VILDA ADULT EARTH SKILLS IMMERSION

Spend one weekend a month in nature guided by expert mentors

Remember Re-wild Reconnect

We are excited to announce a unique offering for adults this year. It has become apparent to us that we need to start getting more adults outside with us, not just the kids. The outdoor skills that used to be common are no longer so. Nature connection is just as important for adults as it is for kids. It enhances our health, happiness and a sense of belonging in our natural place.  The wild world is waiting for us to remember who we share this amazing planet with and how we can take care of them while taking care of ourselves.

What we have to offer you at Vilda is really quite special. We facilitate hands-on experiences in nature that result in a sense of connection with self, others and our natural place. We find this goes deeper than just going on guided hikes or taking naturalist classes. This program is composed of naturalist studies, connection practices, and ancestral skills.  We focus on field exercises and community connection to enhance the learning process.  Beyond that, we teach survival skills and ancestral arts such as friction-fire making, debris shelter building, carving with knives and hatchets, basketry, essential knots, and more. We find all of this together creates a unique experience that will quite honestly change your life. Gaining these skills allows people to be more confident, prepared and joyful in the outdoors. You probably won’t be quite the same ever again, we weren’t and we are much better off for it.

What you will get out of this course: 

• Hazards and how to stay safe in the outdoors

• Plants, animals, and fungi of the area

• Animal tracks and sign

• Ecological literacy

• Wilderness survival skills such as fire-making, debris shelters

• Ethnobotany

• Wild edibles and responsible foraging practices

• Restoration and care-taking practices

• Ancestral arts such as basketry, pottery, fiber arts, and flint-knapping

• Bird language basics and bird identification

• Nature journaling and field sketching

• A deeper sense of belonging on the land

• Movement and meditation practice in nature

Your main guides on this journey will be Mia Andler and Spencer Nielsen. Both founders of Vilda who have been mentoring others on this nature connection journey for almost 20 years. We will also have many guest teachers and speakers who are experts in their fields.

We’ll be honest, we really want you to join us. We need more adults to keep these nature-based ways alive. They are so important at this time for humanity to live in balance with the earth. The more adults we can help feel confident in these ways the more children will naturally be introduced to them too. We promise it will be fun and very worthwhile, you will probably make new friends and have a great time and learn some really unique and useful things. Please let us know how we can help make it possible for you to join us. Contact us here.

Immersion Program Add Ons

Congruent Children’s Program

Congruent childcare is available for this program and runs alongside it. Registration and details at the bottom of this page.

Nature Educator ADD-On

Are you a teacher, educator or parent who wants to learn how to teach children in the outdoors?

Vilda offers a unique way of teaching children in the outdoors to foster nature connection and confidence. The nature educator add on to the immersion program gives you a peak behind the scenes into how we do what we do. This is the training we use for our own instructors as well. 

What you will get with this add-on:

• 4-5 more hours of programming a month focused on nature educator training

• A weekly check in with others on the nature educator track

• A practical piece - working for a session with Vilda or a school of your choice with a once a week check in with a mentor as you try out your techniques

• Training in the Nurtured Heart Approach management method that Vilda uses

• Risk management training

Rites of Passage Guide ADD-ON

Please contact Spencer at Elemental Nature (website coming soon) for information and to sign up for this add-on.

Program Details

Adult Earth Skills Immersion
When: Sep 9, 2023 - May 19, 2024
See full schedule at bottom of page.
Nature Educators add-on continues until 3pm on Sunday
Location: Various Northern Bay Area Locations

Congruent Children’s Program

Who: Children ages 4-15 of Adult Earth Skills Immersion participants

Congruent childcare is available for Adult Earth Skills Immersion includes childcare during learning hours in the program. To register, please first register for the adult program and then also register for the childcare using the button below.

Childcare Cost:
9 monthly payments of (or pay in full):
Rate A: $221
Rate B: $170
Rate C: $142
Please note: during signup, you will have the option to either pay in full or to select a monthly payment plan. If you only need childcare during certain program months, you can ask us to cancel any number of childcare months - please let us know if you need to cancel a month 2 weeks or more before the program date of that month.

Full Schedule

Oct 15th, 2023 / 9am-4pm, Sun
Day-long at Abbot's Lagoon in Point Reyes- tracking and local animal species
Optional: meet at 8am at Fairfax office to carpool with van

Nov 11-12, 2023 / 10am, Sat - 11am, Sun
Wilderness skills overnight at 4EEE sister school in Nevada City - wilderness survival

Dec 10, 2023 / 10am-4pm, Sun
Day-long at Lake Lagunitas in Fairfax - mushrooms, salve, knots and more

Jan 21, 2024 / 10am-4pm, Sun
Day-long at Lake Lagunitas in Fairfax - inner tracking, medicine making, fire tending

Feb 11, 2024 / 10am-4pm, Sun
Day-long, location TBD - land tending, fire ecology, 

Mar 9-10, 2024 / 10am, Sat - 11am, Sun
Overnight in Bolinas - wild edibles, bird language

Apr 13-14, 2024 / 10am, Sat - 11am, Sun
overnight at Samuel P Taylor-basketry, natural dye

May 18-19, 2024 / Time TBD
Final overnight trip, details TBD - most likely to Point Reyes National Seashore