The first teacher
The Land
A member of the village in its own right.
Where Wild Souls Pathways gathers
Wild Souls Pathways gathers on private land in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, owned by mentors in the village and opened to the young people for the year. The paths move between redwood forest, oak woodland, meadow and creek as the seasons turn, with an occasional day on the water. Every place we gather is treated as a member of the village, and we leave each one as we found it.
The places
Redwood, meadow, creek and ridge
The village gathers in the redwoods along a creek, in meadows with a fire circle at their center, and on the ridges above them. Now and then the paths leave the mountains for a day on the water.
We do not publish where the young people gather. Families receive each meeting place from the mentors before every gathering.
Land as teacher
Land as teacher
A young person who sits in the same place for a whole year learns things there no one could teach them.
Each young person chooses a place on the land early in the year and returns to it alone, again and again. They notice when the creek rises, when the newts move after the first rain, when the light comes back in late winter. That place becomes theirs, and it stays.
On whose land we gather
Unceded Ohlone land
We gather on the unceded lands of the Awaswas speaking Ohlone people, and we honor the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, who carry that lineage today.
Offer land
Do you tend land in these mountains?
A day, a weekend or a season of use makes a difference to the village.