From the foundation of Nature Connection, the work internalizes: be it coming of age or stepping powerfully into one’s gifts and embodying Elemental Leadership. Working with the flow of Water and the emotions, Quest work dives deep into the Soul of Humanity, individually and collectively. Just as we design gardens using permaculture, we can also design our lives, as well as the necessary rituals to empower and activate our creativity and our abundance. Through daylong Medicine Walks, weeklong Wilderness Fasts, and multi-year Rite of Passage programs, my goal is to provide the opportunity to Quest into our true nature and bring our medicine to the world.
Offerings
- Coming of Age Rites of Passage Guide Training – 9-month training for parents, educators, wilderness guides, who want to learn how to facilitate (or understand) coming of age rites of passage
- Elemental Quest: Multi-Year rites of passage program for 7th and 8th and graders, starting Spring and Fall
- Elemental Quest for school groups: (Multi)Year Rites of Passage program for schools, based on seasonal camping/backpacking trips throughout the latter part of middle school
- Teen wilderness quest (through various schools: Marin Academy, Credo High, Summerfield)
- Elemental Leadership: Ongoing trips weaving naturalist and ancestral skills training along with leadership and ceremony
- Back To Earth: Wilderness Immersion & Leadership Development – 10-day backpacking trips in summer
Resources
- Wilderness Reflections
- Stepping Stones Project
- Ecology of Leadership
- Earth Peoples United: Deer Mountain
- Bill Plotkin & Animas Valley Institute
- School of Lost Borders
- Mosaic Multicultural Foundation
- Sweet Medicine – Four Elements
Testimonials
“Our family has known Spencer for more than four years. He has provided wonderful role modeling and support during our son’s transition into adolescence. Spencer’s gentle manner, combined with his knowledge and enthusiasm for nature, make him an ideal mentor and guide for children as they navigate their way through today’s complex world.”
-Parent, Vilda’s Elemental Quest


