Forest Educator with Ricardo Sierra | A Podcast for Revolutionary Conversations about Nature-Based Education

In this episode I share how I began adding 'rites of passage' elements into my summer camps, class trips and skills programs & activities, with an emphasis on the practical nuts and bolts aspects to these topics.     I also share how I got started in leading 'Coming of Age' programs for boys entering young adulthood, and how it evolved to working with parents as well. There is a noticeable shift i...

When you think of a 'nature school', most of us don't think of Newark, New Jersey.   It's incredibly urban, and set in a world that is almost completely dominated by human engineering.    To make a nature program work, it helps to start small, and to throw away the idea of 'what a nature school should look like'. This concrete jungle is where Chantel Zimmerman began her education journey.    She e...

We're talking about The Hero's Journey this episode, and how it relates to the work we do as Forest Educators.    The Monomyth has a multitude of stages that are easily recognizable when we know what to look for, whether we are working with elementary age students, middle schoolers, high schoolers or adults.     The Hero or Heroine undergo many ordeals, trials and tasks in their journey into the u...

There are over 250 PRESCHOOLERS in the US who are either suspended or expelled from their programs EVERY DAY.    No, that's not a typo.  Two hundred and fifty preschoolers, every day, in America. When our children are struggling, they literally can't attend programs that don't provide an environment that supports them.  When they are kicked out, it creates tremendous stress for parents and those s...

There are few things that are more universally shared by humanity than comparative mythology and the 'initiatory experience'.   In this episode, we explore the incredible power that Initiations have in our individual and collective psyches, and how we can use this understanding to support our students in their learning and development. We also explore the 'Rite of Passage' ceremonies and how they...

How do you create nature programs in a country where virtually everything is cultivated through commercial agriculture and highly impacted landscapes?  My conversation with Jael Nouhet of the Netherlands explores his efforts to plant seeds, trees and plants to create the future forests for children and educators in a few decades! It takes a tremendous effort to create the kind of consensus buildin...

The paths we take in our journey as educators are incredibly diverse and unique to each of us.  We all have different origins, with mentors, teachers, opportunities and our communities all influencing how we do what we do. In this episode, we explore some of the ways we end up in our 'forest educator lanes', and how to change lanes, as well as why it can be incredibly beneficial to ourselves, our...

Deep in the concrete jungle of spanish style homes, freeways, urban sprawl and mini-malls, there are naturalists who know the canyons, coastal foothills and estuaries hidden throughout the city.    It's here among the live oaks and agave that children learn about acorns, lizards, animal tracks, and other aspects of California wildlife.  I had all kinds of flashbacks to my own childhood throughout...

This episode is an exploration of some of the critical issues we encounter as nature based educators when we enter the public education system.  The road to Forest Education for all seems to point to a relationship with public schooling, and it's been my experience that going in with our eyes wide open is a great strategy.  I use several analogies for the massive bureaucracy that makes up the publ...

You all know I like a good analogy, so I'm going to say that the duo of Marika and Angela reminds me of the heroes of my comic book days, when I was a collector.  I'd mow lawns for my neighbors, and then ride my bike six miles into town to buy my week's new issues.  One of my favorites was the Marvel Team-Up comic, where two heroes who don't usually 'hero' together do what they do best, and take c...

This episode is a conversation with Jonny Walker, a poetry, creative writing and language arts educator from London/Uk.  We explore how 'traditional' or classical education benefits when we incorporate nature based approaches that deliver powerful outcomes for students and schools.  He shares about the need for direct experience and full contact with nature for awakening and expanding the outer an...

It's one thing to learn wilderness skills, and it's another thing entirely to integrate them into our lives in meaningful ways.  This is the path that Dariya and Jefferie are walking, with the added ingredients of a newborn child and teaching both online and in-person classes! We talk about their desire, no, their NEED to live in a way that reflects their values, with drinking only spring water, e...

