Friends Outdoors Reviving Earth Skills Together, also known as FOREST, is Whole Earth Nature School’s teen nature mentorship program. It’s for middle-school and high-school students.
FOREST is a student-driven initiative designed for kids who are dedicated to deepening their nature skills.
The goal of FOREST is to build strong self-esteem, deepen student’s nature and survival skills, and nurture their leadership abilities.
Weekly meetings are 6-8pm on a weekday at a local park. Excursions are full days (and often require rest after!), on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday depending on cohort. There will be overnight weekend trips in October and at the end of the year.*
About the Mentors
Our carefully chosen mentors for FOREST are:
- Veteran staff with years of experience
- Trained in Wilderness First Aid
- Practitioners of their specializations outside of Whole Earth
- Diverse in their teaching practices, for diverse students
- Passionate about helping young people transition to adulthood
The leaders of our FOREST program are the same instructors who train our new staff. Each mentor has a wide variety of outdoor skills that they practice as well as skills for working with people of all ages and abilities.
Whether a student is interested in nature writing, fire by friction, leatherwork, fishing, shelter building, whittling, or wildcrafting, we have a mentor with something to teach. They are also unique individuals who can relate to students over the latest radio hits, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, photography, athletics, and more.