Help Steph be a bad-ass Nature Mentor!

Kia ora koutou!

I believe that deep authentic connection with Nature, Community and Self is an essential part of a thriving future for us all. With modern life becoming increasingly indoor oriented, disconnected and tech-centric, it's a vital time to grow our capacity for a balanced, nature-connected culture and a more delicious relationship with our wild planet and wild selves. With your help, I will have an amazing opportunity to learn from the pro's, weave together my life's passions into service as a Nature educator, and bring the harvest back to Aotearoa!

Why the Wilderness Awareness School?

A leader in the nature connection movement for over 30 years, the Wilderness Awareness School has been crafting a powerful framework for profound connection, eco-literacy and inspired action. Combining scientific knowledge, ancestral wisdom and skills, and a unique mentoring approach, they create an 'invisible school' that offers a radical and refreshing form of environmental education. It's fun! It includes all of us. And it works with our nature so it's already in our bones!

What is the Anake Programme?

The Anake programme is a 9 month immersion into this kaupapa and is taught through 8 core areas or 'sheilds' of study:

1. Naturalist Studies - Cultivating Deep Nature Connection

2. Community Leadership - Mentoring and Peacemaking

3. Wilderness Survival and Bushcraft - Skills for Living with the Land

4. Natural and Cultural Heritage - Exploring Ancestry and Lineage

5. Bird Language and Intuitive Awareness - Sharpening Sensory Perception

6. Permaculture and Land Stewardship - Tending/Designing Regenerative Landscapes

7. The Art and Science of Wildlife Tracking - Interpreting Patterns of Life

8. Self Discovery - Personal Awareness and Expression

Sounds pretty awesome eh!

How will Anake and the Wilderness Awareness School empower me to become a bad-ass Nature mentor?

When it comes to nature connection, 'being the change you wish to see' is very true. Research has shown that you cannot impart authentic connection with Nature unless the educator themselves is connected, no matter how highly trained in the pedagogy they are.

Anake offers a rare opportunity for me to develop a deep sense of rootedness in the skills, knowledge, practice and experience of nature connection and the unique educational framework WAS offers. This creates a solid foundation from which to begin the mentoring journey.

Upon graduation I will complete the second year of training - The Anake Leadership Programme. This is a type of internship with the WAS working as an assistant mentor on their full range of award-winning programmes. There I will gain experience mentoring a range of age groups in a variety of settings, as well as receive guidance, feedback and additional instructor training. This my friends, will set me in good steed to truely be a bad-ass nature mentor and bring all these awesome skills back to New Zealand for us all!

The Invitation...

I invite you to support this cause and join me in working towards a more nature-savvy, culturally connected and thriving planet. Every little bit counts and takes us one step closer to this bigger vision and my personal, decade-long dream. There really is nothing I would rather do with my life! From this wild heart to yours - THANK YOU for any and all the contributions you make!

Much Aroha,

Steph