“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” ~ John Muir

What was left of the daylight was rapidly fading. The primeval silence of the forest was as much a presence as the Douglas firs that towered above us. The deep hoot of a great horned owl suddenly punctuated the silence. It could not have been better timed as each of us “solo hiked” out of the canyon on Ursula’s last evening of Nature Retreat Leader Training. I was no more than 50 yards ahead of her, yet this distance, and the owl making its presence known, seemed to amplify the feeling of being truly immersed in wild Nature – exactly what I was after!  Moments later we reunited along the trail and shared … what it felt like to be out there, what came up, did we each hear the owl?, were we scared?

Over the course of three days and evenings, Ursula hiked, learned to properly use binoculars and some basics of birdwatching, examined a dried out aster with a hand lens, spent time alone on a sunny hillside with her thoughts and her journal, was introduced to using a dichotomous key in identifying conifer trees… and discussed numerous subjects related to safely providing people with opportunities to connect with the natural world. (Not only Nature subjects, but business subjects too – running a successful Nature Retreat business requires both.) And, most important of all, Ursula got to rekindle her own connection to Nature before she flew back to her busy life in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania.

As the 21st century flies through its 2nd decade, chock full of more and more technological wizardry, frightening environmental news, and societal upheavals, it seems that more and more of us are wanting – no, needing – to find our way back to Nature.

Now I don’t mean selling it all and moving to a homestead in the woods. I simply mean to step away from the peopled and built worlds for an hour, a day, a week, and experience that other world, the one that many of us felt much more connected to when we were children. Maybe it was the backyard, or the neighborhood park, or the climbing tree along a city street, or the scouts – this is where most of us established our connection to the natural world. Then we grew up, and, well, you know what happened.

Ursula currently makes a living in the corporate world, which, as so many of us can relate to, takes up so much of her time. She also feels the pull of the natural world – she knows she misses it, and she is actively working on re-establishing her connection to it. But Ursula also feels that she is being called to help others connect – or reconnect – with Nature.

And that is how I got to know her, through the Nature Retreat Leader Training that my partner Helene Van Manen and I offer. Ursula is working on taking her many skills that she uses in her current career and combining them with what she is learning through our training to create a new livelihood, one that is all about connecting people and Nature.

When I think back on that evening hike into Devil’s Canyon, I know that I will remember it for some time, as it truly was magical. I have a feeling that Ursula feels the same way about it. My hunch is that it will not be long before Ursula is providing folks in her neck of the Pennsylvania woods with the same kind of meaningful and magical experiences in Nature.

Dave Van Manen / Healthy Planet Blog