STICKS & STONES
T-SHIRTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
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Quote of the Month 
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."
~John Muir, 1913
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 Empowering Ancient Ways: The Aftermath
"It put my feet on the ground, my eyes in the sky, my emotions in water, my passion in fire."
~Chad Irwin, E.A.W student
Last week was very busy for us here at the Wilderness School. Empowering Ancient Ways was on in full-force, with students and instructors sharing in their passion for the natural world, and the skills it takes to live efficiently and in harmony with the wilderness. Our passionate instructors, Skeet and Chris, taught and demonstrated friction fire-making, shelter-building, stalking techniques, animal tracking and nature awareness, traditional cooking methods, braintanning, and cordage-making, to name only a few. The experience cannot be summed up by such a perfunctory explanation, however; the personal journey and miraculous revelations that students embark on and realize make this program truly unique, and invaluable.
"I feel that every person can/will benefit immensely from these teachings and if compelled, should absolutely take this course. It has the potential to shift your life," shares Jason Secord, EAW Volunteer (and former student).
The rooster crowed at 6:00 every morning, and classes began shortly after. When the sun is up, there is much that can be learned, many challenges to embrace, so the days were absolutely filled with lessons, integrated demonstrations and personal workshop time. Meals were nutrutious and delicious. And our productive, mind-awakening, eye-opening days lasted well into the beautiful crisp starry evenings every night. No word went unheard, no note went untaken. No lesson went unlearned by our enthusiastic, passionate students, who are well on their ways to beginning a lifelong relationship with wilderness living skills and a caretaker's appreciation for the awe-inspiring world around us.
 Sticks and Stones Wilderness School offers Empowering Ancient Ways twice a year, once in the spring and once in the early fall/late summer. Guest instructor Chris Gilmour of Earthmentorship Programs joins our own Skeet Sutherland for the week-long course, and their complimentary teaching styles and personalities create a very comprehensive, highly enjoyable learning environment and a holistic experience of immersion in the skills. Skeet and Chris speak with their voices and eyes filled with passion and intention.
Thank you all, for a wonderful life-shifting experience. Keep the bow-drill fires burning.
"[Empowering Ancient Ways] is the best program I know to learn wilderness skills, and really start to connect with nature." - Noah Hogan, EAW Student
"It will feed your inner fire in some way, guaranteed."
-- Heidi Brown, EAW Volunteer |
| Traditional Hide-Tanning and
Traditional Bow-making -- Coming Up!
I caress the smoothe surface of her back and think to myself, "pretty wooden lady, you are just the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Yours is the softest skin I have pressed my cheek to, and your curves are the finest I have seen. Like the mythological greek sculptor Pygmalion, I long for you to come to life, for only a bow as lovely as yourself can make my dreams come true..."
Sound a little over-the-top? Wait until you make your own bow, a masterpiece of hardwood, over the course of four days. Turn a quarter-log stave into a workable, traditional hunting bow using a selction of hand tools, and then read the little story above again. You will work, you will sweat, you will tire. You will be moved by the wood (and your instructors!) to carve and scrape on... you will watch Galatea come to life. We will provide tools and your stave. You bring your passion... and a sleeping bag, although you may not want to use it much.
I've got a Beautiful Hide
Brain-tanned buckskin is one of the softest, strongest, water-proof, durable materials you would ever wish to wear or have in your possession. The soft, tan-coloured hide has a rich, smoky exuberance that stirs ancient, buried feelings of comfort and connection. Imagine harvesting a deer and using every part in a practical, respectful way. The brain-tanning tradition is an important part of that process. We will provide you with a raw, untreated deer hide and the tools you need to undertake the journey. You will learn, in depth, the entire process from the initial racking and dry-scraping to the final stretching and smoking, and every step in between. You will also come to appreciate the history and significance of this endeavor.
These two programs are coming up this October at the Caledon workshop location. Scroll down to Upcoming Events for links to more info. |
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Headwaters Gathering
The Headwaters Gathering for this fall is coming up soon! Prepare yourself for a fulfilling, rejuvenating weekend, just in time for the beautiful autumn colours on the trees.