This episode could be titled 'The Problem with Getting Comfortable with the Status Quo', because there's a very real disadvantage that happens when we slip into a routine.    Organizations do thrive on consistency, and operating within a system that has uniform inputs and outputs, and those who are in charge will resist attempts to change them, for a lot of reasons.     One is cost, because traini...

One thing you learn to love in Vancouver, British Columbia is the sound, the feeling and the smell of rain. You also get to enjoy the bald eagles hunting by the river, and the herons, and the towering cedar trees and big leaf maples. For Maria Jose Obando, it wasn't that hard to do. She's the founder of the Little Paws Outdoor Classroom, and her program operates among the city and metro parks of V...

An aspect of nature education that I believe is greatly overlooked is the ability and benefit it gives young people to 'Do Hard Things'.  This happens when we learn to climb a steep hill, climb a tree, master carving knife safety or learn to think of others in our groups!  It happens when we learn to be safe and respectful about campfires.  It happens when we begin our studies in wild foods, birds...

The path of a writer and poet is a solo journey.  We navigate winding, circling loops of our own stories, sitting in the caves of our memories , reliving the places that changed our understanding, sometimes forever.    These offerings to the world expose our inner world, demanding that vulnerability as payment for finding our authentic voice that echoes across the canyon walls. My guest is Heidi B...

There comes a point in most nature education programs' evolution when we have to decide on what 'legal entity' or structure we are going to use to do business in our community.     Will we be a Sole Proprietor, in a for-profit model, or maybe a Partnership or LLC?    Or do we go in the Nonprofit Organization direction, with all of its complexities and possible advantages? This episode dives into t...

One of the most remarkable qualities I have seen in most 'Forest Educator' leaders I've met through this podcast is their ability and willingness to adapt, change and respond to the needs of the children, families and communities when needed.    Areta Farrance is an incredible leader who is doing this in a big way, and seeing positive outcomes and results.   We talk about her work building a commu...

If you are a Nature Program Director looking for helpers or a Nature Educator looking for work, this episode can help you find the right situation or people for a positive, mutually beneficial experience! Nature programs, wilderness camps, youth therapy expeditions and forest schools are always looking for great candidates, and there are lots of awesome educators and counselors and leaders looking...

My guest in this episode found her way to 'nature based education' under duress, like so many program leaders.    Danielle Zola shares her visionary journey that was propelled by the needs of the children, and the needs of parents, and the desire to not 'settle' for the status quo.    It's the most painful thing to see our very young children suffering in a school system that struggles or fails to...

The winter is a time of contrasts, where survival is hardest for most living things, and at the same time, sometimes also including times when we can feel closest to those in our families and our lives.    This episode explores the lessons found in the wild, through Winter Skills classes I've led for over 25 years, with students ranging in age from 14-50.  We discuss some of the most challenging w...

For most nature educators, getting into a public school can be daunting and even a little intimidating.  The desire to offer forest education to ALL children is balanced against the number of hoops we have to jump through to make it happen.   Enter April Zajko, who is a nature preschool teacher with a keen understanding of how to find ways to collaborate with schools and organizations in a variety...

Ethical dilemmas happen when we are faced with situations where all of the options have conflicts with our morals or personal philosophy or beliefs.    In Forest Education, this happens around a number of issues, like employee compensation, or wildcrafting resources, or program pricing. Thirty years ago, I faced these issues alone, and did the best I could, as you will hear in this episode, but in...

When Rimi and her husband chose to 'Take the Leap', it didn't seem TOO difficult.  Leaving a good corporate job with a decent nest egg and opening an island retreat center in the Azores seemed relatively safe.    Everything sounds good in theory. In your living room in Massachusetts.    However, things can go south in a hurry when 'island time' and contractors and language barriers all combine int...

If there is one area in nature that many people 'fear to tread', it's wetlands, bogs and swamps. These areas are difficult to traverse, especially if you are afraid to get dirty.  There are mosquitoes.  There are snapping turtles.  Water snakes slither under the banks, and great blue herons stalk frogs along the lily pads.  There is often a rich, moist smell of decaying leaves, tree bark and plant...