| Mike Douglas Director of Adult Programs
Mike was born and raised in a small town in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. He grew up surrounded by endless forests and majestic cedar swamps. His deep love of all things wild and natural reaches further back than he can remember. Mike began his career as an instructor of nature and survival skills at Boy Scout camp in New Jersey in 1983. Since that time his passion for nature, awareness, tracking, primitive skills and philosophy has taken him around the globe in search of teachers and the opportunity to learn. He has been a student of Paul Rezendes, Tom Brown Jr., Jon Young, and many others. Mike's passion for learning and teaching “primitive” techniques has earned him a unique reputation in the scouting community and among professional educators. In 1995 he was the recipient of the Marion Rich Waterman Mayer Award from the University of Maine College of Education. Mike credits his patient wife Karen and his children, Ryan, Dakota, and Emily, with their love and support in helping him to make time to live his dream – teaching earth skills. |
| Deneen BernierAdministrator
Raised in Lebanon, Maine, Deneen has lived, studied, and worked in southern Maine throughout her life. After earning a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation from the University of Southern Maine, her employment interests led her along a varied path of assisting people towards improved quality of life. Her exposure to primitive skills began in 2006 with the Maine Primitive Gathering, White Pine Programs, and MPSS. Participation as a student and later volunteering with each of these organizations, Deneen has been blessed with wonderous opportunities to reconnect with nature. Attending the Building Strong Naturalist Communities conference, Winter Count, and Rivercane Rendezvous has strengthened her commitment to sharing sustainable ways of life and the power of community.
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| Candi HuberWeb Designer
Behind the scenes at MPSS is Candi Huber, the silent but crafty web guru. She spends much of her time hanging out with her children, working as a freelance graphic designer, and teaching Mal Stephens, head instructor/web updater, how to use Typo3. Typo3 is MPSS's amazing web content management system which organizes the entire website. Together Candi, Mal and Typo3 created the MPSS website that you see today! Take a look at more of Candi's work at http://www.candihuber.com. |
| Lou FalankInstructor
Lou Falank works in the public education field and is a Registered Maine Guide. He is a certified volunteer outdoor education instructor for Maine's hunter, bow hunter, and ATV safety courses and is an examiner for the Junior Maine Guide Program. He spent 6 seasons with the Maine Conservation School in Bryant Pond planning and facilitating diverse outdoor programs for children, adults, and educators. He has also run after school programs teaching wildlife lessons, nature observation, and survival skills for students K-5. Lou currently resides in Binghamton, New York, and is in the process of setting up an MPSS satellite school. You may email him at louis_falankjr(at)yahoo.com |
| Ira Michaud Director of Children's Programs
Ira is an Eagle Scout who has taught environmental education and survival skills for ten years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and teaches 6th grade in Benton, Maine. He has attended numerous national schools in outdoor program management and wilderness skills. Ira has created and facilitated programs for public schools, youth groups and scouting organizations. He currently specializes in tomahawk and knife throwing and grief work through Sacred Fire technologies. |
| Nick SpadaroInstructor Nick has lived in New England for his entire life. Raised in a small New Hampshire town, with only one blinking traffic light, Nick always had access to the real world, the world outside your living room. When Nick was eighteen months old, he tried to run away and live in the woods, free of rules, parents, and society. Sadly, he could not yet reach the doorknob. Inspired by books such as Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain, for most of his childhood Nick tried to run away to the wild. Though his attempts were never very successful, they planted the seed and when he read The Tracker in high school, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Nick has trained at Tom Brown’s Tracking and Wilderness Survival School, in both New Jersey and California. He has studied at Rabbitstick in Idaho and Wintercount in Arizona, the biggest primitive gatherings in the country. Nick is continuing his training, so that he can become a better, well rounded instructor. |
| Shawn BrustAdjunct Instructor
Shawn served 8 years in the U.S. Army and was a student of Charles Worsham of the Nature and Vision School in Madison Heights, VA. He is currently working as a security consultant in the critical infrastructure industry. He lives in a log home he built with his wife and kids in Norway, Maine. |
| Isaac DorrElder
