Youth Programs

Our open enrollment rite of passage Elemental Quest program and our school year Elemental Quest program for existing school groups both utilize the following skills and practices to engage with the four main focuses of our programing: Nature Awareness; Earth Skills; Personal Cultivation; and Social Connection. Our high school trips, Elemental Leadership, offer continuation and deepening of mentoring in wilderness and social skills. Backpacking trips are focused on more outdoor leadership and capacity for self-sufficiency along with greater opportunities for attuning to self awareness and interpersonal relationships. From weekend overnights in the Bay Area to weeklong backpacking or ceremony based programs at Deer Mountain Sanctuary with Mayan wisdom keeper Tat Erick Gonzales, teens are supported to become their best selves and choose their finest words and wisest actions.

Nature Awareness: Watersheds and plant communities, geological formation of California/Point Reyes, Indigenous cultures and life ways
Earth Skills: Knot tying, friction fire, fire tending
Inner Cultivation: Gratitude, mindfulness, intention-setting
Social Connection: Peacemaking, Non-Violent Communication, gender identity, context for rites of passage

NATURE AWARENESS AND CONNECTION:

Sense of place
Mapping and orienteering
Botany and ecology
Tracking
Nature awareness & bird language
Nature games


NEUROBIOLOGY, FLOW, MINDFULNESS, HEALTH:

Brain functions
Adolescent brain
Flow state psycology
Awareness
Body-mind connection
Gut-brain of influence of diet


SURVIVAL AND ANCESTRAL SKILLS:

Debris shelter
Friction fire making and tending
Foraging edibles & medicinals
Pottery and basketry
Cordage and knots
Herbal medicine-making
Bow making & archery
Carving and knife skills
Flintknapping, hide tanning, and other animal processing skills.

RELATIONAL MINDFULNESS AND PEACEMAKING:

Non-violent communication
Wise speech
Peace-maker principles and practices
Way of council

Yearlong Program, open enrollment for 7th/8th graders

Sign up for a group alone or with friends. Program starts with a camping trip, followed by monthly meetings throughout the school year. Fall and spring camping trips are preparation for summer backpacking and ceremony-based trips. Youth will have the opportunity to engage in earth-based ceremony with experienced guides and/or elders.

Our flagship program, meeting monthly for 1-2 years, weaving nature awareness, ancestral skills, community connection, social/emotional intelligence, neurobiology, health and vitality

LINK to Calendar

School Program – 3 trips per year for 7th/8th graders

Class trips in fall, winter, and spring to honor completion and transition into adolescence. Elemental Quest can be tailored to schools’ needs. The ideal would be two or three seasonal trips in 7th grade and three trips in 8th grade. Trips can take many forms based on the group, budget, and intentions of teachers/families, including: camping at local state parks, backpacking or kayaking camping in Point Reyes, backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, and engaging in ceremony with elders.

Class wilderness trips, exploring local ecology, building nature connection, and supporting community, and a deeper sense of self

LINK to Contact

Short Programs: Local camping & backpacking trips

Camping trips, backpacking, kayaking, skills workshops, and other daylong, weekend, or weeklong programs

LINK to Calendar

1-on-1 Mentoring in Nature

Focus on skills, adventure, and individual mentoring

Work with an experienced mentor in nature to support either outer hard skills of survival and ancestral arts or inner soft skills of social and emotional intelligence

LINK to Mentoring

What Our Past Participants Have to Say:

“Two years of adventuring in the wild with Spencer—whether on day hikes or multi-day backpacking treks—infused my son’s life with a bold spirit and an enduring passion for the natural world.”
-Parent, Homeschool program

“Our family has known Spencer for more than four years. He has provided wonderful role modeling and support during our son’s transition into adolescence. Spencer’s gentle manner, combined with his knowledge and enthusiasm for nature, make him an ideal mentor and guide for children as they navigate their way through today’s complex world.”
-Parent, Elemental Quest

“Spencer Nielsen has been our son’s teacher and mentor for many years and has honestly been one of the best people in our lives.  Our son is homeschooled and has learned so much through his outdoor studies with Spencer.  I am always so impressed with the knowledge that he shares and also with the way that he relates to the students in his groups.  We are so lucky to know Spencer!”
-Parent, Homeschool program

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer tuition assistance?

Yes, we are pleased to offer financial assistance to those in need. There is a scholarship application for those interested. Please apply. There is a sliding scale for every program, to allow for various levels of contribution as well.

Where do you meet?

We meet in wild lands of Marin and beyond, focusing our explorations on local ecosystems, and slowly expanding with summer trips to the Sierra Nevada and Northern California.

Can I join with a friend?

We create groups with a rolling enrollment, starting when there is a critical mass of interest. To join with a friend, apply at the same time and make a note regarding the desire to be with another youth.

Our Allies and Collaborators

Stepping Stones Project

Spencer worked as a leader with Stepping Stones for 5+ years, and served on the Vision Council

Vilda

Spencer helped found Vilda, starting numerous programs for tweens and teens including the first iteration of Elemental Quest

Back To Earth

Spencer has been a guide with Back to Earth since 2018, leading 10-backpacking trips every summer and helping to start W.I.L.D. Mentoring Circles

Our Elders and Teachers