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We’ve just finished a 15-minute hike in from the parking lot of Metcalfe
Rock and after lugging in armloads of climbing gear, caving helmets and
their lunches, the students are helping set up their base camp for the day.
Matt Simpson of Free Spirit Tours has gathered the students in a circle
while his wife and fellow teacher Kim Simpson has tasked a student with
lighting the white sage smudge. The students take a minute to explain
this ritual tome—that they’re ridding themselves of any negative thoughts
they may have brought to this place and opening themselves to the
positivity of the day while showing respect for the land. The children,
aged seven to ten, are silent as they pass the smudge bowl around,
gently ushering the smoke over their faces. There’s much reverence in this
circle; no fidgeting, no talking, nomovement, until the last child has had
their turn, and snack time begins.
The group gathered at Metcalfe Rock on this spring Thursday is part
of Free Spirit Tours’ newly launched Forest School. This nature-based
education program provides hands-on learning experiences in an
exclusively outdoor setting. Free Spirit partnered with Shannon Foley of
Red Tail Hawk Forest School this spring after an increasing number of
local parents were looking for nature-based programs to complement their
children’s classroom education.
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words & photos :: Allison Kennedy Davies
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