Get started writing by reconnecting with nature in this three-part class

FINDING THE MOTHER TREE: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest with Michael Brecke

"We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

"Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands."

"The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land… In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such."

These quotes from Aldo Leopold were ideas that I encountered in the 1960’s. I returned to them this fall when I walked “the land once again in the place where I grew up.” Using Leopold’s definition of “a land ethic” we will explore the natural world by looking at it with fresh eyes.

To title this class I will borrow from a wonderful book by Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. We will discuss and engage nature as we try to find the words to celebrate the beauty all around us. We will write about the “trees of our lives,” from the ones that we climbed as children to the ones whose majesty give us a sense of wonder. We will write about what we see, attempting once again to understand our connection and to the community of the natural world.

This class is presented in person and meets the mornings of Monday, June 13, Wednesday, June 15, and Friday, June 17, 9 am – noon. The class is appropriate for teens as well as adults.

Tuition for the class is $90.00. Write On members receive a 10% discount. To become a member and save, please click here. To register online for this program, please click the button above. For other registration options, please call 920.868.1457.

Michael Brecke is the former pastor of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Juddville and is a founding board member of Write On, Door County.