Wilderness Awareness School is no longer selling the Kamana Naturalist Training Program or the Seeing Through Native Eyes audio series. While 8 Shields is the owner of these products, we have been integral in providing student support and selling this program for over two decades. At this point, we have come to realize that although this […]
I love exploring the woods behind my house in the wintertime. I love the way the wall of green that protects certain areas in the summer lets its guard down for those who are willing to brave the winter cold. I tend to venture into new areas, exploring the hidden hollows and dark thickets that […]
Two years ago in the late summer, I started seeing bear scat along a field edge on the way to my sit spot. An inch and a half tube full of raspberry seeds is hard to miss or misidentify here in northern Vermont. Then a bit later the chokecherry bushes in the south end of […]
I was in Dresden, a city in the southeast of Germany which has a population of half a million people. My wife had a meeting in the middle of the city and I was supposed to wait for a couple of hours. I sat on a bench and looked out at a busy place, where […]
A deep need for humans is outdoor safety, the maintenance of life, and limb. This is a powerful connecting force with the rest of life! From the sparrow fleeing the hawk, to the caterpillar hiding from the wasp, all creatures share a desire to avoid dangers or hazards. If you hook up electrodes to measure […]
As a nature connection mentor, my role is often similar to that of a trainer in dance, music, or martial arts. Much of the time, I’m not “teaching” my students anything. Instead, I’m creating conditions where they can easily learn through their own experiences and giving them coaching in their routines and practices so that […]
I still remember very clearly the first 24 hours after my first daughter was born. All of the reality seemed lit by an incredible light, and I felt like a different person. I remember dropping my wife and our newborn Katie off at the house and then getting ready to rush to the grocery store. […]
A good story has a way of getting inside you. It can reveal something about where you are in life. Stories also give us a cultural context and sense of continuity. They teach us how to live. In many Native cultures there are stories of the First People, or the Ancestors, that show how people […]
Have you ever wondered how to tell what the wind speed is? Below is a useful scale that you can use simply through your observations. This can be really handy if you are trying to keep track of the weather on a regular basis. The Beaufort Scale can be used to help estimate the wind […]
Look straight ahead and imagine that your eyeballs cannot move, like the owl’s eyes. Sitting absolutely still in its tree perch, the owl stares and sees 180 degrees in all directions. It puts its mind on “off” and just gazes. This patient expectant open gaze is the way to look at the sky when you […]