Wilder Tribe

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Mariner gains confidence by grappling with new skills

DELVE in

We are creating a program for Mariner and Malachite along with the other kids at Lost Valley. We call it the Diversified Experiential Lost Valley Education or DELVE. The DELVE Children’s Program encourages children to find their unique paths toward excellence in being who they are most meant to be. Based on the theory that all children are gifted in some area, the goal of DELVE is to allow the children to reveal that strength through a self-guided education model. The job of those staffing the program is to recognize each child’s gift and to make it an avenue to master yet other areas of learning. Our goal is to open this program to neighborhood and Eugene-area kids starting in the fall of 2006. To meet our goal, we will need funding for staff and development. You can give online at Helios Resource Network. If you donate before September, Helios will match your gift up to $250. We are also accepting in-kind donations of paper, school supplies, arts and crafts, etc.

We are very excited about DELVE because it offers things we haven't found anywhere else. For one thing, the kids have access to all of our wonderful permaculture and sustainability projects. Whether they are learning the natural building techniques of cob or building critter habitats in the forest, these kids are building their world view around a sense of responsibility to the earth and future generations. The land itself at Lost Valley is an amazing teaching opportunity. Our 87 acres include wild forest, an organic vegetable garden, a year-round creek, and a beautiful meadow to explore. And finally, we live in an intentional community based in consensus and a commitment to work things through. We offer our process as a model and ourselves as mentors and friends to the young ones.

Eli and Malachite build a wall out of cob, a mix of clay, sand and straw