The Nature Awareness School is located on 300 acres in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Our courses are designed to gently help students experience nature on a deeper and more personal level. As the student gains new insight into the gifts provided by nature, he or she will begin to experience how all things are connected. As the student learns to live simply and in harmony with their natural environment, they often develop an inner awareness that is beneficial in all aspects of life.

Course Descriptions

Walk in the Woods 

Come enjoy a five-hour MINI-ADVENTURE! We will take a short hike to a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Along the way you will be shown some wild edible plants and animal tracks. Once at the overview, you may relax and enjoy! You may even have a "divine insight" while viewing life from the top of the mountain. Perhaps try something new just for fun; hand feed catfish, pet a goat, go inside a log cabin, eat lunch around a campfire. (Lunch and snacks will be provided.)

Personal Awareness Retreat

One must make an effort to be aware of your inner and outer surroundings. This retreat is a wakeup call to your five physical senses and to your spiritual vision and hearing. You will be led through a series of wake-up exercises, with the beauty and peace of nature as a backdrop. Experience an inner and outer peace when walking through a landscape in silence and expanded vision. Learn to more fully utilize and trust your non-visual senses. Let the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of nature bring a childlike wonder back into your life.

Then experience the ultimate healing sound vibration. This sound can raise one to their "higher self," bringing a sense of peace and focus into life. Understand how dreams and "waking" dreams" can influence and improve your life. Let your dreams help you find more love, truth, and happiness.

If you are interested in attending our 3-Day Spiritual Retreat, this weekend will provide you an excellent foundation.

Introductory Nature Weekend

Basic wilderness skills such as shelter building, finding or making safe drinking water, and using a bow drill to start a fire will be covered. Students will learn to move quietly through the woods and also to see and hear on a deeper level. Students will have the opportunity to use fire to make a wooden bowl. Cordage (rope) will be made from plant fibers. This class will take a low impact walk to observe nature. Some animal tracks, trails, wild edible plants, and a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge Mountains will be seen.

Wild Edible Plant Weekend

Students will become proficient in identifying wild edible plants, including annuals, biennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. Poisonous plants that look similar to an edible plant will be shown or discussed. Students will learn to identify, collect, prepare, and store plants for food, medicine and health improvement. Students will prepare and enjoy a major wild edible plant gourmet meal with acorn bread, stir fry, fritters, salad and teas, etc. You will leave this class prepared to enjoy a lifetime of responsible foraging.

Tracking Weekend

Tracking is one of the most important naturalist skills, yet one of the least understood. Learning to read animal tracks in the outdoors is like reading the morning newspaper when in town.

Your tracking and observation skills will take a giant leap forward in just this one weekend. You will learn gait patterns, print identification, aging methods, soil types, and sign tracking.

In addition to the topics above, we will include some man tracking information/skills. Animal tracking and man tracking skills very much compliment each other.

3-Day Spiritual Retreat

This retreat will help you relax and have your own personal spiritual experiences. The purity of nature and some ancient and little known spiritual tools will enable you to reach deeper levels of personal insight. Whatever your religious background, you will learn to look and listen within. Having your own direct experiences with the voice of God is the most natural way toward total awareness. We will do one SWEAT LODGE as a group.

3-Day Advanced Spiritual Retreat

If you enjoyed the first spiritual retreat and are ready to go farther on the path of love, then you are invited to join this gathering of souls. Perhaps you will more fully recognize and appreciate the gifts given to you everyday by spirit. These gifts from God are gifts of love that can help you in your daily life. A special opportunity will be made available to let spirit help you directly. Perhaps this will "shed light" upon the areas of your life that are keeping you from reaching your personal and spiritual goals. You will also begin to know, on a very personal level, how much help God has always made available to all of us. We will do one sweat lodge as a group.

Spirit Week I & II

There are three different Spirit Weeks. Each is one full week in length and scheduled from late February to early April. The school's log cabins are used for eating, sleeping, and teaching. Upon completion of the first week and after one full year, one may attend Spirit Week II. Those who have attended the 3-Day Advanced Spiritual Retreat will be sent more information.

Spirit Week III

This retreat is held in the log cabins for a small number of selected students.

REUNION

Summer Warm-ups