Active Hope Homestead Immersion

Challenging and unique, the Homestead Immersion stretches youth to do real work in community, explore their potential as agents of positive change in an ecosystem, and develop awareness of and gratitude for the gifts of the earth.

Life on the Homestead

Students stock the coolers with ice harvested last winter, chop wood and cook on fire, bathe in the solar-heated rain-fed shower, milk goats and make yogurt, plant seeds, harvest vegetables, carry water and tend the composting systems. Each student depends on their classmates to keep all the parts of life in motion. It takes a village to make acorn pancakes!

Handwork integrates the intelligences of hand, head, and heart. Students carve bowls and spoons, twist rope, weave baskets, and sew with leather. They become makers, not consumers, of their world.

Handwork and Creativity

Reflection and Listening

The earth is alive and speaking to us. Through quiet sit-spots, journal time and in daily work, we listen and connect. Throughout the program we make space for practices that support silence, observation, reflection and growth.

Our learning experiences emphasize building cultures that (re)postion humans as community members in a living world. We utilize language, community forums, discussion, and reflection to facilitate a web of new relationships grounded in appreciation, gratitude and acceptanace. We believe that this is the deeper work of place-based living, to build cultures that are healthy and "response-able" to the world from which they spring.

Building Regenerative Cultures

Student participation outcomes

Click here for a sample itinerary

Endless curiosity The energy of possibility An embodied sense of Earth as home A capacity to listen to human and more-than-human voices. Hard skills: the capacity to transform ideology into living practice Belonging

"Thank you for a beautiful, transformative learning adventure (High School Homestead Immersion) this week! I am floating in the sweet memories of singing, eating extraordinary food in community, witnessing students grow in their confidence and awareness as they gained skills and welcomed the peace of time away from electricity. I appreciate your dedication to this teaching and all the extra effort your team gave to help the Ecology Learning Center feel welcome. Thank You!"
~Leza Packard, Head of School, Ecology Learning Center

Program Details:
Class Size: 10 to 24 students. Larger classes will cook and eat in separate pods of 12 or fewer.
Grade Level: High school grades 9 - 12 (we also adapt this program for younger grades).
Season: All four seasons are available. Winter brings unique challenges and rewards. We work with a max of 12 students during the winter months.
Cost: $125 per student per day. We are striving for financial accessibility of our programs; our Financial Aid Request can be found here.
Program length: 4 days and 3 nights; this may be expanded.