The Art of Nature Awareness

MONDAY, AUGUST 19

Reconnecting with the Natural World
9pm

During this brief program introduction we’ll learn about the legacy our ancestors gifted to us in the forms of tracking and awareness, survival skills, and complex and effective social structures. We’ll have a nature display to evoke questions and conversation. This will be educational and fun for the entire family.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20

Fox Walk: The Way of our Ancestors
7:30am

Learn how moving efficiently through the natural world helps to pattern our brains for expanded awareness and our bodies for balance, agility, and strength. Shifting from an urban or suburban gait to our ancestral gait makes us instantly quieter in the woods and enables a more intimate perspective into the natural world. By learning to expand all of our senses to their fullest potential, we are able to see more wildlife and discern more subtle patterns. 1 mile, easy pace, all are welcome.

Geology Tour
10:15am

Join Professor Howard R. Feldman, Ph.D., as he shares his vast knowledge of the geologic and glacial history of the Shawangunk Mountains and its environs. 2 miles, moderate pace.

Tomahawk Throwing
2:30pm

Learn the fundamentals of safe and effective tomahawk throwing and how to adapt to changing conditions. Don’t be fooled—this skill is an effective tool for enhanced brain wiring and concentration, attributes that help us in all aspects of our lives.

*Note: Ages 13 and up. Closed-toe shoes required. All participants must go through a 15 minute safety protocol at the beginning of the session. This cannot be repeated if missed.

Night Hike to Copes Lookout
9pm

Moving deftly and silently while tapping into our night vision. Be on the lookout for creatures and events of the night—owls, insects, coyotes, stars, and satellites. We’ll use our deep sensory awareness to take in as much information as possible. Approximately 1 mile, all are welcome.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21

Tracking: Reading the Stories in the Earth
7:30am

We have been tracking as long as we’ve been human. Some anthropologists and neuroscientists propose that tracking is what has allowed our brains to develop into the immensely complex logical and creative tools they are today. We’ll begin with some clear print identification and move into tracking of situations, moments in time, and even ourselves. 1 mile, easy pace, all are welcome.

Primitive Fire-Making
10:15am

Discover the science and alchemy of fire-by-friction in this hands-on activity. Fire is an essential element for our long-term survival. The ability to make fire with only materials found at hand is a skill that our ancestors possessed for thousands of generations. While it is challenging at first, the rewards are many, as it gives us the freedom to know that we can create a fire in most circumstances and apply this vital element for heat, cooking, light, tool-making, preparing medicines, purifying water, and so much more. Participants will learn one method of fire-by-friction and apply their new-found knowledge on their own bow-drill kit. 1 mile, easy pace, all are welcome.

Tool-Making and Camp Skills
2:30pm

Here we’ll learn the fundamentals to craft spoons, bowls, cordage, clothing, water-boiling methods, survival teas, tools, and more from the landscape.

Evening Movie: Gringo Trails
9pm

Are backpackers destroying the planet—or saving it? How do travelers change the remote places they visit, and how are they changed? From the Bolivian jungle to the party beaches of Thailand, and from the deserts of Timbuktu, Mali to the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, Gringo Trails traces stories over the course of thirty years to show the dramatic long-term impact of tourism on cultures, economies, and the environment. Following the film there will be a Q & A with the filmmakers, Pegi Vail and Melvin Estrella.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22

The Five Voices of the Birds
7:30am

Do birds really talk? Consider that birds have been on the planet for approximately eighty million years and that they possess enhanced vocal and auditory apparatus. Surely these adaptations have allowed them to remain a viable life form, and their complex vocabularies have been instrumental in this success. Here we will learn not only who is vocalizing but reach into the question of why, and, just as important, what this can teach us about ourselves and our relations with the natural world. 1 mile, easy pace, all are welcome.

Edible and Medicinal Plants
10:15am

Long-term survival would be difficult at best without a firm knowledge of plants. They are the base of the food chain and humans can barely live in habitat without reasonable plant diversity. With foundational plant knowledge, we essentially have access to food and medicine wherever we go. Here we will cover 20-25 edible and medicinal plants and learn their uses. 1 mile, easy pace, all are welcome.

