Sustainable Farming? What is that?

This past weekend, we visited the Boar and Chick farm in Troy Ontario. Mark and Tania Veenstra are down to earth, caring people that open their doors to anyone who wishes to visit their farm. They even have people passing by stop to sit on their front lawn and destress.

Our visit to the farm was a great way to learn about sustainable farming. Mark and Tania have various animals on the farm, sheep, brkshire boar, chickens, dexter cows, long horn cattle and horses. There were many piglets running around and Tania introduced us to many of the resident boars by name. The sows had given birth and raised piglets and many were resting in between the pregnancy or they were pregnant ready for the spring births. To ensure health and longevity of the sows, they are given a rest period to recovery. Something that in larger establishments they do not practice.

You can tell the animals are well cared for, they have large pastures to roam in, lots of areas to root around, play in the mud and run.

A great farm to visit with your family and learn where our food comes from. To appreciate what goes into raising healthy animals for our table and that it is possible.

We finished our tour with some horse rides. I was volunteered to be the first one. I love horseback riding.

If you would like to contact Mark or Tania, visit their website at www.theboarandchick.com

Oh, and their rooster and two sows, are famous models for Chatelaine. They were not available for autographs though. :)

Enjoy the video of our visit.

THE Question...

I have just been shocked at the record high at teen suicides.  I can't help but ask myself how self worth,  information and proliferation are so unbalanced due to the digital age. How are you, or better yet, what are your views as a parent on mentoring on moderation and self worth?

The found art of barefoot tree climbing

It all started out as a need (on my part) to go for a hike and do some shooting... not bow and arrow kind of shooting, but with my camera. So I invited a few friends to come with me.

With camera and friends in tow, we started off a trail, just off a side road, part of the Bruce Trail. We look around in amazement at the tree formations. One I name the "pom-pom tree".

As we got further into the forest, I was drawn to take my shoes off and walk off the trail towards a fallen tree. As my friends looked at me with a "oh what is Rhonda doing now" kind of look, they too soon followed me in balancing on the fallen log.  They, however, kept their shoes on. :)

I turned around and found a fallen tree balanced on another. A perfect scaling tree. As I started to scale up it... in my barefeet... I soon came to the realization that if I fell, it would hurt. Nothing inspired concentration, focus and spider like senses than the realization of your own mortality.

I got up to the top and then slide off the tree (on purpose) and down to the ground. Then it was my friend's turn. And guess what, this time they did it barefoot. A new sensation of feeling the bark and tree through your hands and feet enable your senses to guide you as you climb. You also have more agility and balance in barefeet.

This fun experience has inspired what we call the NatureFit Hikes. A free hike where we encourage everyone to climb trees barefoot, to walk the trail and off trail barefoot, and to get dirty. And learn self confidence and sense of accomplishment through climbing a tree.

Give it a try! And share your experiences and photos with me.

Here's a goofy video of walking nature's balance beam at our latest NatureFit Hike.

What is all the talk about the Art of Mentoring anyway?

Last August, I attending a week long nature immersion workshop that changed the way I teach, interact with my community and with my family.  I am now part of this movement across Ontario that is connected internationally to other regional groups. So I thought I would share the information below with you and perhaps you will understand a bit more of what I am talking about when I mention the Art of Mentoring written together by myself and my very good friend Kevin MacGregor.

CONNECTING TO NATURE BUILDS RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

Students rioting, elders alone across the country, adults struggling to achieve the economic dream, children committing suicide: are these the signs of a healthy community?  What does a healthy community even look and feel like?

Across Ontario there is a movement afoot to address these very questions.  People of all ages are throwing out their TV remotes and game consoles to head into the woods ready to discover what it feels like to be deeply connected to the natural world and to discover who they really are.  People are not going alone but bringing with them their children, their teenagers, and their seniors, to discover what community is like when everyone is a valued member of the ecosystem.

Art of Mentoring Ontario (AoM ON) is part of an international movement almost 30 years old that uses ancient methods to integrate nature education, community building, personal development and ecological stewardship into a five-day workshop August 20-25.  Through hands-on learning, adult participants will experience a nature-based village and gain the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to create a powerful culture of natural connection in the home, workplace and community. Concurrent children’s camps, teen’s camp and elder’s training program will be woven into the fabric of the adult experience with intergenerational programming and nightly sharing of stories.

