Walking backwards28thApril
As a teen I once walked barefoot in my garden. Dirty feet and hands. The smell of garlic in the sun. My non-high school tenure was a three-quarter acre Eden blossoming from my parent's backyard. Every day, for all day no one told me what to do. For hours I would sit, step slowly and listen for what was coming next. Each action and movement became a conversation and correspondence with that gently sloping hill. It was not a lesson nor an assignment.
Where did I end up? One college degree later, teaching master level courses at major Universities, a social entrepreneur accomplishing things people tell me are impossible and I am also, first and foremost, a tracker. And the conversation with that hill continues. My choices are still rooted in the ecology of care for community and the wild; not money or professional success. My bottom line is family and feeding older people and babies for many generations to come. This is what waits for your teens when you let them live a real life tending to family and land.
Our teen and tween summer programs Bring a boat to life. One to fish with and feed the village. Craft a kayak as a rite of passage. Shape a tribe as an ancient story told to the modern world. Learn more
