Reclaiming Nature Connection Facilitators
Lia Grippo
Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers
Lia spent many of her earliest years in Riga, Latvia, foraging and fishing the nearby woodlands with her family. Lia has taught in a variety of settings, including small and large preschools, a Waldorf kindergarten, a parent cooperative, and wilderness programs. Lia is the founder and director of Wild Roots Forest School, a preschool and kindergarten roofed by the sky and carpeted with the living woodland floor, and co-founder of Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. More about Lia …
ERIN Dews
Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers
Erin grew up freely exploring the pastures, creeks and high deserts of California's Eastern Sierra mountains. Finding her passion for teaching at a young age, she has had the opportunity to study and teach in a variety of early childhood education settings and as an instructor in ECE programs at Santa Barbara City College. She supported Wild Roots to develop and taught the kindergarten program in Santa Barbara and opened a sister Wild Roots Forest School program in Bishop, California for 12 years. Erin is co-founder of the annual Reaching Nature Connection Conference, Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. She is a director C5 Studios Community Arts Center 501c3 and acts as a CASA(court appointed advocate for children in foster care.
PAST EVENTS
Reclaiming Nature Connection Conference - East Coast
April 1-2, 2023
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near Asheville, North Carolina
co-sponsored by School of Integrated Living (soil) + Earthaven Ecovillage
Learn more at School of Integrated Living
Reclaiming Nature Connection Conference - Utah
April 14-15, 2023
Sandy, Utah
co-sponsored by Waterford School
Learn more
Reclaiming Nature connection - California
Storytelling
November 10-11, 2023
Templeton, California
cosponsored by Santa Lucia School + Outside Now
Storytelling presenters Lia Grippo and Erin Dews take participants on a storytelling journey to develop capacities for using stories as effective teaching tools for nature connection & beyond. Drawing from their experience using stories to enchant, enrich and educate audiences of all ages, they are thrilled to share this gift with others!
Together, we cover: the developmental value of storytelling for children; the role of storytelling in education and mentoring; the art and craft of telling stories - including practice in creating and telling a story; choosing and learning stories.
Develop storytelling skills to:
Guide and enchant
Teach rather than preach
Bring calm and wonder to a child’s day
Foster attention, memory, imagination, and self discipline
Creatively resolve problems and shift behavior
Increase children’s empathy, moral fortitude, and emotional intelligence.
“What a delight to advocate for the children’s right to play! Nature and play is some of the best medicine for the soul. Thanks for your dedication to growth and sharing your insightful and sensitive work.”
“RNC not only illustrates ways adults can help children connect to nature, but it also reinvigorates the adults’ own connections. It is a powerful experience. ”
“This conference has changed the way I parent my children and how I educate my students... the importance of being a mentor that learns along side my “students” versus being a teacher that recites facts ... of providing opportunities for risk and challenge ... the power of storytelling and music to engage and inspire my students... to be a facilitator of wonder to help this generation of kids fall deeply in love with nature and earth so that it is something they will hopefully someday protect fiercely.”
“Excellent conference! The depth of behavioral psychology and child development practices, underlying the variety of activities, music and games made it a truly rich experience.”
