CHAPARRAL NATURALISTS

"... the type, and extent, of attention we pay changes the nature of the world that we experience." - Iain McGilchrist

Know Thyself

by Reconnecting with Nature

To successfully protect the wild (and the chaparral), we must inevitably change how people relate to the natural world as well as themselves. Otherwise, our actions with be primarily reactive, forcing us to continually battle one environmentally damaging project after another.
Therefore, we are developing an educational model that utilizes Nature as not only a place of discovery to help us learn about the natural world, but also to deepen the human experience. In other words, Gnothi Seauton – Know thyself.
The new educational model will be developed through several new efforts including the Chaparral Naturalist Certification Program, Socratic seminars, and new partnerships with other organizations. Please join us! Help us change the world from within.

Our Chaparral Naturalist Certification Course

WHO? Those who love Nature, want to discover more about themselves, and desire to learn how to inspire others to explore the same, 16-years-old and over (if you are younger, please send us a note and we can discuss your possible enrollment further). WHAT? We will be creating an interactive naturalist training adventure different from any other you have encountered. Instead of the traditional "sit and get" (sitting at a desk and passively listening), Chaparral Naturalists will actively engage in learning about links and patterns between all living things and the earth we all share. Most importantly you will gain a better understanding of yourself so you can inspire a love for Nature in others. Here's a draft topic outline for our 2022 class. WHEN? Eight Saturday mornings from 9AM to 1PM, beginning the first week in March, 2023. This includes an all day, final field trip.
WHERE? Our classes are held at our retreat center, the Owl's Nest, in Escondido, California. WHY? Nature provides untapped opportunities to better understand our inner selves so we can effectively share its magic with others. As a Chaparral Naturalist you will learn to reconnect with your ancestral, wild self, discover the incredible biodiversity that makes its home in the chaparral, and learn how to communicate with others your new found passion for Nature.
HOW MUCH? We ask for a $100 donation to help us cover course materials, hot beverages to kick start your morning, and other expenses. If this is beyond your budget, please let us know. Scholarships are available.
Enrollment for our 2023 class will open during the fall of 2022. If you would like get a jump on it all, please fill out your application here!

OUR PHILOSOPHY

The California Chaparral Institute's Chaparral Naturalist Certification program strives to inspire a love for Nature by creating a diverse community of nature advocates AND to help the public better understand and appreciate the chaparral. Our program is unique in that it focuses on the chaparral and enhancing your personal connection with Nature.
We also strive to create permanent advocates for Nature who are willing to inspire others. Rather than passively listening to experts, our course is organized in small, interactive groups that participate in collaborative learning experiences designed to enhance the learning process and foster friendships.
A significant part of the journey to love Nature is also learning to love yourself by rediscovering your wild, innocent self. Research has confirmed what we have known intuitively for a very long time - connecting with Nature is not only essential for our physical health, but our mental health as well. Nature provides us the tools necessary to develop meaningful connections with ourselves and the world around us. Much of the social and personal pain we experience in our lives can be related to our distance from Nature. Therefore, we will spend a significant amount of time increasing your connection with Nature and expanding the innate love of the natural world we expressed so willingly as children.
We strongly believe, those who do the teaching do the learning. So be prepared to actively participate in the adventure. Repeated, active participation allows the development of new neural pathways that can eventually replace old patterns. Wilfred Arlan Peterson said it best in his The Art of Living, Day by Day:
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thought we wish to dominate our lives."
Another key goal of the Chaparral Naturalist Program is to expand the demographic of those participating in naturalist programs. We will pursue this goal by recruiting a wide diversity of students, post-graduates, and families. With our collaborative model, we'll leverage the environmental wisdom of participating elders to inspire younger generations. We believe the environmental community needs to reach out to everyone to ensure Nature continues to have a voice in the future. The outdoors is non-judgmental, unconditional, immediate. There are no expectations, obligations. Nature allows you the freedom to be you. We help Nature share that wisdom.

Our vision is to create a self-sustaining Chaparral Naturalist program that will help you and us achieve our mission to:

1. Reconnect. Helping our youthful innocence and innate love for Nature speak again.2. Care. Reestablish personal connections and a sense of care for Nature.3. Engage. Encouraging the use of engaging, meaningful interpretation in Nature education.4. Permanence. Creating Nature Advocates to provide a voice for Nature, especially the chaparral.
The following three resources will help further explain the foundation of our mission. The Two-Million-Year-Old Self, by Anthony Stevens.
Rediscovering the Magic in Nature.

The Green Chaparral Marble

An essential part of our program is to create lifelong Nature Advocates who strive to inspire others to love and help protect nature as well. As a symbol or talisman of that effort, Chaparral Naturalists pass along a #greenchaparral marble to those they meet who also express a sincere passion for the natural environment and the creative spirit it fosters. The marble is shared with the understanding that the recipient will pass it along to another who communicates a willingness to become a yet another Nature Advocate.
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