Dawn Song Village School
Join seasoned instructors Thomas Meli, Josh Roberts, Erin Domagal and Sheena Marie as we journey into the magical secrets waiting for us in the woods.
Register Now for Dawn Song Village Program
Spring Curriculum Includes:
- Permaculture land stewardship, basics in landscape ecology, plant identification – caretaking skills such as identifying exotic invasive weeds as well how to encourage natives. This includes basics in landscape ecology and plant identification.
- Shelter craft – such as debris hut, understanding how heat moves and how to trap it for your benefit.
- Navigation skills – how to orient yourself, and how to find your way if you are lost.
- Primitive fire making – skills such as bow drill & hand drill, fire safety, match handling, teepee and tinder construction.
- Water finding & water purification skills – how to know if water is drinkable or not and how to purify it if it isn’t. Basic meteorology skills, weather prediction, cloud identification, etc.
- Gardening skills – partnering with Regeneration Farm to help harvest and plant.
- And much more!
Through song, games, primitive skills, environmental projects, adventures, journaling, and more – we will follow your children’s hearts into what they most desire to learn.
Using experiential learning skills, your children will exercise self-confidence, creative problem solving, and compassionate communication. Additionally, we will explore place-based knowledge such as local edible and medicinal plants, animal biology, ecology, geology, and more.
Letting your child’s excitement and passion lead, we will link what they already love to an expanded connection to place. Our goal is for your child to emerge with a deeper sense of belonging to the greater community of life.
Register Now for Dawn Song Village Program
Program Information
Serving: Youth age 7 years and older, and teens.
Nine Tuesdays and three overnight experience this spring:
March 13, March 20, March 27 – 28 (overnight)
April 10, April 17, April 24 – 25 (overnight)
May 1, May 8, May 15 – 16 (overnight)
Time: 10:00am – 3:30pm on Tuesdays. Pick-up from overnights: time to be announced.
Location: Beautiful land bordering the Shawangink Ridge at Outback Farm, 81 Clove Valley Road, High Falls, NY.
Resources: For additional learning and support, we may recommend some resources to enhance your child’s naturalist journey. Depending on their age, learning style, and skill, we may suggest Kamana for Kids, Kamana One, or a specialized packet suited for their needs.
Cost: $660 includes tuition, land use, and materials fees.
Limited scholarships available depending on enrollment and need. Program cost does not include Kamana for Kids / Kamana One / specialized packets which we may recommend, but are optional for your purchase (approximately $25).
Register Now for Dawn Song Village Program
Additional Questions and Information: Please call Thomas Meli at (516) 850-8187 or email him at tpmeli@gmail.com about this program. Please call David Brownstein at (845) 256-9830 or email him at david@wildearth.org with questions about registration.
Note to Parents: We would like to include parents in the process as much as possible. If you would like to visit the program, or be involved in some piece of it during our time out there (especially the overnights), please contact us to let us know of your interest! Though what happens in our days is highly dependent on what is alive in the children to learn, a curriculum is available for parents who would like to use it to submit to the State.
An Imaginary Moment at Dawn Song Village School:
To the east, I watched as she stalked up slowly and gently to a robin with the intention to touch it. As she moved a purple damselfly landed on her arm and she smiled.
To the south, a boy is excitedly collecting wood from a Pine grove across the stream to see how the heat and light of a Pine fire differs from a fire made from Oak.
To my west he is splitting dogbane to make cordage for the hammock he wants to sleep in for our overnight.
To the north she is following the tracks of Deer to its day bed while her friend is hiding in the brush nearby to see if she notices.
So much pulls on our natural curiosity! Why is there a Pine grove over there past the stream anyway?
I hear the crunching of leaves as he walks over to check the plant field guide to find out if that is a Cedar or a Pine.
I hear the grasses bend to the east and see the gleam in her eyes as she reaches out to touch the Robin. It flew out into the Cedar nearby, but later it will return to the nest it already made in her heart.
