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2011 Annual Campaign is Afoot!

Our Annual Fall Appeal has gone out to our mailing list with our 2010-2011 Annual Report. We are very grateful to have already received several donations - especially from new donors! It's a wonderful affirmation of our work and a great support to our youth, families, elders, adult participants, staff and broader community. Your donations have enabled a lot of good to happen:

"My son is a mature young boy who has had a tough time relating to his peers. The programs VWS offers are ones he loves. I want him to be a boy who follows his passions. This summer he connected with Bob Etzweiler. Bob was able to see his enthusiasm for all things outdoors and swept him under his wing. Every day my son would come home and practice his bowdrill, build fires or carve..." --Parent of Great Blue Heron Scholarship recipient.

Help keep the fire of inspiration and "desire to know all my relations" burning brightly for this child and many others. Make a donation to Vermont Wilderness School today:

For more Donation Options...

To view our 2011 Annual Report or our 2011 Annual Appeal Letter:

2011 Vermont Wilderness School Annual Report

Fall 2011 Annual Appeal Letter

A Solstice Gift for Elder Hank...

Thank you to everyone who has donated over the last month to help out Elder Great Blue Heron Hank buy a new hearing aid. Thanks to all of you, Grandfather Hank will be going to the hearing aid company shortly to order his new hearing aid!

VWS Vision Statement

This past year, the VWS Board has been revising our Vision Statement and What We Do. This is now available for you to peruse and participate!

VWS Vision Statement

Ingwe’s Path Scholarship Fund & the Great Blue Heron Fund

Vermont Wilderness School has offered the Ingwe’s Path Fund since 2006 to support community members in attending programs in line with our vision but not offered by Vermont Wilderness School. Starting in March 2011, we are happy to also offer the Great Blue Heron Fund providing financial aid for folks to attend VWS sponsored programs. . For more information on each of these funds and applications go here: Ingwe's Path Scholarship Fund.

Great Blue Heron Fund.

Looking for Mark Morey?

Mark Morey is now at the Institute for Natural Learning, a sole-proprietorship. The Institute explores ways of paving new paths for regional and national wilderness schools to follow. Some examples include: Boys Rites of Passage, Coyote Camp for Teens, Community and Elder development, Regional Networking among the Northeast wilderness schools, National & International Art of Mentorings, Native Relationships and Adult Apprenticeships.

www.IfNaturalLearning.com

Upcoming Programs & Events

Full Moon Girls 2011-2012

For girls ages 11-16 and now expanded for 8-10 year olds! (There will be activities with all ages and in younger/older groups). Fridays January 27, 2012 to end of May, 9:30am – 3:30pm. NEW Location! January - March will be meeting in Guilford, VT. April - May at Brooks Bend Farm in Montague, MA. Currently enrolling for the 2012 Winter/Spring Session.
More Full Moon Girls Information

Essentials of Nature Connection and Cultural Mentoring Village Talk Weekly Call Series

What would be possible if we could create an ongoing, weekly conversation with people who are committed to the vision of humans thriving in harmony with all beings on this earth?

That is the question that is driving the weekly Village Talk call series. Jon Young and the 8 Shields Institute is now offering Village Talk Essentials of Nature Connection Call Series (Mondays) and Cultural Mentoring Call Series (Thursdays). The call series are the "Art of Mentoring" (or Kamana Naturalist Program) that doesn't end. VWS Executive Director Amy Hyatt is on staff for the East Coast 7PM (4PM PST) sessions. New 3-Month Block runs January 9th - March 26, 2012. Click here for more information:
Village Talk Info

Oyase Community School 2011-2012

Collaborative program with Community Wilderness Initiative (a parent, staff, community stakeholder collaborative council). For youth ages 7-15. Thursdays late September to end of May, 9am – 3:15pm. Located in Dummerston, VT near the West River. We still have 3 spaces available if you have a child between the ages of 7-15 who would like to join us mid-year. Sliding scale $1200-$1800 for 27 Sessions including an Overnight. Tuition is pro-rated based on when student starts.
More Oyase Community School Information

2012 Vermont Art of Mentoring & Fall Teen Rendezvous

Monday September 17 to Saturday September 22, 2012
at Indian Brook Camp at Farm & Wilderness near Plymouth, VT.

Deep in all of our roots, there are stories of our ancestors living in healthy, regenerative communities—villages where people of all ages were in deep relationship with the land, each other, and themselves. The Vermont Art of Mentoring is a six-day experiential, nature based set of concurrent programs for ages 3 to 99 designed to help us remember these old ways and learn to apply them to our modern communities.

The Vermont Art of Mentoring workshop is one of several Art of Mentoring workshops offered around the world and the second longest running programming site with an experienced core leadership team representing 50+ years of experience in the Art of Mentoring. We bring together instructors and facilitators from throughout the Northeast and beyond to staff eight concurrent programs that together make up the Vermont Art of Mentoring.

Here are the concurrent programs offered at the Vermont Art of Mentoring 2012. Select the program you would like to learn more about:

Adult Programming including Art of Mentoring, Nature-Based Immersion Experience for Adults, and Towards Elderhood

Cost: $650 including food and basic housing.

Fall Teen Rendezvous (Ages 13-17, occasionally 12)

Cost: $400 including food and camping.

Youth Programs including Chipmunk Day Program (3-6), Red Squirrels Day Program (7-11), and Otter Overnight Program (10-12)

Cost: $230 including food and basic housing for Day Programs, Cost: $300 for Otter Overnight Program.

One More Gift Idea...

Support Hurricane Irene recovery efforts in Brattleboro and make a statement about Community Resilience. Consider buying a VWS Hurricane Irene 2011 Art of Mentoring/Resilience t-shirt. The beautiful turquoise t-shirts were donated by The Mountain T-shirt company in Marlborough, NH and were printed at a discount by Perfect Image in Brattleboro, VT.

We are selling the T-shirts for $20 with $15 from each t-shirt sold being donated to a special fund for Hurricane Irene Recovery at Farm & Wilderness where the Art of Mentoring was originally scheduled to happen at this year and the Brattleboro Area Flood Relief Fund helping re-insulate local trailer homes.

If you are interested in purchasing a Hurricane Irene Art of Mentoring t-shirts, we still have some for sale in Adult Small, Large & X-Large and Youth Small & Medium. We also have some women's cut tank top versions in Youth XL, XXL and XXXL.

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If you have any questions at all please use the Contact Us form and we'll do our best to answer them promptly.