Wilderness Resources

Wilderness Guides and Teachers

Asklepia Foundation 

Graywolf/Fred Swinney P.O. Box 301 Wilderville, OR 97543 (541)476-0492

Asklepia is a nonprofit educational and service association that provides opportunities to experience natural heeding and creative consciousness processes in wilderness settings. It is located in a remote corner of southwestern Oregon.

Brooke Medicine-Eagle 

PMB C401 One 2nd Avenue East Poison, MT 59860 (406) 883-4686

www.medicineeagle.com

Wakantia trainings, created by Brooke Medicine-Eagle, are geared toward the realization of our roles as caretakers of our sacred home, Mother Earth. These trainings are meant to create groups of dedicated people who work together over time toward the next level of being human. These five- to ten-day trainings will be spent singing, dancing, hiking, praying, and vision questing. Both men and women are invited to join. These trainings will be held yearly in beautiful Montana and also in other wonderful places around the country. Brooke also conducts workshops and seminars internationally, and has Native American music/ teaching/womens mysteries cassettes and videos available.

The Earthen Spirituality Project 

Jesse Wolf Hardin, Director P.O. Box 516 Reserve, NM 87830 earthway@concentric.net  www.concentric.net/~earthway

The Earthen Spirituality Project serves as an educational networking tool for the furtherance of Earth-centered spirituality, environmental ethics, primal perception, mindfulness/awareness techniques, and unique contemporary practice. Programs include personal counsel, healing quests, wilderness retreats, and resident internships in the enchanted river canyons of New Mexico’s wild Gila—with medicine sweats, mindful tracking, primitive camping and conscious wildcrafting. Special empowering programs for women are offered under the guidance of facilitator Loba, and insightful apprentice Scot Deily leads walking quests and alternative building workshops. Wolfs counsel serves as a unique reality check, furthering the participants' reinhabitation of sentient body, inspirited place, and the intensify of present time,

Earthways 

Steven Harper 

P.O. Box 303 Big Sur, CA 93920

https://earthwaysllc.com 

Doug Elliott 

3831 Painters Gap Road Union Mills, NC 28167 (828) 287-2960 www.dougelliott.com

Doug Elliott is a naturalist, herbalist, storyteller, and musician. For more than two decades, he has traveled from the Canadian North to Central American jungles studying plant and animal life, as well as the wisdom of traditional peoples. He gives storytellings, concerts, and lectures, and leads basketry/fiber arts and woods lore workshops in natural settings. His books Wildwoode WUdom and Wild Rooty and his cassette Crawdade, Doodlebugs and Creaky Greene: Songs Storiee and Lore Celebrating the Natural World may be obtained through the above address.

Esalen Institute 

Big Sur, CA 93920 (408) 667-3000

Steven (the coordinator of Esalen Institute s Staff Education and Wilderness Programs), along with other qualified individuals, offers a wide variety of wilderness workshops and retreats such as: The Way of Wilderness, Contemplation and Nature, Big Sur Wilderness Experiences for Families, and Path of the Riven A Grand Canyon Journey throughout the year. The trips range in length from one weekend to two weeks and offer a mix of movement exercises, writing, meditation, and hiking.

Janet Lowe 

P.O. Box 47 Moab, UT 84632

Janet is available for creative writing workshops or campfire programs designed to connect people with the landscape through writing. She has taught poetiy to people ranging in age from junior high school students to senior citizens.

John Miles

Huxley College of Environmental Studies Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 650-3284

John provides consulting services for those who would like to explore incorporating wilderness education experiences into their curricula at any academic level from elementary through higher education. He also assists groups in identifying how they can "use the wilderness and have it, too" by reducing the unavoidable physical and social impacts on the wilderness.

Sacred Passage & The Way of Nature Fellowship

John Milton, P.O. Drawer CZ, Bisbee, AZ 85603, (877) 818-1881, 

officemanager@sacredpassage.com , www.sacredpassage.com

Sacred Passage wilderness programs, with John Milton, are available on a regular basis in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, West Virginia, Nepal, Tibet, Bali, New Zealand, and Baja, Mexico. The programs last twelve days, six of which are spent alone in the wilderness, with several days before and after the solo for preparation and integration of this experience. Deep ecology, specific forms of meditation and awareness training, camping, and safety skills are taught as part of the training. Awareness trainings can be up to a year long with solos up to three months long.

Sarah West 

is a therapist, wilderness guide, writer, artist, and naturalist, living in the wild beauty of Moab, Utah.
Her work bridges several disciplines, weaving together trauma healing, somatic therapy, soul work, mindfulness, nature therapy, shadow work, depth psychology, wilderness vigils, and expressive arts healing.Sarah's academic background in anthropology, archaeology, and human evolutionary ecology, along with her immersion in indigenous wisdom traditions, contributes to the depth of her work.
To see Sarah's artist website, please visit: www.sarahwestfineart.com

Sustainable Living Associates

Elan Shapiro

EcoVillage at Ithaca, 124 Rachel Carson Way, Ithaca, NY 14850, (607) 275-0249

Elan Shapiro, an ecopsychology educator and naturalist, teaches unique means of reconnecting human beings to the natural world by linking sustainable living skills and projects with psycho-spiritual practices and multicultural healing modalities. He offers courses, trainings for educators and health professionals, and private sessions.

