Forest Sprites
August 3-6 (Monday - Thursday)
9:00 am- 2:30pm
Ages: 6-9
Location: Elk Rock Island
Cost: $345
Magic waits behind every tree, under every leaf.
Down the path and into the woods. The wild places call to us. We feel them in our hearts, our hands, and rumbling beneath our feet.
Just as the flower blooms and the bird soars through the sky, we harness that magic into creation. Art is our act of embracing the wild within each of our hearts and leaning into connection with the natural world.
Join us for this week of creative exploration and wildcrafting.
What We’ll Learn
Wild Crafted Art
Whether we are making driftwood sculptures, flower mandalas, or painting with natural dyes and pigments, the forest is always our inspiration. We use art as a means of going deeper into our connection with self and the wild.
Wilderness Awareness
Faces pressed close to the earth, we breathe in the smell of soil. We watch the beetle climb slowly up a blade of grass. We place our hands in the water and let the bird song wash over us.
Weaving & Basketry
Using the bounty of the earth, we craft baskets from English Ivy, explore plant dyes, and allow our hands to learn the patterns of give and take.
Foraging & Wild Medicinals
We learn to identify wild edible and medicinal plants, learn the practice of ethical harvesting, and sample the bounty the earth has to offer.
Meet Your Instructors
Sara Murphy
Outdoor Educator & Student of the Forest
Sara believes in the magic of the natural world. She is a lifelong educator who is passionate about cultivating meaningful connection to the wild, both outside of us and within. She developed her teaching style through years of outdoor education in public schools and private organizations. Whether teaching a basketry class or leading a group of kids in the forest, she is determined that each step lead us deeper into a place of gratitude for and reciprocity with the earth.
Sara spends her free time whistling at birds, exclaiming over mushrooms, and brewing up herbal remedies. She can often be found singing over her plants or creating wild magic in the woods.
Ayme Ueda
Outdoor Educator & Creator of Beautiful Things
Ayme has a passion for connecting with and guiding children. She has over 7 years of experience in creative, art-based education as a founder and counselor of a social-justice summer camp for Portland youth. Raised in Hawaii, she embodied a deep love of nature from a young age. Her time living in the PNW has only caused that love to grow stronger. Recently she has been interested in the practice of creating fleeting acts of beauty. This type of ephemeral art allows for an acceptance of the transitory nature of all living things and can become a meditative practice of creation and release.
You will often find Ayme talking to her cats, wildcrafting and foraging in the woods, or cooking delicious foods for her friends.
Our Core Principles
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Wilderness Awareness
Through time and reflection in nature, we learn the language of the wild world. Whether it is the call of a bird or the movement patterns of beaver, we let it settle into our very bones. We talk to the trees and we hum with the bees. We put our feet in the water and breathe in the smell of sunshine on fir needles. Our senses begin to remember what our ancestors once knew.
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Ancestral Skills
From whittling to shelter building, tracking to weather mapping, we re-wild our hearts and minds – gaining critical skills that allow us to grow in connection with the land.
We stand on the ancestral land of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many others. We seek to honor that through the teaching of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and by supporting indigenous teachers, artists, and activists.
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Community & Reciprocity
At Wild & Free our community includes all living things. We nourish relationships through non-violent communication, honest introspection, and the abundant celebration of each beautiful soul.
Through acts of connection and reciprocity, we give back to all of the more than human community in recognition of the gifts freely given to us.
9:00-9:15am:
Drop off window. Students may choose to play or participate in a table activity
Rhythm of the Day
9:30 am:
We meet beneath the arms of Grandmother Cedar to dream about our day and share what is alive in us.
10:00 am:
An hour of free play and exploration.
11:00 am:
Introducing the activity of the day, usually a skill, craft, or game.
12:00 pm:
Lunch, story, & free play
1:00 pm:
We set out to continue our project or hone the skills we have acquired through group games & play
1:45 pm:
Free play & exploration
2:15 pm:
Closing Circle and a Moment of Gratitude
2:30pm:
Pick up from Spring Park in Milwaukie
Frequently Asked Questions
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Each child should have:
A backpack that is comfortable to carry all day.
A 16oz bottle of water
A lunch and a snack item
Sunhat
Sunscreen (please apply sunscreen before arriving for the day. We will help reapply at lunch.)
A change of socks
A pair of good walking shoes
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Depending on parent interest, we may offer aftercare from 2pm-4pm for an additional $100 per week. If you are interested in this option, please let us know and we will make a decision based on the number of interested families.
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Please reach out to reserve your spot by clicking the “reserve your spot” button above. If spots are still available, we will respond to you with the registration paperwork and a request for a $50 deposit that will be applied toward the total cost of the camp.
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We value small class sizes as it allows students and teachers to have a richer, more grounded experience.
Our student to teacher ratio is 1:6 .
Our camp will have two teachers an a maximum group size of 12.