“My time in the woods and on the land at Finding Polaris in June of 2021 was one of the best gifts I’ve ever been able to receive. (Nearly) 10 days in the woods. Sleeping alone in my tent. Meeting animal and plant people, and learning to engage with reciprocity. Swimming naked in pure water. Drying on sun-bleached rocks. Gathering wild edibles. Cooking over fire started without matches. Singing, dreaming, listening, and learning in magical, miraculous ways, day and night, with a small group of other wild-tenders. Almost completely unplugged and definitely no computer. I didn't even read.

“The Wildtending Program was exactly what I needed at the time. I answered the calling I received to go there and learn there, build there and heal there, and just be there, in the forest, by the lake. For the first time in maybe my whole life, I felt that my being human wasn't inherently harmful and destructive. I got to experience a sense of being a part of the cycle of things and finding belgonging in all that there is. This sense of belonging I felt at Finding Polaris went beyond the experience of being loved by my friends and family; it was a sense of belonging with the forest and sensing my place within the community held within the forest of wild(er) animals, trees, rocks, wind, water, all.”

"My time at Finding Polaris was a restorative journey where I rediscovered independence, self love, and my connection with the land. I entered with no expectations for my time and brought an open mind, and the experience proved to be just what I needed during such a pivotal time in my life. 

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My confidence in foraging and relationship with wild food has flourished, and many of the practices I learned while away are still at the forefront of my mind as I go through daily life. I grew bonds with close friends, plants, animals and the land.

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