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

This episode explores the work of the Natural Artists, the Crafters and the Makers, and all of those who make useful and beautiful things from nature. Sandra Kehoe weaves experiences with her students like the willows they bend, their fingers full of the rich scent of green bark and tree sap. There is a longing by many women to form something that will last, but that impulse is paired with the fee...

It's understandable that most nature program directors or entrepreneurs are better trackers, or basketmakers, or wild foods gatherers than they are at marketing and promoting their programs.   Those things are what we are passionate about, so it makes sense. At the same time, if we want students and income from our educational programs, we need to find ways to to communicate the value of what we d...

The loneliness and struggle that young men experience, especially young men of color, is one that happens silently, almost invisibly every day.  The opportunity to connect with older men and new friends and peers in the wild is literally life changing for them, and for the leaders and guides as well. This episode shares the extraordinary journey that Manny discovered through finding his own healin...

Probably the most unexpected thing that people realize while attending a nature program is how GOOD it feels to share the experience in the company of interesting, positive, and motivated participants. Yes, the skills learned are important and the crafts made are the things that entice people to come and learn, but in my estimation, the 'community' aspect of these programs is what creates a kind o...

The magic and power of 'forest school' programming and pedagogy has spread far and wide, from the Scandinavian origins to Europe, Turkey, North America, Australia, South Korea and now into Southeast Asia.  Sharon Cortez founded The Forest School of the Philippines, and has been on a mission to bring the benefits and positive results of this model of pre-school, kindergarten & younger grades to com...

During the early years of my wilderness skills training and practice, I began to notice something interesting when I would venture out into the forest. I spent a lot of time in nature to gather materials for making tools and crafts, or foraging for wild foods, and it seemed like I could do these things in two different ways. One was going in when I was hurried, distracted or very 'goal oriented'....

David Alexander is a naturalist, bushcrafter, Adirondack Guide, wild foods forager and avid hunter and fisherman who also serves the youth of New Jersey in environmental education.  He's developed innovative nature programs for lots of different ages, homeschoolers, and local groups through his work with the New Jersey Parks & Recreation Department, winning the Employee of the Year in 2023 recentl...

Fear of being uncomfortable lurks behind almost every outdoor experience when we are first learning to deal with nature's 'moods'. The purifying intensity of cold scours the world when it moves across our landscape, unstoppable and pervasive.  All the animals, trees, birds, insects and plants respond in different ways to survive, including all of us human mammals too.  Dealing with the mental aspe...

There's an almost mystical longing for the wild expanse that stretches north into the Arctic, with small birch trees, firs and spruces, mazes of unnamed rivers and lakes, and a landscape almost devoid of people.  My thirst for that wild probably began with Jack London, Call of the Wild, White Fang and To Build A Fire, and then deepened with writings of Farley Mowat and the film Never Cry Wolf.  Wh...

I started my Hawk Circle Wilderness Camp in the summer of 1989, but it had been a dream of mine for about four years earlier.    It was glorious, and it was amazing.   It was also a process of trial and error, and I made a lot of mistakes, mostly minor, but still, mistakes all the same.  Despite being a relatively quick learner, it still took years to really hone the 'recipe' and build something t...

One of the things I love most about this podcast is getting to have conversations with amazing people who love to dive deeply into their chosen field of study.  Some of these individuals do work that greatly improves the entire field of study, like Dr. Kersey Lawrence with Tracking, or Mark Elbroch and Sam Thayer with Field Guides.  These contributions have far reaching consequences that help us a...

If you've ever tried to talk about the meaning and value of an experience in nature with someone who's never experienced something similar, it can feel like talking to a brick wall.   Our insights, and sense of wonder, or magic can sound ridiculous when spoken out loud.   It can be painful when something we share has so much value to US, but completely is misunderstood by our listeners. The proble...

