Peer mentoring naturally happens when slowing down in the woods and walking with a friend. Photo by Michael Douglas

Peer mentoring naturally happens when slowing down in the woods and walking with a friend. Photo by Michael Douglas

For the longest time I’ve been working on how to bring the gifts of the outdoors in to institutionalized education. In survival, tracking, and nature awareness courses, we share that the most bounty is found in the transition zones. These are the areas between forest and field, grasslands and thickets, the land and the water. So too are the richest opportunities for learning found in the transition between one program and another. By simply moving from one location to the next to cover a different subject, we allow the participants to relax and share stories and experiences with each other during the transition. This peer mentoring time may seem unstructured, and it should! However, a simple suggestion or challenge to share at least two “cool” things along the way to the archery range, or fire pit, etc. plants the seed for partnered exploration along the way and gives “permissions” to stop and smell the roses, watch a spider, or turn over a rock to see what is underneath. As we explore or journey around the eight directions of our compass rose, this transition is usually expressed after the high energy activities of the “East” and helps us work toward the more focused energetic of the “South”. It is often a necessary transitory state before doing something with knives, or any form of attention to detail. In our next post, we will be sharing how to cultivate an increase in focus ability without relying on negative re-enforcement or pharmaceuticals in a way the empowers individuals and gives them insight into their own strengths and challenges with focus-ability.