Born in 1950, Isacc was raised in a small town in Maine and choose to make his home there as well. Nature and the outdoors have been a love of his since childhood. As a young boy, he grew to appreciate the simple things in life and nature- for they are free to enjoy. Primitive skills have been around since the beginning of time- at first more for necessity but now more often than not for the pleasure of gaining knowledge on this path we call life. Isaac is a Registered Maine Guide. |
| April McFarlandElder April McFarland lives on a small farm in Waldo, Maine. She has co-owned a small businesss in Bangor, Maine for 10 years. Her love for the out of doors has sent her on a journey wonder! With the help from ceremony and guidance from her teachers, she is discovering how to really live. |
| Chris WhittenElder
Chris fulfills the role of medicine person for MPSS and is the archtype of a modern primitive skills practitioner. He has studied with many different teachers in various venues around the world. Presently, he is specializing in plant medicine and energy work. He doesn't eat meat because in a former life he was a cow. |
| Mal Stephens Director Mal Stephens has been practicing primitive skills since May 2001, training at MPSS, the Tracker School, Wilderness Awareness School, Earthways, Jack Mountain Bushcraft, and with many instructors across the country. Mal is the primitive skills path adviser for Bryant Pond 4-H camp (formerly the Maine Conservation School) and has also taught at The Environmental Schools, Nature's Classroom, White Pine Programs, and for various public schools and wilderness therapy programs in the Northeast. Mal is a Registered Maine Guide, holds a Level II certificate from CyberTracker Conservation in Track & Sign Interpretation, and is certified in Wilderness First Aid. Presently, he organizes the Maine Primitive Gathering and runs guided trips for folks who wish to get hands on survival experience- see our Guided Survival Trips page. You can contact him at mallorystephens(at)yahoo.co |
| Arthur Haines Director
The Delta Institute of Natural History (DINH) is a school for small group instruction on a diversity of natural history topics, with focus on plant taxonomy and primitive technologies (if you are interested in foraging, wildcrafting medicine, and primitive living skills, please click here). The school was founded by Thomas Vining, owner of V.F. Thomas Company (a natural and cultural history book store). It is now owned and managed by Arthur Haines and will continue to operate with many of the same ideals originally set forth by the founder. Some of those ideals are discussed below under "Philosphy" and "Purpose". To summarize those paragraphs, the intent of the DINH is to offer highly credentialed instruction in an approachable and organized manner in a setting that recognizes the importance of our surrounding landscape. Many different organizations use the premises for instructions and meetings, including the New England Wild Flower Society and Maine Primitive Skills School, who offer joint lectures, workshops, and field trips with the DINH. Programs offered by other organizations will be run with those organization's requirements for instructor credentials, goals for student growth, and ideals for professional development/community improvement. You can contact him through his website www.arthurhaines.com. |
| Andrew Dobos Director Andrew Dobos grew up in the northwest corner of Connecticut playing in the woods, wondering what was really going on out there, and longing to be a real part of it. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture from Montserrat Collage of Art, Andy worked for a well known pipe organ builder in Gloucester, Massachusetts for three years. By 2002 Andy had moved back to Northfield feeling the need to pursue a more focused life in nature. Since then he has taken classes with Walnut Hill Nature Center, learned from members of the Two Coyotes School (to which he owes great thanks for making the skills attainable), and gained great insight from his time spent with the other instructors of MPSS. During this time, Andy also worked as an EMT for three years and formally was the coordinator for the Whole Earth Homeschool Programs at Great Hollow Wilderness School in New Fairfield CT. |
| Kevin Pennell Director Kevin came to the MPSS as a student and discovered a family and a community that honors Mother Earth, all her inhabitants, and the ancestors that preceded us. As a guest instructor, Kevin offers the Ancestral Healing series beginning with Becoming a Hollow Bone. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spurgeon College and is an Usui and Karuna Reiki Master, Certified Hypnotherapist, Ancestral Healing Practitioner, and Psychic Empath. Kevin is the author of "Two Feathers: Spiritual Seed Planter" a biography about the life and spirit of Ken Two Feathers. As a healing facilitator, Kevin devotes his life to being a "Hollow Bone," a tool for Creator and the Universe to bring about compassionate healing and teachings honoring our ancestors. He is available for private therapeutic sessions, readings, past life regression therapy, gatherings, and lectures. Kevin and his life partner Vickie Cummings operate Spirit Wings at 14 Maine Street in Bethel, Maine. Visit them on the web at SpiritWingsBethel.com or call 207-824-2204 |
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