Way of Mountain Learning Center 

Dolores LaChapelle, Box 542, Silverton, CO 81433 (970) 387-5729

Dolores LaChapelle runs the Way of Mountain Learning Center and offers workshops high up in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Through the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, she offers a deep ecology workshop, which takes people into infrequently traveled places in the West Elk Mountains, where they chant, drum, and do ritual.

Wilderness Rites

Anne Stine, M.A., MFT

12S7 Siskiyou Blvd., #1172, Ashland, OR 97520, (415) 457-3691

astine@wildernessrites.com

www.wildernessrites .com

Wilderness Rites, founded by Anne Stine, offers vision quests and nature-based therapy, integrating psychology and wilderness experience with various forms of earth- based healing practices, three to ten days in length, for groups and individuals. Her programs take place in the deserts of California, Oregon, and Colorado. Anne's programs in ecopsychology have been offered at the California Institute for Integral Studies and in the graduate program in depth psychology at Sonoma State University.

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Institutes for Wilderness Education or Training

The Association for Experiential Education 

2305 Canyon Boulevard Suite 100

Boulder, CO 80302-5651 (303) 440-8844

The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a not-for-profit, international, professional organization with roots in adventure education, committed to the development, practice, and evaluation of experiential learning in all settings. AEE serves as a clearinghouse connecting people with various alternative outdoor programs, primarily located in the United States. The association publishes more than ten titles including The Jobs Clearing House, The Journal of Experiential Education, and numerous directories.

Audubon Expedition Institute (AEI)

P.O. Box 365 Belfast, ME 04915 (888) 287-2234

The Audubon Expedition Institute is an accredited undergraduate and graduate program in which there is no traditional campus. Our catnpus encompasses the entire United States, as well as other countries such as Nepal, Mexico, and Canada. Students travel in buses, live and learn in the outdoors, sleeping outside, taking courses, and immersing themselves in the ecological, political, and cultural issues of the region they are studying.

The Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit 

18679 W. 60th Avenue Golden, CO 80403

Elias Amidon and Elizabeth Roberts codirect the Boulder Institute for Nature and the Human Spirit, through which they conduct wilderness quests in the Utah Canyon lands, as well as a range of "Spirit in Action” programs around the world dedicated to training environmental activists, supporting the land rights of indigenous peoples, and other peacemaking initiatives.

Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Park Center

SUNY Cortland 

P.O. Box 2000 Cortland, NY 13045 

(607) 753-4971 www.cortland. edu/ceo/

The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a nonprofit network of businesses, educational institutions, conservation and recreation organizations, nature centers, associations, and agencies cooperating in support of educating in, for, and about the outdoors. The coalition's main publications consist of its critically acclaimed

Taproot magazine and biennial Outdoor Education Research Symposium Proceedings.

The Institute for Deep Ecology Education 

P.O. Box 1050 Occidental, CA 95466 (707) 874-2347

The Institute for Deep Ecology Education (IDEE) is a nonprofit project of the Tides Foundation. Elias Amidon is the president and Elizabeth Roberts is aboard member. The institute sponsors regional and national trainings, consults on deep ecology curriculum and programs, and works to build coalitions among educators, activists, and others involved in this work. Its goal is to bring the deep ecol- ogy perspective to the environmental debates of our time.

The Institute for Earth Education 

Cedar Cove

Greenville, WV 24945-0115 (604) 832-6404

The Institute for Earth Education is an international nonprofit organization committed to bringing about earth education programs throughout our world with an

emphasis on being in harmony with the earth. IEE offers workshops and conferences in addition to publishing the Talking Leaved journal, books, and program materials.

North Cascades Institute

Saul Weisberg, Executive Director

810 State Route 20

Sedro Wooley, WA 98284

(360) 856-5700 ext. 209

(360) 856-1934 (fax)

nci@ncascades.org

http://ncascades.org

North Cascades Institute is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated' to increasing understanding and appreciation of the natural, historical, and cultural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. The institute s focus is on experiential environmental education for children and adults. The Institute offers year-round educational programs for schools, as well as field seminars, workshops, teacher trainings, conferences, curriculum development, and publications.

Prescott College 

220 Grove Avenue Prescott, AZ 86301 (928) 778-2090
https://prescott.edu 

Prescott College promotes ecological literacy in the context of an experiential, liberal arts curriculum. Based in the mountains of central Arizona, it offers both resident and distance learning opportunities.

Project Nature Connect 

Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D.

P.O.Box 4112 Roche Harbor, WA 98250 (360) 378-6313 

https://projectnatureconnect.com

Project NatureConnect, run by Michael Cohen, offers hands-on workshops, training programs, and applied eeopsychology methods for connecting with nature. The project helps people develop cognitive and sensoiy skills for environmental and social literacy.

