From our day camp to the programs we run at the senior center, we emphasize direct experiences in nature to help folks learn. We model the cycles found in the natural world to select the activities and events we share as well as to better understand where the group and each individual in the group are at as they move through the experience. The results are usually powerful nature connection experiences and a self motivated learner eager to want to know more.
Using the compass rose, we normally start in the “East” with activities designed to inspire and get folks excited. If the group is young and full of energy, they already bring the “east” energy. This archetype normally involves high energy games and is tempered wit the knowledge of hazards to keep things from going too crazy or becoming unsafe. We use story, context, and what the landscape has to offer to tie the high energy experience into increased nature literacy. Our next post will detail the natural flow of programming based on these eight directions with a journey into the South East with peer mentoring.
High Energy “East” activities. photo by Mike Douglas, Maine Primitive Skills School
Michael Douglas, the founder and director of Maine Primitive Skills School, brings unparalleled expertise to this transformative program. Michael founded the school in 1989, making it the oldest survival, tracking, and primitive skills school in New England. As a student of Tom Brown Jr., a global expert in tracking and wilderness skills, Michael's knowledge is steeped in generations of learning and mentoring. His extensive background includes training in American Judo, Kempo Karate, Wing Chun Kung-Fu, Philippine knife and stick fighting, Ju-Jitsu, American boxing, Muay Thai, and SCARS. A former Marine and martial arts expert, Michael trains the military, advises on nature documentaries, and prepares contestants for survival TV shows. He has lived in a survival shelter for over two years, hidden in the woods. Continuously seeking new skills and relationships with Indigenous cultures worldwide, Michael teaches and lectures globally, setting the standard in the field. Many of his students have gone on to start their own schools, and he has mentored over 36 Eagle Scouts. Michael is also a much-loved and respected leader, mentor and outdoorsman within his community.
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