Janice, a 2010 participant shares her experience “With out a doubt this is an exceptional workshop it combines the two most important tenets I strive to live by; being deeply connected to nature, and embracing the human spirit. I’m looking forward to next year.”

The Art of Mentoring movement in Ontario was organized by members of the P.I.N.E. Project in Toronto, various nature educators in Ontario and is supported by international visionaries such as Jon Young (8 Shields Institute, California) and Mark Morey (Institute for Natural Learning, Vermont

Another exciting part about this year’s program is Jon Young, co-founder of the Art of Mentoring, prolific author and storyteller will be part of the Ontario program.  Jon has been a leader in this field for thirty years and brings a very experienced, unique, and fun presence to this years program.

Join The P.I.N.E. Project, Mark Morey (Institute for Natural Learning), Saskia Veanderhoop (Sassafras Earth Education), Dan Gardoqui (White Pine Programs), Andrew McMartin (PINE Project), Chris Gilmour (PINE Project), Alexis Burnett (Earth Tracks), Skeet Sutherland (Sticks and Stones Wilderness School) and other nature educators from Ontario and New England for the 3^rd annual Art of Mentoring, held at Mansfield Centre, ON for the week of August 20-25^th.

Is this the Hungry Caterpillar?

On our adventure today, we looked at the edge of the water to see if we could see any frogs. They all seemed to be hiding, but as we turned, a little caterpillar decided to attach themselves onto one of us.

A half an hour of exploring this small creature followed.
All other thoughts for the day were forgotten for the moment, and following the interest of the child,  we explored it legs and prolegs, remembered the story of the Hungry Caterpillar and went through the stages of a caterpillar. The look of connection between the story and the caterpillar and that this little creature would spin a cocoon and become a moth or butterfly was magical.

The prolegs were a hit as one little one thought they were suction cups like an octopus. And as it crawled up the arms and back down again, the little explorers wiggled and giggled in delight.

Here is a short clip of two of the Young Explorers passing the caterpillar to each other and talking about getting on a leaf and eating dinner.

Come and explore with your child and become a Young Explorer this winter - register online at htpp://www.naturesbackpack.ca

Experiencing the Edge

The other week, I had the opportunity to speak with some inner city parents of 3-6 year olds. I was asked to come in and talk about the benefits of getting outside into nature with your young ones and connecting them to nature.

I usually have an idea on what I want to talk about, but I always keep it open to change as to what I feel the audience may need to hear.

When I asked this group about their experiences, I was humbled in the fact that not everyone had an upbringing experience as I did. That these parents for the most part, grew up in the concrete jungle of our inner cities. And because of that, their childhood did not include a lot of nature.

This was exciting for me, because here was a group of adults who wanted to offer opportunities for their children out in nature, instead of inside, but did not know how to go about it. One parent even went as far to say that she was very UNCOMFORTABLE in nature. Wow! This experience I was about to take her on was out of her comfort zone, it was her edge. And with her permission, I asked if she would trust me to keep her and her young children safe when we went on a hike later. She wasn't enthusiastic about it at first, and I decided to offer her time to listen to what I have to say and think about it. Then when it became time, go from there.

So I continued with my talk. The benefits of connecting to nature with your child because as you do so, you are also connecting personally with your child. You are building a strong foundation of trust, love and emotional bonding. That through play out in nature, in a child-like manner, these interrelated connections occur.

I gave examples and a story... of course I told a story, that is how I usually bring home the message... in a true story. The example I gave was of our dad and son rolling down a hill. I love that story, it has such a powerful impact on me and I hoped it did on the parents as well. Click on the story.

When it came time to gather the children and make our way out onto the hike. This parent was still uncomfortable with going out. And it wasn't a big nature hike, it was a wooded lot, gravel trail we would be following. She started to tell me about the "bug" fear her children had. So I suggested she watch me on how I interact with the children and together we will explore the trail.

When we got outside, I established some safety rules and we were off. At first the kids were all over the place, not really knowing what to do and where to go. Then after 10 feet onto the trail, one little girl found a snail shell. She handed it to me and as I was questioning her, the snail began to come out of its shell. I held it upside down at first so we could see its foot grow out of the shell, then one of the antennas. By this time all the children had gathered around my hand to watch this snail come out of its shell. I start to ask more questions, 'what is it?, what do you think it is doing? What part is coming out, why is it coming out? Why was it in its shell? Touch it? Would you like to have it crawl on you?" etc etc. We spent 30 minutes watching this snail, each one that felt comfortable letting it crawl on their hand, feeling the coolness of its body as it slid aver the hand.

