Urban Rewilding - Holistic tracking
Event description
Urban Rewilding
Are you longing to experience a deeper sense of connection to the place, plants and animals where you live?
To feel a sense of belonging to a wild community – even in the city?
The Urban Rewilder invites us to experientially explore skills and practices that cultivate a sense of intimacy with the ‘wild’ within an urban context. In this ‘age of separation,’ it is our important that we return to a more meaningful connection with the wider natural world, especially for the majority of us who live in the city.
Join experienced facilitator and Rewilder, Claire Dunn for a deep dive into Urban Rewilding.
'Holistic Tracking' is a 1 day session that can be experienced on its own, or as part of the 8 week The Urban Rewilding course.
Holistic tracking
Join us for this introduction to the art and science of holistic tracking during an excursion to Westerfold Park
Tracking is an ancient doorway connecting us to the ways of the earth and the lives of animals.
Through holistic tracking we call upon all our senses, including our inner sense, to become a conscious part of the dynamic story of the earth.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors relied upon their senses each moment to survive and thrive; the need for awareness helped us to become who we are as a species today. Our brains and bodies (neurological systems) are still those of hunter-gatherers, in the midst of the modern digital experience. As you learn to read nature’s tracks, signs and signals, this awareness will stay with you wherever you go, bringing a deep sense of participation and a personal relationship with nature.
We will explore how to approach the key questions of tracking - the who, what, where, when, why - and how these can take us deeper into the mysteries of the tracks and the overall landscape.
8 week Course - Session Outline
Session 1 Deep Nature Connection Practices
An introduction into the core routines of deep nature connection including natural movement, wide awareness, sensory expansion and sit spot.
Session 2 Coastal foraging
Guest facilitator Christine Rockley, a self-taught expert on edible seaweeds, will takes us on a delicious mystery tour of Melbourne’s edible coastline.
Session 3 Holistic tracking
An introduction to the art and science of holistic tracking during an excursion to Westerfold Park
Session 4 Traditional earth skills – Fire-by-friction and coal-burnt spoon whittling
Learn the art of ‘hand-drill’ fire making and whittling and burning a spoon from your first fire.
Session 5 Wild edibles
A wild foraging wander for native and introduced edible plants. Session include sharing a foraged wild lunch.
Session 6 Wild Mind
An introduction to the philosophy and practice of eco-psychology
Session 7 Natural Crafts – Basket Weaving
Begin your own traditional hand-woven basket using natural materials and learn the principles of the ‘honourable harvest’
Session 8 Urban Rewilding Adventure Challenge
A grand treasure and challenge adventure to celebrate and test your newfound rewilding skills!
A certificate of participation will be issued upon completion of at least 75% of the course.
What to expect
- Expert CERES Facilitators providing hands-on practical experience balanced with theory covering a variety of rewilding and eco-psychology topics.
- Practices cultivating sensitivity to the land and ecological literacy such as bird language, sit spots, natural movement and awareness, tracking and foraging.
- Dedicated space at CERES to put learning into practice.
What to bring
- Comfortable enclosed shoes/boots
- Appropriate weather gear eg sunhat
- 3 Inch non-serrated whittling knife
- Binoculars (optional)
- Pen and paper
- Lunch
- Enthusiasm to learn