and how to gather materials, and each person will have the opportunity to make their very own arrowhead! Materials and tool use is included in the course fee, additional materials will be available for purchase.
Taught by instructor Matt Bukowski.
9am-4pm, cost $50.

Nature camp instructors