 LocationThis year's location is fantastic for our gathering, and is rich with diverse history, and plenty of areas to explore. It's located near Gooderham, Ontario, and to protect the privacy of the land owner, detailed maps and directions will be available only after you pre-register. Carpooling
Darian is arranging carpooling. As the registration forms come in, when you pre register, you can select whether you would like to opt in for carpooling, and if you have a vehicle, how many seats you have free. Registration
This is an important legal step that needs to be undertaken with gatherings of our size, and in the past, has proved a challenging thing to do the day of the event. Because of this, we've created an online _pre registration_ form on our website to make the process simpler. We ask everyone who plans to attend to pre-register to ease the strain of this required step. Workshops
The schedule is posted on the website this year, and will be continually updated as new events are added. We have a few new ideas that you may want to prepare for in advance:  *A Smoke Tent* will be set up on Saturday, for anyone wishing to bring items to be smoke cured. Hides, meats, cheeses, clothing, etc. When you only have one of two items to smoke cure, the set up can be arduous, so this community based activity should simplify the task. *A book exchange *will be taking place on Saturday morning. Do you have a book you loved reading and can't wait to share with someone? Do you have you an extra copy of a useful field guide? Are you looking for a book to inspire you or tell you what that weird purple flower in your backyard is? Bring your books to trade, and see what new works you might find. Please check out the web site and register a.s.a.p. so we can start to figure out numbers and other logistics.
HeadwatersTracking Club: The next meeting is taking place on Sunday September 20th, 2009, Theme - Tracking the Changing Seasons. Then we will be back to the first sunday of the month again in October, on the 4th. Both will be at the Hockley Valley Nature Preserve. Join us for an educational day, spent in tracking and expanding our awareness through obseving the natural habitat. We'll see you there at 10:00 am sharp. Check the webpage for details http://sticksandstoneswildernessschool.com/headwaters_club/
or Email us at sticksandstones@wildernessschool.ca for specific directions.
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 Story of the Month -- by Kate Jones
Have you ever watched a Goldfinch fly? The way they move reminds me of dolphins dancing beside eachother in the ocean, taking turns up and down, weaving in and out of the water like slippery silver strands of thread, telling the story of their playfulness and joyful energy.
I drive to Mississauga in the mornings, to go to work with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority. Although I enjoy my job-- doing plant inventories along rivers and in beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) forests across our watershed, I don't enjoy the commute, experiencing the hard concrete beneath the tires of my car, watching endless streams of exhaust-creating vehicles pass eachother, each containing only one passenger-- the driver. Huge transport trucks exude stinky, visible filth into the atmosphere, and all the while roadside plants, birds, and hiding animals are trying to breathe. The roads, the driving... they are "in-my-face" evidence of the impact we are having on the environment; I see proof of this negativity every day in the degraded forest and riparian habitats I work in close to Lake Ontario.
The other day I was driving hope on a hot, wavy-aired afternoon, hearing the noise of the traffic, when out in front of me flew a deliciously bright yellow Goldfinch, swooping and diving, sailing, falling, catching himself, only to rise and fall again. Weaving through the fluid air with such ease and familiarity, he was as graceful as any silent deer bounding through the forest, as any dolphin soaring in the deep blue sea.
This little finch came at a time when I was feeling rather helpless, just one of many commuters toiling away on the hot endless highway, noticing my negative impact. He reminded me that life finds a way, beauty endlessly continues, and as much as there are destructive activities going on around us every singly day, there are also extremely powerful positive forces constantly at work, ensuring that the balance, the ebb and flow of our existence on this planet-- indeed, in this Universe-- continues We are capable of great things, us Humans, we are the creators of immense wonder. We are the blessed, the conscious witnesses of this balance. And the concrete is just as much a part of that balance as is my sunny bird friend.
Let every little Goldfinch, every blade of grass growing the the cracks in the sidewalk, every spider spinning a web at the busy bus stop, be a reminder to us of how intricate and phenomenal our Mother Earth, how wonderfully she dances through us all, her creatures Great and Small..
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