The School Of The Forest Podcast

In this episode, I'm joined by a good friend, and former student, Adam Lougee who runs a sister program to SOTF in New Hampshire. Adam was a Student at Jack Mountain in my early years as an instructor there and has since gone on to lead education programs all over New England. His program, First Magnitude is getting ready to hit the ground running with a 40+ acre piece of property in New Hampshire. In this episode, Adam and I get down into the nitty-gritty of challenges to anyone looking to break into this field and talk about the value of community and the myth of the rugged individual (You folks may have noticed a trend with this topic coming up in conversation. We certainly have) and a lot more. Great conversation, hope you enjoy it.

 
First Magnitude Wilderness Programs

First Magnitude Instagram

F.O.R.E.S.T. Program - Vermont Huts Association

Summer Guided Discoveries | Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (nhnature.org)

School Of The Forest Program Calendar

Glad to be back after a short break,

Really excited for this podcast to go live since it'll allow me to announce our latest course offering. I sat down with Rick Swain to talk about his business "The Scroll", a SOLO certified wilderness medicine training program. Rick was a student of ours last year and has helped out on other programs since then. It was a pleasure to talk to him about why his twenty plus years of real-world field experience makes the programs he's offering different than others you might find. Great chat, looking forward to seeing some of you on this program. 

We’re partnering with The Scroll to offer a wilderness first aid certification course. Having wilderness first aid training is an important aspect of spending time in the backcountry, and Rick is a highly trained medical professional with a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with students.

SOTF's Solo Certified Wilderness First Aid Course
 
The Scroll (Ricks Website)

Welcome,

This episode we're joined by Kathleen White and Steve Shriner, members of the Friends Of The West River Trail, an organization that was founded to create accessible nature trails here in southern Vermont. The goal of the organization is to create a contiguous trail system that connects the towns in the west river valley of Vermont, and provide everyone in that area with access to the natural world. During our chat, we cover the founding of the organization, some of the experiences we've had while recreating on the trail system and the river that runs along it, the ecology of the river, and the varied biomes that people can interact with while walking the trail. It was a great conversation about an incredible organization that's doing the work of making the outdoors accessible to everyone, no matter their ability and experience in the natural world.

Friends Of The West River Trail

Get In Touch About Volunteer Opportunities With The West River Trail

WRT Facebook

SOTF's Programs

Welcome,

This is the second half of my conversation with Murphy Robinson of Mountainsong Expeditions, and we jump into talking about the guided hunts that Murphy Facilitates for women and marginalized genders, the myth of the "lone hunter", and the value of a good camp cook. This whole conversation was a joy, and the perspectives Murphy brings to the guiding/outdoor education community are really valuable. 

Thanks again to Murphy for joining us, and if you haven't yet, go check out the programs offered by Mountainsong in the links below.

Murphy's Programs

Murphy's Hunting e-course

Murphy's Podcast

Writings from Murphy About Cultural Appropriation

Welcome,

In this episode, I'm joined by Murphy Robinson, who runs Mountainsong Expeditions here in Vermont.

Murphy and I talk about how they first got involved in working as a guide, what drew them to start Mountainsong, and how that's developed since.
We also touch on the culture of hunting as it exists in modern North America, and how the programs at mountainsong offer a different approach for new hunters, specifically women, and marginalized genders, that they wouldn't be able to find in a traditional hunters education course. We also touch on the issues of cultural appropriation in the outdoor industry, and a lot more.

The second half of our conversation will be live next week, and we talk about the specifics of Murphy's guided hunting expeditions, and a lot more, so stay tuned.

Murphy's Programs

Murphy's Hunting e-course

Murphy's Podcast

Writings from Murphy About Cultural Appropriation

Welcome to the last, and my favorite piece of my conversation with Bob Henderson. 

Bob and I talk about a mutual admiration for Arne Naess, and his "anti-expedition" to nepal, and how that sort of attitude to the outdoors changes the way people enjoy their time in nature. We go on to chat about Bob's plans to continue that anti expedition with his own trip to Nepal, and I've got to say it sounds like one of the most rewarding and inspriring undertakings I've heard of in a while. 

