Our Mission
Connecting people of all ages to wildness.
To foster a multi-generational community in Chittenden County that is dedicated to building relationships to human and more-than-human ecosystems. We use a relationship-centered approach to promote, foster, create and support direct, hands-on opportunities for people of all ages to reconnect to their wildness.
To read a narrative description for the educational community we strive to create, read A Day In The Life.
To get a sense of our mission in action:
- Check out our BLOG, which often has stories that highlight our teaching style
- Read STORIES that embody the spirit of our programs
- Learn about our PEDAGOGY and the core elements embedded in our programs
- And GET INVOLVED or come check out one of our PROGRAMS!!
Our History
Back in 2010, we launched the inaugural session of the Field School. With a lone educator, 6 eager homeschooled boys, and a tattered tarp that anchored us to the land, our fledgling organization was more of a nascent idea than a well-realized community. In our weekly gatherings, we celebrated both the subtle and dramatic seasonal expressions of the land through earth-based skills, natural history, and community building. As we tweaked, refined, and reflected on the Field School program, our organization’s mission shifted from “Connecting people of all ages to the natural world” to “Connecting people of all ages to wildness.”
And our vision has resonated with families here in Vermont’s urban center who yearned for transformative, heartfelt experiences for their kids to connect deeply with the more-than-human world. We soon had kids from 14 different public schools across three counties, all coming into the city. Over the last 15 years, we have blossomed into a thriving educational lab. We continue to run our flagship program, the Field School, but because experimentation is baked into our organization, we have been able to nimbly and easily venture into new exciting realms (like The Wilds, a full-time, year-round preschool).
Songline
Way back when, when Britt was about to graduate from UVM she collaborated with Crow’s Path on a project to record an anthology of our folklore, songs, and games. The Songline, as we called it, became an aesthetically beautiful artifact that offers a window into the magical woodland world of the Field School.