The School of Lost Borders 

Steven Foster and Meredith Little P.O. Box 55 Big Pine, CA 93513

https://schooloflostborders.org 

The School of Lost Borders, run and founded by Steven Foster and Meredith Little, prepares and trains candidates who are or wish to become, in the initiatoiy sense,

ecological psychologists. The training offers a mixture of self-iiudated ceremonies, fasting, exposure to nature, solitude, personal myth systems, deep ecology, traceless camping, wilderness first-aid and safety procedures, and, above all, self-study. Seminars include Vision Fast Training, The Psychodynamics of Mirroring, The Rites of Survival, Advanced Four Shield Seminar, and Consultation and Ongoing Training.

Sierra Institute

P.O. Box 11, 4438 Main Street Taylorsville, CA 95983

1101 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (831) 427-6618 sierrai@ucsc-extension.edu

https://sierrainstitute.us 

The Sierra Institute is an interdisciplinaiy field school providing environmental studies programs in ecology, natural history, nature philosophy, nature writing, natural areas management, and related subjects. Courses grant transferable college credit and are taught entirely on backpacking trips.

The Tracking Project 

P.O. Box 266 Corrales, NM 87048 (505) 898-6967

office@thetrackingproject.org  https://thetrackingproject.org 

The Tracking Project, run by John Stokes, is a nonprofit community education organization that teaches natural and cultural awareness through the Arid of Life— traditional tracking/awareness and survival skills, music, stoiytelling, dance, and martial arts training. Since 1986, the project team of native elders, artists, and educators has worked with nearly one hundred thousand people in the United States and around the world.

Upaya Zen Center 

Joan Halifax 1404 Cerro Gordo Road Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 986-8518 https://www.upaya.org 

Upaya, founded by Joan Halifax, is a contemplative Zen center with an emphasis on mindfulness practice. It offers programs in wilderness solitude practice, mountain-walking retreats, cultural retreats, and other contemplative activities that introduce individuals into the natural world.

Wilderness Institute 

School of Forestry University of Montana Missoula] MT 59812 (405) 243-6936

wi@cfc.umt.edu 

https://www.umt.edu/wilderness-institute/ 

The Wilderness Institute offers the Wilderness and Civilization program, an interdisciplinary wilderness studies program that explores wilderness and the human- nature relationship. Program courses approach wilderness from a variety of disciplines, including recreation management, ecology, literature, Native American studies, economics, and fine arts. Two extended backcountry trips and fieldwork complement on-campus learning with hands-on experiential education. This program offers students an understanding of wilderness values, policies, and issues. Courses also focus on land ethics and personal connection with the natural world. Upon completion of the program students receive a minor in Wilderness Studies.

Environmental and Political Action Organizations

Earth and Spirit Council 

6200 SW Virginia, Suite 210 Portland, OR 97201 (503) 452-4483

info@earthandspirit.org https://earthandspiritcouncil.wordpress.com 

The mission of this Portland-based organization is to reawaken our spiritual connection to the earth and engage ourselves and others in earth-conscious living.

Interspecies 

Jim Nollman

301 Hidden Meadow Lane Friday Harbor, WA 98250 https://www.facebook.com/JimMNollman/ 

Interspecies, founded in 1978, researches and promotes a better understanding of what is communicated between human beings and .other animals (especially dolphins and whales) through music, art, and ceremony with a strong emphasis on environmental preservation. The work functions primarily to help people reestablish their emotional, spiritual, and cultural ties with the natural world. Interspecies sells Jim Nollman s book, The Man Who Talk* to Whale*, his cassette, Orcas Greatest Hits, and a video, Orcananda. The organization also produces the quarterly Interspecie* Newsletter, articles, book reviews, and information about projects around the world.

Planet Drum Foundation 

Box 31251

San Francisco, CA 94131 Shasta Bioregion (415) 285-6556 (415) 285-6563 (fax)

planetdrum@lgc.org

www.planetdrum.org

Planet Drum Foundation provides an effective bioregional, grassroots approach to ecology that emphasizes sustainability, community self-determination, and regional self-reliance. Planet Drum also has developed and continues to promote the concept of a bioregion, a distinct area with coherent and interconnected plant and animal communities, often defined by a watershed. The foundation publishes A Green City Program for the San Francisco Bay Area arid Beyond, Reinhabiting a Separate Country: A Bioregional Anthology of Northern California, and other titles. Memberships cost $25 per year within North America, $30 elsewhere, and include the biannual newsletter, Planet Drum Pulse.

Rainforest Information Centre 

John Seed 

Box 368 Lismore, NSW 2480 Australia

066-213294 (011-61-2-66213294 from the U.S.) https://www.rainforestinformationcentre.org 

The Rainforest Information Centre, formed in 1981, has produced World Rainforest Report since 1984 and is responsible for a number of rain forest conservation projects from Ecuador to New Guinea, and beyond.

Siskiyou Regional Education Project 

P.O. Box 220

Cave Junction, OR 97523 (503) 592-4459

Lou Gold helped found this grassroots organization that advocates protection of ancient forests and provides people with information about the complexity, richness, and potential threats to these forests. A newsletter on this subject is routinely published.