Camo & Pearls

Better late than never! That is how I describe the day I finally registered for The Immersion at Wilderness Awareness School. Occasionally, I think about choices I might have made differently had I graduated from this life-changing program decades earlier, but I heed the advice of Galway Kinnell in his poem, Wait: “Distrust everything if […]

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boy tending a fire

Truly Grateful for the Gift of Nature

One of the greatest gifts in life- especially in our increasingly wired society- is to have a deep connection to nature.  In a world that’s always changing, nature is our one constant. We can rely on the sense of well-being that comes from basking in the sunshine, the awe that comes from absorbing the sheer […]

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Patrick in the wild

Tracking Wolves, Finding Myself

I began my journey with Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) by boarding a plane, alone for the first time, to track wolves in the Idaho backcountry. I was a freshman with a fascination for wolves and that first true wilderness experience was transformational. I went from liking nature to considering nature to be an essential part […]

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WAS Youth Program Foxes

Spending Time in Nature

I believe in taking a deep breath of fresh forest air. I believe in feeling free as you romp through the trees. I believe in cooling your feet in a chilly mountain stream and letting your worries wash away with the current. I believe in spending time with nature. My family has lived in a […]

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Travis Bitters

The School That Ties Everything Together

Like most of you, I have spent a lot of time in all types of classrooms.  At university, I studied literary theory, plant taxonomy, ethnobotany, and even how to ride a horse. In the Army, I went through jump school, language school, and how-to-soldier school. However, the most significant school for my career as a […]

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Finn at Jackals

Rekindling His Fire

I am so grateful for the opportunity my son, Finn, has had to spend Fridays in Duvall with the Jackals, learning from his environment and from the strong community of teens and mentors. Last October, shortly after Finn started at a new school that wasn’t a good fit for him, his little fire burned down […]

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Happy WAS students

Muddy and Happy

Our family heard about Wilderness Awareness School through word of mouth. Friends had tried the program, spoke very highly of it, and when we looked into it further we knew it would be the perfect fit for our oldest, Henry. Henry has loved being outside since infancy. We have many memories of strapping him to […]

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Gap Year Students at The Immersion

My adventures with Wilderness Awareness School started as a volunteer with summer camps. I got so wrapped up in the world of summer camps that I once walked into my orthodontist’s office with a face completely covered in charcoal without realizing it. It wasn’t until I started volunteering at overnight camps that I began to […]

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Kaveh at Foxes

Hope in this Bittersweet World

Wilderness Awareness School is one of those vital organizations that gives me hope in this bittersweet world. They don’t play by mainstream rules; they commit to their holistic, nature-stained values, and we are all better for it. Discovering WAS years ago felt so right that it was like a homecoming. Kaveh was immediately met, seen, […]

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boy climbing tree

Heartfelt Farewell

Five years ago, we were preparing to move from Minnesota to Washington so that my husband could attend naturopathic medical school. Moving cross-country, with young ones in tow, to a state that I had never even visited, I was busy researching activities for our children to be involved in when we arrived. I remember wondering […]

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Wilderness Awareness School