Some of the best educators are shaped through a lifetime of not quite 'fitting in'.  They see the world differently than most, and push back against the status quo, sometimes in creative ways.  It can take a while, honestly, and it's not always easy.  Especially when you are busy learning Mandarin in a new and radically different culture. When it comes together, though, the struggle is all worth i...

This episode dives into the more 'intuitive' and 'feeling' areas of nature education, and how we can support our students/clients/children to have experiences that go beyond an intellectually based understanding of our world.  This topic is tricky to navigate, so I do my best to be fully transparent and authentic, and be validating to lots of different forms in which these experiences can be share...

Helping the Indian people have access to hundreds of hikes, treks and nature exploration is an ambitious, constantly evolving vision that has seen amazing success for the IndiaHikes organization.  In this episode, I am talking with Lakshmi Selvakumaran, director of training and research and she shares the origin story of IndiaHikes, as well as details about who they serve, how they build the cultu...

We're talking about the business of forest education again today in this week's Forest Educator Spotlight. How do we determine the value and appropriately price our programs? This may not be as fun as sharing stories about sitting under the trees and building shelters, but it has an important impact on our industry as a whole. Connect with Ricardo: https://www.foresteducator.com/ https://www.thefo...

My guest today is Todd Davis, a professor at the Delta State University down in the Mississippi Delta region. As an educator in an area with a very split population when it comes to racial and economic demographics, diversity, equity, and inclusion are topics that are at the forefront of Todd's work. In this episode, we are talking about cultural heritage and the outdoors, diversity and representa...

The future of nature based learning looks bright, due to a growing awareness of the benefits of time spent outside.    It's an exciting time to be an educator right now, and there is a lot of reason to have a very real sense of hope that has been a long time in coming. There are tens of thousands of nature educators who have been working for decades to help make this happen, and that generally has...

There are a lot of different and unique ways to enter the field of nature education, and you'd think that designing knives wouldn't be one of them.  But that's exactly the way Joe discovered a passion for wilderness, bushcraft and native culture.    In this episode, we discuss the safety issues that come along with the process of leading jungle experiences, from poison dart frogs to piranhas and m...

The transition from childhood to young adulthood is full of intense change and growth in a relatively short period of time.  It can be rough for parents as well, and for eons, earth based cultures had cultural rituals and customs that supported everyone through this initiation.  However, in today's rapidly changing world, those customs have been largely lost in that upheaval, and we are left on ou...

Emily Woodmansee seems to always be in the right place at the right time, to learn, grow, educate, and transform the educational experience of youth in her community.  She's worked in science-based nature programs, wilderness/earth skills adventures, early childhood, elementary and middle school-aged children, and has been involved in Forest School Training in a variety of ways with ERAFANS.   She...

I don't think it would be a stretch to say that for children, building forts and shelters is a universal urge.  When given some time to explore and a bunch of different materials like sticks, logs, stones, tarps or cardboard, most kids will figure out how to build something!   It might be more symbolic, or it could be an actual working shelter, but the effort is there! This episode is all about sh...

What does an ocean conservation president do when everything shuts down during a pandemic?   Well, she discovers a world full of life and wonder in the urban Los Angeles landscape, of course.  In between field study assignments for whales and dolphins as part of her landmark marine biology studies, she found astonishing forms of nature in the most unlikely places.  We talk about her journey both a...

There was a time in my wilderness skills training and practice where I took a big step in my 'nature awareness' study and 'got nocturnal'. Yeah, it seems a bit radical when I describe it now, but at the time, it wasn't that big of an extra step. I was already making buckskin, practicing tracking and fire making and lots of other skills in every bit of my free time, but I felt like I was still disc...

Today's guest interview is with my wife and partner Trista Haggerty, who draws upon the deep connection with the land and nature to facilitate healing and inner growth. Her experiences in deep earth initiations, forged in sacred sites all over the world with own mentor Helena Shik provide insights that are often unique in the 'mystics' community. We discuss some of her work with Hawk Circle Staff...