Classes 2024
Camping on site is included with all classes. If you don't want to camp, the Upton House Inn is only a mile away. There are many other options for accommodations in Bethel. Be sure to reserve early, as they tend to fill up quickly in the summer.
Naturalist Weekend
With Jonathan Shapiro
of Fox Paw School
June 8-9
To build authentic relationship with the wild world, we need to read what's happening on the landscape around us! Join Jonathan Shapiro of Fox Paw School for an intro to the land as we learn to identify and interpret what we see in the more-than-human realm.
We'll construct a broad-scale ecological framework of the area, then focus on tree and plant ID, animal tracking, and bird language/identification, and connect it to the cycle of the seasons. And of course, we'll have time for contemplation of and gratitude to the beings with whom we share our home.
Most of our time will be in the field, with a few short classroom segments.
On-site camping and the following meals are included: Friday snacks, Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch). Those students who are coming from farther away may want to arrive Friday evening to be ready to begin Saturday morning.
Cost: $200
Limit of 12 students
Stoneage Skills Weekend
with Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival
June 7-9
Celebrating Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival's 10th anniversary!!!
Join us for a one of a kind class! In this 3 day class, we will be focusing on making our own tools from materials we find on the landscape. The focus will be mainly on wildcrafting while learning wilderness survival. Students will craft and create an array of tools to use on their next wilderness adventure. No need to bring any steel knives, as you will be given a professionally "knapped" stone knife at the beginning of this class to use throughout your adventure.
Students will make their own gourd bowls and seashell spoons to eat the provided meals. Learn shelter building, rope making, friction fire, flint knapping, bone tools, animal traps, foraging, seashell tools, pine bark baskets, and leatherworking!
All of the crafts and tools we make in this class will be made without the use of a steel knife. We will use bone awls, seashell scoops, stone knives, and rope made from plants to create all of the tools during this class. You may bring as much "modern" gear as you wish to use during this class including rain jackets, tents, camp stoves, utensils, hiking boots, backpacks, etc. We want you to be comfortable during this class so you can be focused on crafting and learning.
Students will go home with lots of cool things they made including seashell spoons, gourd bowls, stone blades, bone awls, buckskin pouches, pine bark baskets, animal traps, and a friction fire set! Morning coffee/tea, lunch and dinner will be provided. Meals will be "paleo diet" focused throughout the class.
Reach out with any questions to owleyeswilderness@gmail.com.
SOS Survival Challenge
with Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival
August 16-18
Learn basic & advanced survival skills and immediately put them to the test in this multi-day survival challenge!
Join us for this three day survival class and challenge in which you learn survival skills in a "real life" setting. Although this class is open to all experience levels, prospective students must be aware that we will be sleeping in shelters we build, staying warm by a camp fire, and not eating a traditional 3 meals a day. On Friday, students will show up, set up their tents at their campsites, and settle in. After Friday morning, we cover many skills. These include fire building with rubbing two sticks together, shelter building, foraging, knife skills, primitive weapons, and other survival skills to set you up for an overnight trip. On Saturday, students will participate in a series of survival skills challenges. These range from target practice, fire challenges, and more (challenges are intentionally kept vague to add the element of surprise). On Saturday night, students will participate in a "lost in the woods" scenario in which they must build a survival camp, fire from the landscape, boil water with natural materials, make a shelter, and other survival tasks. Sunday is reserved for clean up, prizes, and closing ceremony.
Introduction to Fiber Arts
with Laura Wolfer
August 17
People have been processing plant and animal fibers into thread, yarn, and cloth for tens of thousands of years. Once you learn the basic methods of spinning and weaving, you can begin to create beautiful and unique yarns and textiles. In this class we will go over many of the different natural fibers that can be spun, how they are processed, how to spin with a drop spindle, and weaving on a frame loom. All materials are provided, including a spindle and frame loom which are yours to take home and continue practicing!
On-site camping and lunch are included
Cost: $125
Limit of 10 students
Foraging Food & Medicine 101
September 7-8
Have you always wanted to forage for food and medicine but didn't know where to start? Here's your opportunity! We will learn to identify some of the many edible and medicinal plants commonly found here in the Northeast. We will also talk about the benefits of including wild foods in the diet, and learn the basics of making plant medicines.
On-site camping and four meals are included
(Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday
breakfast and lunch)
Cost: $225
Limit of 10 students
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Gut Health
for Whole Health
A Weekend Retreat
August 30 - September 1
More and more we are learning that the root of most chronic disease lies in the gut. Are you confused by all of the different diets, supplements, and fads that promise to heal your gut and make you healthier? This class will not tell you exactly what you should eat, or recommend a specific diet. Instead, you will learn what your body needs to truly thrive, and to begin to heal from the chronic diseases, gut dysbiosis, and toxic overload that we all face in modern times. Even today, people still living and eating the way their ancestors did (such as the Hadza Tribe), have almost no cancer or other chronic diseases. It's not difficult to begin making changes that bring us closer to true health.
Some of the many things we will talk about:
-Why most of the food we eat no longer nourishes us and how processed foods can lead to disease
-Understanding food labels and choosing the healthiest foods from the store
-Where you can find the most nutrient-dense foods and why this is so important
-The crucial importance of the microbiome to physical and mental well-being, and how to improve your microbial community and gut health
-What sunlight and time outside actually does for our bodies
-Avoiding common toxins in our food and environment
-The importance of phytochemistry in our diet (the medicinal chemicals in plants)
Over the course of the weekend, we will be tasting some of the world's most nutrient dense foods, learning to make a simple ferment for gut health (which you can take home!) and enjoying an evening fire.
On-site camping and the following organic, whole food meals are included:
(Friday snacks, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner,
and Sunday breakfast and lunch)
Cost: $425
Limit of 12 students
