Nurtured by Nature - The Threshold Of Samhain - A year long foundation course in outdoor education

Nurtured by Nature – The Threshold of Samhain

For all women, mothers, daughters and granddaughters. We welcome you to a weekend in nature and simplicity, to mark and celebrate the thresholds we find ourselves in and around.

At this point in the year as the world moves into the darker months, we take time to witness, to reflect on the thresholds we are greeting in our own lives and what we choose to walk with into the winter months.

This is a chance to connect with yourself, women of all ages, the land, the more-than-human world and the universal remembering of our connection to the natural cycles. This is a time to nourish, share fruits and be ready for the time ahead and what has been a turbulent time for many of us.

This weekend will be gently held by the Embercombe team and will have guest facilitators, Israh Goodall and Elizabeth Crawford joining us for two of the days.

What to expect

– Companionship, good plant-based food, simple and cosy yurt accommodation, a chance to walk the meadows and woods of Embercombe, sharing around the fire, under the stars… possibly even a wild-swim or two

– A gentle witnessing of the thresholds and transitions that we all bring, across our generations and life circumstances, by guided time spent in nature

– The opportunity for intention making and setting in a nature-based ceremonial way

– The preparation of ceremonial objects from the natural materials of the land (ours and others) for ourselves and for our Samhain ceremony

– The chance to co-create and help hold our Samhain ceremony and celebration for the local community on Saturday night

– A chance to be part of the rewilding of Embercombe for people and nature ( … perhaps even catch sight of our pigs!), learn more about our stone circle and our approach to seasonal celebrations in a community setting

– Opportunities to dance, sing and feast

– A chance to relax, breathe, and spend precious and technology-free time with loved ones and new friends

This weekend will be lovingly held by the Embercombe team, Fiona Barnes and Rachel Fleming and facilitators Elizabeth Crawford and Israh Goodall.

Key information:

DATES:
28 – 31 October

Book with The Blood Tales for a free nights stay 27th October. Please note that there is nudity and strong language in the show.

ACCOMODATION:
£245 per person – yurt, cabin or van
£200 per child (under five year olds come free)

Facilitators

Israh Goodall

My work explores, and is inspired by, life’s transitions and thresholds, and this permeates all aspects of my work, as a midwife, expedition leader, somatic coach, and rites of passage facilitator. As a midwife, I have worked with remote tribes in the Afar region of Ethiopia, in Pakistan, in Zanzibar’s bush hospitals and in the NHS in the UK. As a qualified Mountain Leader I have led youth expeditions in the UK, Ladakh, Armenia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho, and co-facilitated ‘Call of the Wild’ at Schumacher College in Devon. As a Rites of Passage facilitator, I have trained with and assisted for School of Lost Borders, and run programmes for women and girls in the UK. More recently I am working 1-1 bringing somatic awareness and nature connection to support women and girls in times of change.

I have always found great inspiration spending extended periods of time in nature – particularly in the mountains. In both my own experiences, and in witnessing others, I have seen the power of the natural world in guiding and holding us through times of change. For more details please see www.israhgoodall.com

Elizabeth Crawford

Elizabeth’s work revolves around plants and our essential human relationships with them. She is a basket maker, working primarily in mixed, locally harvested materials, and has been teaching about and practicing herbal medicine for 7 years. A keen forager and grower, Elizabeth is interested in what the plants have to teach us as well as in their myriad uses as materials, foods and medicines. Through creative, sensory experiences in nature she hopes to inspire others to find belonging on the land and in their bodies within a wild and changing world. She lives in a land based co-operative in South Devon.