- Welcome to Forest Lake Nature School
- info@ForestLakeNatureSchool.com
- 18348 Loyola St NE Columbus, MN 55025
Mission & Philosophy
Our mission is to help children and adults cultivate healthy relationships with nature, community, and self. When these three relationships are nourished, learning becomes a natural process of curiosity, belonging, and joy.
At Forest Lake Nature School, we blend two great educational lineages — the Deep Nature Connection mentoring model and the Waldorf philosophy of head, heart, and hands. Together, they create a living education that awakens awareness, empathy, and imagination. Children learn through story, rhythm, curiosity, and relationship — guided by mentors who help them discover their gifts and feel truly seen.
Our philosophical roots are also inspired by Charles Eisenstein, whose writings explore the intersections of ecology, education, and belonging. Books such as The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, Sacred Economics, The Ascent of Humanity, and Climate: A New Story articulate the deeper story that guides our school’s vision: that education, like ecology, must be rooted in relationship and reverence.
“When we see the world as alive and sacred, every act of care — for a child, a tree, or a meal — becomes a form of prayer.” — Charles Eisenstein
Deep Nature Connection, Coyote Mentoring & The Legacy of Connection
Our guiding approach is rooted in the Deep Nature Connection model — sometimes called Coyote Mentoring or the 8 Shields framework — developed through the work of Jon Young and his mentors Tom Brown Jr., Ingwe (Norman Powell) — who co-founded the Wilderness Awareness School with Jon — and Gilbert Walking Bull. This philosophy reflects how humans have always learned: through relationship, story, curiosity, and direct experience.
Rather than teaching facts from the top down, our mentors awaken wonder by drawing out each child’s own questions and discoveries. This approach is relational, story-rich, and alive.
Jon Young now frames much of his teaching under the name “Legacy of Connection Mentoring.” This language reflects the continued evolution of his life’s work and its connective cultural elements — a mosaic of our ancestral lifeways carried forward in modern communities. That same spirit animates our school.
The 8 Shields: Learning with the Rhythms of Nature
The 8 Shields map mirrors the cycles of a day, a year, and a life — each “shield” carrying a quality of energy:
Inspiration, Curiosity, Beginnings
Joyful Exploration and Discovery
Creativity, Vitality, Full Expression
Maturity, Cooperation, Refinement
Reflection, Gratitude, Storytelling
Integration, Listening, Discernment
Stillness, Rest, Wisdom
Renewal, Vision, Anticipation
“When education moves at the speed of life, every moment becomes a chance to connect, reflect, and belong.”
8 Shields Institute
Waldorf Inspiration
Our second major influence is the Waldorf Philosophy, a holistic approach that honors the unfolding of childhood as a sacred journey. Waldorf nurtures head, heart, and hands through rhythm, beauty, and art — helping children develop imagination, focus, and reverence for life.
Creating rhythmic daily and seasonal flows that balance movement, rest, and play
Weaving art and handcraft — painting, music, cooking, and storytelling — into learning
Inviting imagination and beauty into spaces, materials, and rituals
Honoring childhood’s natural pace, emphasizing wonder over rush and depth over quantity
Food as Relationship: A Sacred Philosophy of Nourishment
We draw deeply from Daniel Vitalis, Arthur Haines, and Mansal Denton (projects like WildFed, Sacred Hunting, and Real Provisions). We believe food is sacred — a daily expression of relationship with land, community, and self.
From wild rice to maple sugaring, from gardening to respectful harvesting of deer, food connects us to cycles of life and reciprocity. Children participate through cooking, herbalism and wildcrafting, storytelling, and land tending — discovering that nourishment is relationship.
Our Culture in Practice
At Forest Lake Nature School, we nurture resilient, creative, and connected children by weaving nature, community, and skill-building into daily life. We believe every child deserves to grow in relationship with the land, to discover their gifts in a supportive community, and to carry forward skills and values that last a lifetime.
Guides who see, care, and spark growth
Learning with nature through play, tending, foraging
Songs, shared meals, stories, emotional safety
Projects often emerge from children’s curiosity
Fire, tool use, cooking, teamwork
Gratitude circles, seasonal festivals, daily rituals
We hold that the work of childhood is to explore, imagine, and belong. Our mission is to protect and nourish those gifts — so children grow strong in body, kind in spirit, and deeply rooted in the world.