The Gift of Trees— Our Great Benefactors
2:30pm

Trees provide everything we need to live—oxygen, food, shelter, fire, tools, and more. They fix nutrients in and cool the soil, prevent erosion, bank carbon dioxide, and so much more. In every indigenous tradition, the trees are metaphors, a template, for how humans should live—close to the earth, rooted in our homeland, growing straight and tall, always reaching higher, adapting to the changing seasons, supporting each other, and living in balance with other species. On this casual walk through the forest we’ll cover approximately 20-25 species of tree, learn how they grow and where, and learn their uses and their teaching role in native lore. 2 miles, easy pace, all are welcome.

Creating the Shawangunk Field Guide
9pm

Dr. Jackie Schnurr has spent the past 2 years researching the common organisms found in the Shawangunk Ridge such as trees and shrubs, flowering plants, ferns and mosses, lichens and fungi, insects, birds, mammals, along with reptiles and amphibians, and created a field guide designed to teach visitors about the various species living in the area. The Shawangunk Ridge is geologically and ecologically unique in New York State, containing many plant and animal communities that are not often found in close proximity. The Nature Conservancy calls the area one of Earth’s “Last Great Places” and has worked with Mohonk Mountain House and Mohonk Preserve to conserve large areas of the ridge to remain wild. Dr. Schnurr will describe the process she used and identify some of the more important species that you may encounter while visiting the Mountain House.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23

Wildflower Walk
7:30am

Join plant ecologist Dr. Jackie Schnurr in discovering native wildflowers throughout the grounds of the Mountain House, and dig deeper to learn about the factors that determine why plants grow where they do. This nature walk will observe patterns in the plant community and look to discover the processes that cause them.

PROGRAM LEADERS

Michael Ridolfo
Michael Ridolfo is the Naturalist at Mohonk Mountain House naturalist. After 20 years of rock climbing, ice climbing, mountain biking, skiing, winter mountaineering, nature photography, writing, and music, he began practicing the art of tracking, wilderness survival, and the native mentoring model. This journey has evolved into teaching children and adults how to deepen their relationship with the natural world. In 1999, he founded Wilderness Mind (now The Earthtime Project), a school dedicated to preserving the ancient arts of tracking and nature awareness.

Dr. Jackie Schnurr
Dr. Jackie Schnurr is a Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Wells College, a small liberal arts college located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She has been working with plants for over 25 years, and her research mostly looks at the roles that biotic factors, such as small mammals, and abiotic factors, such as light and nutrients, have on dictating plant distributions.

Pegi Vail
Pegi Vail is an anthropologist and filmmaker at the Center for Media, Culture, and History at NYU. Pegi teaches documentary production through the Program in Culture and Media in the Department of Anthropology at NYU. She is a former Fulbright scholar, has previously taught at Columbia University and lectured on travel study tours with the Columbia Alumni Travel Study Program, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. As a curator, she collaborates with colleagues at NYC arts and cultural institutions such as the National Museum of the American Indian, Museum of Natural History, MoMA, and through organizations such as the The Moth, the storytelling collective she was a founding board member and curator for. Vail is a sustainable travel consultant who additionally serves as a judge for National Geographic’s World Legacy Awards. Most recently, she was the cultural advisor and APP co-writer for Felix & Paul Studios’ “Nomads” virtual reality (VR) series for Oculus / Samsung / Facebook.

Melvin Estrella
Melvin Estrella has worked in numerous capacities within the independent film arena as well as within commercial, television, and non-profit production. Clients have included ESPN (It’s the Shoes), Filmlance Sweden (The Last Contract), Daniel Fridell (Beneath the Surface), Galavision, 3rd Edge Communications, Hock Films, House Films, Make a Wish, and TV-One. Melvin shot and produced the documentary, The Dodgers Sym-Phony and is the director of photography on the documentary-in-progress Wall Street in the Black. His short film, Firebird, premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center during the New York Indian Film Festival. Melvin was on the founding board for The Moth.

Dr. Howard Feldman, Ph.D.
Dr. Howard Feldman, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Environmental Science, Touro College, and Research Associate in the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) since 1978, is also a professor in the Biology Department of Touro College in New York City. Dr. Feldman’s second area of interest lies in the geology and paleontology of the Hudson Valley, New York. Dr. Feldman has received numerous grants for his work (e.g. National Geographic Society), has over 150 publications, and is a reviewer for the National Science Foundation, Lerner-Gray awards (AMNH) and others. His first book, published in 2013, deals with the paleontology of the Middle East and his second book, published in 2015, covers the paleontology and geology of the Hudson Valley.