Thanks again to Bob for coming on. 

Bob's Website

Bob's Upcoming Book And Other Writing

Nature First; Outdoor Life The Friluftsliv Way (This Link is For Amazon, you can also contact Bob directly to order a copy if Amazon isn't for you)

Wisdom In The Open Air

SOTF's Friluftsliv Program

We're joined again this week by Bob Henderson, as we pick up our conversation from last week. In this section, Bob and I chat about his time in Norway, and some of the cultural differences he saw that influenced his approach to taking students into the outdoors.  Bob shares a lot of great insights and stories from his time in the bush, and it was a pleasure to chat with him. 

Bob is a writer, guide, and outdoor educator. Bob is the Editor and author of "Nature First; Outdoor Life The Friluftsliv Way". This book is one of the cornerstones of my career and style as a guide and educator, and getting the chance to pick Bob's brain about how he discovered friluftsliv and how it shaped his approach to guiding and "building an ambiance" for trips was an absolute pleasure. 

This is the second of three episodes that came of my conversation with Bob, so be sure to stay tuned for the other last episodes next week, where we chat about Arne Naess' Anti Expedition in Nepal, how we've seen the philosophy of friluftlsiv create change in students, and a whole lot more. 

Bob's Website

Bob's Upcoming Book And Other Writing

Nature First; Outdoor Life The Friluftsliv Way (This Link is For Amazon, you can also contact Bob directly to order a copy if Amazon isn't for you)

Wisdom In The Open Air

SOTF's Friluftsliv Program

Welcome to the school of the forest podcast. 

This week we're joined by a really exciting guest, Bob Henderson. I was a little stars truck during this conversation, as Bob's work was crucial in creating the Friluftsliv year long program, and remains a huge influence on my guiding style, philosophy about experiential education and approach to spending time in the outdoors.

Bob is a writer, guide and outdoor educator. Bob is the Editor and author of "Nature First; Outdoor Life The Friluftsliv Way". This book is one of the cornerstones of my career and style as a guide and educator, and getting the chance to pick Bob's brain about how he discovered friluftsliv and how it shaped his approach to guiding and "building an ambiance" for trips was an absolute pleasure. In this episode we talk about what friluftsliv is, how Bob discovered the concept and how well it meshed with the style he'd already started to build as a young guide and educator. 

This is the first of three episodes that came of my conversation with Bob, so be sure to stayed tuned for the other two episodes, where we chat about Arne Naess' Anti Expedition in Nepal, how we've seen the philosophy of friluftlsiv create change in students, and a whole lot more. 

Bob's Website

Bob's Upcoming Book And Other Writing

Nature First; Outdoor Life The Friluftsliv Way (This Link is For Amazon, you can also contact Bob directly to order a copy if Amazon isn't for you)

Wisdom In The Open Air

SOTF's Friluftsliv Program

Welcome back.

This is the second half of my chat with Willa Moore. In the first half, we discussed how she got involved in a life lived outdoors and developed a passion for basket making and hide tanning.
In this second episode, we have a really compelling conversation about some of the negative sides of the American outdoor industry, ranging from representation and accessibility, to a need for a more welcoming and caring community during long term wilderness experiences, instead of the current "rugged individual" stereotype that's become pervasive in many outdoor pursuits. I learned a lot, chatting with Willa, and really enjoyed hearing her perspective on how we in the outdoor industry can create a more welcoming environment for people who're interested in getting started or taking part in this lifestyle. I hope you all get as much out of it as I did.

Thanks for listening.

Willa's Instagram

Welcome to Episode 21

We're joined this time by basket weaver and hide tanner Willa Moore. Willa and I jump right into the first half of this conversation talking about her shift from growing up in new york city, to now living in Maine and teaching things like basketry and hide tanning, and how those practices foster a reverence for the natural world. 

We also talk about the value of taking your time to do something and paying attention to the materials you're working with as opposed to knocking out projects left and right and not learning anything real about the process. Thanks for listening, and keep an eye out for the second half of our conversation next week.

Willa's Instagram