Roots of Learning

     Roots of learning is a course designed to bring our children into deep intimate relationships with the environment and the animals who are so greatly effected by our lifestyle choices. Through exploration, story telling and skills based games, the children learn how to co-exist and interact in positive ways with the natural world. All this while having a lot of fun and learning ancient ways of survival.

Skills include: tracking, primitive tools and shelters, poisonous and edible wild plants, forest ecology, and animal relationships.

We break it up into three age groups that each meet once a week for an 8 week session in the spring and fall.

Red Efts-ages 6-8

     Here, we basically romp through the woods, exploring and adventuring. The main focus being the childrens’ own creativity, imagination and curiosity. This helps develop a comfort and confidence that will aid them in all aspects of their lives.

Weasel Tracks ages 9-12

     At this age we start to focus more on skills. While keeping it fun and light, core survival skills are learned through games and challenges. Comfort zones are expanded and an emphasis being able to focus when necessary is encouraged.

Gray Fox Clan ages 13-17

      At this time, great care is put into honing skills and these young adults now get encouraged to push on their comfort zones themselves. Attention is given to the transition from child to adult that the participants are going through. At this age, we like to prepare them for the challenges and responsibilities of Rites of Passage ceremonies. These ceremonies are essential to the health, vitality and integrity of all indigenous cultures. Only in our modern western culture have we let these important transitions slip into obscurity. This leaves many of our youths at great risk and unable to cope with the changes they are going through. All family members are integral to the success of these rites. Any such ceremonies created through our programs include in-depth  discussions with all participants to insure that everyone understands the intentions that are put forth at this time.

        Pre-registration is requested for any Roots of Learning program and includes a full 8 week session. Cost- A sliding scale tuition from$200-$360 per session. You decide what is affordable and sibling discounts are available.

Boys Rites of Passage
  This is the culmination of the Roots of Learning. A native ritual brought to us by a member of the Odawa People of the Michigan area. It is intended to prepare and welcome the boys into their next stage of life in which they will fill a new role in the community with new privileges and responsibilities not as boys, but as young men. this age old tradition is a three year commitment that includes a 24 hour solo experience, Elder mentoring and a community celebration. 
   Every culture around the world, since the dawn of man, has  had this as a part of their life ways. It  is only in our modern industrialized lifestyle that we have neglected  these important transitions. Our intentions are to re- establish this practice in our time.

Going Native ’Reclaiming our Past’

       In “Going Native, Reclaiming our Past” participants will be
 re-introduced to this way of life through a series of weekend emersion experiences. Sleeping under the stars, wandering the landscape and following in the footsteps of the local wildlife, we will be experiencing the world the way forest animals do. The way our ancestors did. And the way some peoples around the world still do today. We’ll meet once per season for an overnight. The focus will be awareness skills and animal tracking, but will also include some basic primitive survival techniques, crafts, and living skills. We will also delve into the ancient art of story telling and how that relates to our survival both in the woods and in the modern world.

     Pre-registration is requested and can be made for individual sessions or all of them. Cost- $100 per session or $375 for full course
 

Apprenticeships 
      We offer a residential apprenticeship program that is full of unique, life enriching experiences. Apprentices live in a large lake house that was a Bed and Breakfast in former times. Today, it serves as our community retreat  and overnight get-away spot for the teachers and children of the Albany Free School. It’s beautiful location on a small private lake makes it a great dormitory for our apprentices as well. The program activities include:
-At least one day per week working on primitive living skills with instruction (i.e. tracking, shelters, food gathering, tools and crafts, hide preparation and more)

- Participation in all children’s and adult programs

- Interaction with the Albany Free School ( a chance to see, in action, one of the oldest functioning democratically run Free Schools in the country!)

- One on One Mentoring

- Participation in planning, visioning and implementing Permaculture design techniques in gardening, building and maintenance

- Maintenance of old and creation of new trails on the 230 acres of land that we call home

- Participation in and discussions on core cultural practices used around the world for thousands of years and how to integrate them into our lives everyday  

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