And where do you think the children of that parent who was uncomfortable with nature were? Right beside me, holding the snail and having it crawl on them. No fear of 'bugs' at all. A perceived fear that really came from the parent. An ah-ha moment for the mom.

The kids were hooked, I then had a crowd that followed me everywhere as we investigated the spit on plants, to find out that inside that spit, was a spittle bug.  That insects have 6 legs and talk about the difference between bees and wasps and should we be afraid of them. Demystifying the insect world and eliminating some misplaced fears.

At the end, we had a coyote hunt with the kids, with me being the coyote and they being the rabbits. Yep, I caught one. All the while the parent that was uncomfortable out in nature commented to another "I am still a little uncomfortable out here, but I am here doing it! And look at my kids, They are all caught up in Rhonda's enthusiasm... and I got caught up in it too! I would like to bring her out with me more often."

I was honoured to bring this parent to her comfort in nature edge and show her that although there are some things to be aware of out in nature, if you respect and learn of what is out there, it isn't such a big scary place, but a place to build connections to nature, your children and to yourself.

If you are like the parent in this story, feel free to come along on one of my guided hikes, or even contact me for a hike, I always look for an excuse to go out into nature.

Until next time....

The Tour - Day 3

On our way to Toronto Evergreen Brickworks. I had never been there but had heard a lot about it. It was a busy place with the farmer market going, kids programs and the works. This was our first workshop offered through the tour. The workshop talked about the rites of passage. About offering our younger generation a ceremony that takes them from childhood to adulthood. We see this in ancient cultures and in the aboriginal cultures where the men would go off into the woods to do a spiritual walk or the sweat lodge. Through these rites of passage we start regenerating our culture.

As I was sitting there, listening to Mark speak, an idea came to me. In my experience with my own daughter, I notice that our culture, even though we have come a long way, still has certain expectations on genders. That girls are frilly and play with dolls, learn how to put on make up, cook and look after people, and the boys are macho, bread winners, who provide for their families, do the heavy work and such. I do have to say, even when I was a child those same gender expectations were imposed on me... I am just one to not listen to any of that and do what I felt was true to me. Even if you said I couldn't do it because I was a girl, I sought out a way to prove you wrong. You can say I am still like that. The song that comes to mind is "Anything you can do I can do better" ha ha.

Anyway, got off topic there.

The Rite of Passage workshop got me thinking about the so called camping trip my daughter was suppose to go on with her un-named group. I won't name it here in public. But I was disappointed when I learned that the message being sent to these young girls about the camp trip was "you are too little and wouldn't be able to do "real" camping'. These girls are 8 and 9, fully capable of camping. The biggest comment was that they were not to use a backpack because they wouldn't be able to carry it and it would take to long to pack it up. Um... and your point being? Are they not suppose to learn how to pack a backpack and carry it? That was just the start of it. I could go onto a big rant, but I promise I won't. Let's just say, my daughter is not going to be part of this group anymore. I want an empowering experience for my daughter, not an enabling one. She gets enough of that in media, songs and magazines.

So what was Mark talking about? He was telling us stories of his program he offers pre-teens that  teaches them survival skills and primitive skills. Skills that teach problem solving, tenacity, to keep trying even if you are tired and wet and don't want to... because your own survival depends on it. And then when you learn all those skills, you do a solo over night, a night of self sufficiency and survival of your own power. A night where you are on your own to fetch water, food and shelter and build your own fire. Think of all the lessons learned in that! Just think about it! How amazing would your child feel when they come back after making a water bottle out of birch bark and pitch, found a source, built a fire they lit by bowdrill and made shelter for the night and SURVIVED!!! ON THEIR OWN! How powerful!

THAT is what I want to provide for my daughter and to other young women out there. An opportunity to be resilient, problem solver, self sufficient and can handle situations no matter how scarey they are. A life lesson that can be applied to anything in your life. Heck, adults need this rite of passage too! It is in the works... watch for it.

You may be interested in these links
5 Day Tour - Day 1
5 Day Tour - Day 2