Our Place: Honeycomb Cottage & Regen Homestead
Set among forests, meadows, and prairie restoration, Honeycomb Cottage & Regen Homestead are where our philosophy becomes physical. Children gather under trees, at fire circles, in shaded classrooms, and project spaces designed to support many modes of learning.
Our partnership with Austin & Ruth reflects shared values: stewardship, beauty, and regenerative design. Together, we tend gardens, restore native plantings, compost, build natural structures, and let the land teach.
with natural seating
for crafts and cooking
(e.g., compost toilets, gathering shelters)
evolving through children’s hands
We also maintain a second site — an epic forest peninsula in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, surrounded by water and wild beauty, conveniently accessible to families from the Twin Cities up through North Branch.
Together, these lands form the living heart of our learning community.
Our Team
The heart of Forest Lake is our guides and mentors — people of presence, curiosity, humility, and care. Each brings training and passion in nature connection, Waldorf methods, tracking, mentoring, and regenerative culture. They hold space, tell stories, invite wonder, and meet children where they are — supporting growth, self-trust, and rooted belonging.
Our partnership with Austin & Ruth reflects shared values: stewardship, beauty, and regenerative design. Together, we tend gardens, restore native plantings, compost, build natural structures, and let the land teach.
Resources & Further Learning
Our educational philosophy is part of a wider lineage of teachers, communities, and movements helping people reconnect to what it means to be fully human — in relationship with the land, one another, and the sacred.
Below are some of the teachers, books, and media that have helped shape our school’s heart and practice.
We encourage families to explore these teachers and traditions — not just as resources, but as an invitation to live in deeper relationship with the natural world and each other.
Stories that honor nature, gratitude, and the wonder of everyday life.
These books are family favorites — often read around fires, during quiet mornings, or before bed.
Chief Jake Swamp
Jane Yolen
Anne Picard
Doug Elliott
ThriftBooks | Amazon
ThriftBooks | Amazon
Heidi Huebner (Bluebird Hill Shop)
Heidi Huebner (Bluebird Hill Shop)
These stories invite children to listen deeply, to live gratefully, and to see themselves as part of the great circle of life.
Daniel Vitalis (Podcast)
Mansal Denton (Podcast)
Arthur Haines
Sam Thayer
Sam Thayer
Sam Thayer
These foraging and rewilding teachers remind us that every meal can be an act of belonging.
Jon Young
Jon Young & Tiffany Morgan
Mark Elbroch
Jonathan Poppele
Jonah Evan’s Library of Track & Sign Resources
Jonah Evan’s Library of Track & Sign Resources
Tracking is the original literacy — the art of seeing, sensing, and interpreting the language of the living world.
Our work with children and families is also informed by those exploring human vitality through nourishment, light, movement, and traditional foods.
We believe a thriving community depends on radiant, well-nourished individuals — and that true education must honor the body as much as the mind.
Nutrient Wisdom & Metabolic Education
Research & Writings on Bioenergetic Health
Nutrition & Traditional Diets
We hold that health is not merely the absence of disease, but the presence of creative energy, warmth, and connection.
(Pro tip: for calmer, more mindful viewing, try 75–80% speed on YouTube. Children notice more detail and feel less overstimulated.)
stewardship and care for the Earth
friendship, life cycles, and gentle farm wisdom
independence and living with the land
love, loss, and animal friendship
kinship and transformation through spirit and animal connection
ancestry and connection to the ocean and calling
friendship, freedom, and courage
loyalty and perseverance through animal companions
continuation of animal friendship and journey
gentle forest spirits and childlike wonder
respect for small beings and quiet magic
independence and community through service and kindness
friendship and harmony with the natural world
compassion and belief in the unseen
perseverance and loyalty in harsh conditions
communion with wild creatures
attunement to wild seasons and animal intelligence
listening to forest life through science and wonder
appreciation of animal instinct and the balance of life
mentorship, imagination, and the magic of inner transformation
transformation through love and belonging
kindness and ephemeral beauty of life
inclusion and embracing difference
compassion and sacrifice through a gentle farm story
