Event | Workshop | Trip | Course | Symposium
Poking Around
An Exploration of Place, Language, and the Natural World
Experiences in nature are often magical and meaningful, revealing our connection to the larger ecological world in and with which we exist and, in the process, unveiling parts of ourselves. Unfortunately, experiences in nature often remain there, being forgotten once we return to our daily life of cities, classrooms, jobs, highways, and cellphones. The question, then, is how to bring the lessons of nature home with us? This unique workshop addresses that question, giving participants a forever changed outlook on nature experiences.
Using a highly successful framework developed for Headwaters' canoe tripping program, participants will have fun exploring the natural world while applying a new way of thinking, helping them to bring the thoughts, feelings, and ways of living that they experience in nature to their everyday life.
Utilizing story telling, creative writing, and free-form nature exploration, we will "poke around" the natural world and our minds, flipping over rocks, picking up sticks, and getting a sense for both the place and our place within in it.
Unique to Headwaters and born of our unique blend of theoretical and practical experience, this program is a perennial favourite! Poking Around is a fantastic workshop for participants of all ages who are looking to intentionally deepen their connection to nature in a fun, meaningful, and perhaps even life-changing way.
Program Details
Core idea
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The way we think about nature is deeply entwined with the way we interact with it. By finding a new way to think about nature, we can form a deeper and more meaningful relationship with it.
Ideal for
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Organizations and individuals looking to deepen their connection to nature throughout their daily life.
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This may be especially useful for businesses, environmental NGOs, and community groups who are working to better care for the natural world and are looking for new ways of thinking in that regard.
Headwaters Highlights
A meaningful relationship with the natural world
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Unique to Headwaters, we intentionally weave environmental philosophy, naturalist knowledge, and eco-social history into everything we do, developing a relationship with nature far more meaningful than simply "enjoying the outdoors"
Time away from cellphones
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With no cell phones or other electronic devices permitted during our programs, it is a gloriously rare opportunity to unplug and re-connect
Character Development
All of our programs intentionally develop moral character, with a special focus on the following traits:
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Joy for life and its experiences
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Care for others and our world
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Wonder about life's mysteries
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A feeling of awe for both the grand vistas and the little things
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Respect for the wellbeing of others and our world
We place an emphasis on developing resiliency as the groundwork of moral character
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Resiliency teaches us to keep going even when things are uncomfortable. Because of this, it is the core of moral character, enabling us to ask, "what is worth doing, even if I fail?"
Where this program can take place
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Indoor space
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Local green space or nearby park
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In a wilderness setting
Program length
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2 hours
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The length of this program can be modified based on the needs of the participants