Wildlife Photography — September 26, 2011 Join us for a day of photographing Earthfire wildlife through the Mountains and Plains Institute for Life-Long Learning and Service. The visit to Earthfire is part of a seven-day program (9/25-10/1) that will explore Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains — a perfect seeing to study advanced nature and especially wildlife photography. Field instruction with digital techniques or film technology will be provided to improve nature photography skills. With the seasons in change, the weather can bring brilliant sun and/or showers and snow; photographic opportunites abound, giving a menu of light, mood and artistic expression. Please link to www.mpills.org/programs for information/reservations about the week-long program.
Connecting with Wildlife Heart to Heart – September 16-19, 2011. For humans who want to live more deeply and more “in the moment”, with the help of the animals of Earthfire. There will be time for truly meeting the animals, contemplation, storytelling, deep conversation and celebration, with the magnificent Grand Tetons in the background as we work towards healing ourselves and the planet. Led by Earthfire co-founders Susan Eirich, Ph.D. and Jean (John) Simpson. This promises to be a very special and rich experience for all who attend. RETREAT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Writers’ Workshop – Wild Creatures: Guides to Our Creative Source – August 13-14, 2011. The thoughts, feelings, and spiritual experience of humans are directly linked to our relationship with the other beings of this earth. For most of human history we recognized this kinship and neither people nor animals were considered wild. For many of us this sacred relationship has become abstract, like a distant memory or dream, at a time when the earth’s animals need our passionate help and communion. In Earthfire’s Wildlife Garden you will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually meet, as individual beings, the wolves, grizzly bears, bison, coyotes and other animals at the Institute. Personal encounters with the animals renew our sacred bond and create space inside ourselves to welcome back that ancient sense of kinship. Over the course of this retreat, encounters with animals as creatures with souls as unique as our own will help us engage our deepest creative selves and discover gifts we may not know we have. We will express our creativity through writing, sharing our work, exercises, readings and conversations, with the intent of moving forward with an enriched awareness and renewed commitment to the other beings that share this world with us. This workshop will be co-led by naturalist and award-winning writer Susan Marsh and Earthfire Institute’s Executive Director Susan Eirich.
The Call of the Wild with Polly Klein — August 5, 6, 7, 2011 - We connect to the larger world through our personal encounters. Join Polly Klein, nationally renowned animal communicator and healer, owner of Tonglen Healing Arts for Animals, for this once in a lifetime opportunity as we come together in community to talk with wild animals about the events impeding their natural habitats. Using a combination of animal communication and shamanic techniques we will consult the wild animal inhabitants of Earthfire and through their guidance create an action plan so we may be effective advocates for their needs. Inspired by the plight of the animals that reside in the Yellowstone to Yukon Territory Corridor, this retreat is for those who wish to take action locally or globally to assist the animals of our planet in having sustainable habits for generations to come.
Painting Mammals of the Yellowstone to Yukon Wildlife Corridor with Dwayne Harty – July 29, 2011 Dwayne is artist in residence at the Murie Center and the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He is commissioned by the Yellowstone to Yukon Wildlife Conservation Initiative to paint landscapes and wildlife of the Y2Y from Pinedale, Wyoming to the Arctic Circle. A show featuring his work will open at the National Museum of Wildlife Art on May 25th. Dwayne will be coming to Earthfire Institute as part of a two-day workshop organized through the Art Association of Jackson Hole. The first day of the workshop will be held at the Institute – the morning will be spent discussing wildlife art, as well as its relationship to conservation. The afternoon will be spent painting the animals of Earthfire. Limit 15. (The second day will be spent in Jackson, plein air painting in morning and tour and discussion at the Museum in the afternoon.)
Wildlife Communication Retreat with Animal Communication Specialist Penelope Smith — July 23-24, 2011 Join us for a very special one-of-a-kind weekend animal communication retreat with Penelope Smith and the hand-raised, dearly loved creatures of the Earthfire Institute family — grizzly and black bears, wolves and cougars, bobcats and lynx, coyotes, foxes, buffalo, as well as a flock of happy chickens. It is recommended that participants have taken a Basic Course in telepathic communication with animals or studies basic books and recordings on the subject but all who wish to deepen their connection with Nature and are interested in communicating with wild animals are welcome.
Honoring Totem Animals Through Painting — June 24-26, 2011 This three-day retreat gives aspiring and established artists alike an opportunity to experience totem animals in the uniquely personal way that only Earthfire can provide. Painter and wildlife tattoo artist Blaze Schwaller will lead students through a weekend of drawing and painting, using the inspiration they gain from interacting with the animals to create personal artwork that honors the connection between human and animal spirit. Blaze shares, “After spending time with bears, wolves, foxes, coyotes, buffalo, and the other residents of Earthfire, we will begin to sketch. Learning to understand the messages the animals give us, we will capture their personalities on the page, and begin to work in paint as the weekend progresses. Having the opportunity to spend intimate time in communion with animals that most people never get to meet face-to-face will inspire us to create truly touching works of art. This experience will open our hearts to the message each animal has for us, and allow us to communicate that to the world through our paintbrushes. I can imagine no better way to share such a moving encounter than through expressive drawing and painting – it’s a medium that speaks without words, and helps others share our experience every time they look at the art.” RETREAT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Sounds of Nature: An Introduction to Recording Wild Soundscapes led by Bernie Krause, Ph.D. and Martyn Stewart – June 20-23, 2011. In a rare, world-class opportunity, two of the best sound recordists in the world will team up to teach this workshop based at Earthfire Institute with its rescued wildlife. We will be going out into the pristine wilderness areas near Grand Teton National Park and surrounding areas around Teton Valley, Idaho. We will learn how to record the sounds of nature and understand nature in a totally new and deeper way. Bernie and Martyn will share the insights gained from a lifetime of recording in the wild – insights that will forever change your understanding of the natural world. This 4-day course will take place both indoors and in the field as we learn to listen and record with an emphasis on the holistic soundscape and what it reveals. After each field session we will exchange samples of our discoveries in enjoyable and informative formats. Weather permitting, participants will learn to record everything from insect larvae to amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and arthropods (ants) in areas surrounding the Tetons, hearing how all the voices in a particular habitat interact with one another.
Connecting with Wildlife Heart to Heart — June 17-19, 2011 For humans who want to live more deeply and more “in the moment”, with the help of the animals of Earthfire. There will be time for truly meeting the animals, contemplation, storytelling, deep conversation and celebration, with the magnificent Grand Tetons in the background as we work towards healing ourselves and the planet. Led by Earthfire co-founders Susan Eirich, Ph.D. and Jean (John) Simpson. This promises to be a very special and rich experience for all who attend.
Nomad Lives by Jennifer Sauer