The Riekes Center Nature Department has been providing high quality nature immersion and education for the past 20 years. All of our Youth Nature Programs bring students outside to form deep connections to the natural world through learning and through immersive experience. Our learning focuses on a diverse range of topics including: learning about the natural history of local ecosystems, how to identify and use native medicinal and edible plants, wildlife tracking, bird language, ancient living and survival skills, developing sensory awareness, homesteading skills, rural skills, and learning to be comfortable being fully immersed in nature.
Creating deep connections to nature is the cornerstone of our department. We nurture these connections while helping students achieve personal goals in this environment. Whether it is learning to identify 20 species of birds by song, how to track coyotes, or how to build a debris shelter, each student follows their own passion in nature. Our instructors mentor students through the art of questioning and share their own individual expertise and passions in natural history subjects. Our curriculum draws upon the core routines of nature awareness as detailed in the book Coyote’s Guide by author Jon Young, one of our department’s founders. Richard Louv, author of the landmark book Last Child in the Woods, describes these mentoring techniques as “good medicine for nature deficit disorder.”
We have homeschool nature programs for youth 3-17 in Woodside, Cupertino, Santa Cruz, and Pebble Beach.
To learn more visit: https://www.riekes.org/homeschool-programs