July 13 - 17, 2026
Learn Through Nature Immersion:
5 day intensive for parents and teachers
During our Learn Through Nature Immersion 5-day Nature-Based Teaching Intensive for Parents and Educators you'll learn how to bring academics alive through nature studies for your child, co-op or outdoor education program.
You’ll be guided step by step through the unique Learning Through Nature methodology that we have developed through practice and implementation over 13 years at The Ohmapi Nature Project. You will learn how to teach academics outdoors with clarity and ease through stories, songs, games, and hands-on nature skills. And you will leave with a practical outdoor learning plan and the confidence to help kids learn through nature while in nature. Participants walk away with:
A repeatable approach for teaching core academics including literacy, math, science, art outside using stories, songs, games, and activities.
A toolbox of nature skills such as tracking, bird language, plant ID, shelter building, whittling, etc… you can safely pass on to children.
Your very own “Outdoor Learning Plan” to implement in your home, co-ops, or outdoor school.
This workshop is ideal for:
Parents, homeschoolers, and outdoor educators working with grades 1–8.
Those who value small groups, hands-on learning, and time in nature. Maximum 10 participants.
When and Where:
Monday - Friday, July 13–17, 2026
Nevada City, CA (Sierra Nevada foothills) on our 30-acre forested campus.
Fees:
Early Bird Price (now through June 30): $950
Standard Price (after July 1): $1075
Supporter Price: $1350. Support scholarship access for another participant. Ideal for those who want to contribute a little extra while attending the intensive.
What is included:
5 days of hands-on learning from 8am - 5pm
Evening activities and entertainment every night
Camping (There are also several lodging options within 6 miles of our campus.)
Meals: Light breakfast provided each morning. Catered Lunch provided daily. Dinners are collaborative. We will cook and eat dinner together in our spacious outdoor kitchen.
Mornings are devoted to the art of teaching: where you learn how to bring academics to life through nature. Afternoons unfold a deepening awareness of the land and building your skills to move within it with confidence and care.
Mornings: Academics in nature
Mornings will focus on how to weave core academics into nature experiences. You’ll explore how to teach reading, writing, science, history, art, and more using the forest as your classroom.
You’ll practice:
Stories and storytelling circles: Learn to write or source rich, nature-based stories to introduce nature concepts that include math, science, and history. Learn story-telling skills and how to guide children to retell, summarize, or illustrate the stories.
Songs, rhythm, and movement: Learn simple songs, chants, and movement games that build language skills, numeracy, coordination, and memory while keeping kids warm, engaged, and regulated outside.
Games: Discover field-tested games and learn to create games that teach observation, math, ecology, teamwork, and self-regulation through play.
Hands-on activities: Design activities where children measure, build, draw, map, and experiment with natural materials in a way that academic skills become tangible and memorable.
Documentation (main lesson books): Learn gentle, age-appropriate ways for children to document their learning through nature journals, main lesson books and writing.
Afternoons
Afternoons are dedicated to developing your own nature skills so you feel grounded, competent, and at home leading children outdoors. You’ll build practical, transferable skills while also learning how to teach them safely to children.
You’ll explore:
Tracking – Practice slowing down, reading animal tracks and signs, and turning the landscape into a story you can share with kids.
Bird observation and bird language – Learn to notice patterns in bird behavior and calls, and how to use birds as “teachers” for attention, awareness, and storytelling.
Plant identification and simple herbal uses – Get to know local plants by sight, touch, and smell, and learn simple, safe ways to share them with children (respecting boundaries and safety).
Whittling and safe knife use – Develop your own comfort with knives, learn safety language and routines, and practice simple projects kids can do with supervision.
Shelter building and other core skills – Work with stick shelters, tarps, and natural materials to create simple, functional shelters, and explore other foundational skills like fire awareness, sit spots, and moving safely through the forest.
Evenings
Monday: Evening with the Ohmapi teaching staff
Enjoy a relaxed, home-style dinner with practiced teachers where you can ask anything about nature-based teaching, program design, and working with mixed-age groups. Each evening will include a short, focused presentation (10–20 minutes) on a core topic—such as creating rhythm and routines outdoors or guiding academic learning in all weather—followed by lots of open Q&A so you can get support for your specific context.
Tuesday: Evening with parents of enrolled students
Share a meal with local parents whose children have experienced Learning Through Nature in action. Hear real stories about how outdoor academics have impacted their kids’ learning, confidence, and connection to the natural world. This is a chance to ask candid questions about what works, what’s challenging, and how families integrate this approach at home.
Wednesday: Hob Nob with the locals at Nevada City Nights Street Fair
Thursday: Shared dinner with alumni or currently enrolled kids. Gather around the table with alumni or currently enrolled kids who have learned through this methodology. You’ll see and hear directly from the children—how they experience learning outside, what they remember, and what they love most. This evening gives you a living example of the kind of confidence, curiosity, and connection you can help foster in the children you work with.
Friday: Sunset on the Hill: A special evening with a storyteller and/or musician
Close a full day in the forest with an evening of live storytelling and music inspired by the land. This night is both nourishing for you and a rich source of inspiration for how to weave story and song into your teaching.
Our Team of Instructors
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Dawn Robinette
FOUNDER and EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dawn Robinette, Founder and Executive Director of The Ohmapi Nature Project, invites families and educators to rediscover the natural world as a place of deep learning, wonder, and connection. With over 13 years of experience in outdoor education, she has cultivated a way of teaching that brings academics to life, where reading, writing, mathematics, and science unfold through direct experience on the land.Through her work, she has developed a thoughtful, holistic curriculum that guides homeschooling families in weaving academic learning into the rhythms of nature.
Dawn’s approach blends storytelling, curiosity, and hands-on exploration, honoring the child’s innate sense of wonder. She believes that the natural world is not only a place to play, but a living, breathing teacher, one that invites us to slow down, observe deeply, and learn in ways that stay with us for a lifetime.
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Scot Woodland
WILDERNESS INSTRUCTOR
Scot is a wilderness awareness specialist and organic gardener who has lived in Nevada county for 50 years. Scot has an extensive background in naturalist studies, animal and human tracking, wilderness living skills, disaster preparedness, and organic agriculture. He loves to share the wonder and satisfaction of “seed to harvest.” His tracking is all about cultivating awareness - employing the arts of observation, intuition and questioning to reveal the great mystery of nature in all its forms. Scot trained in tracking through many organizations, including the Tracker School, Universal Tracking services, and Fernando Moriera’s Professional Tracking program. He is a certified Level 3 tracker with the Cyber tracker program, and has been a leader on Nevada County’s Search and Rescue tracking team. Locally, Scot has taught youth and families through 4EEE's Fox Walker programs and now OhmapiNature project. -
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Shan Kendall
HANDWORK INSTRUCTOR
As the oldest of seven, Shan was blessed to grow up on a beautiful farm in Central Illinois, where nature and life skills were a part of daily life.After graduation from the University of Illinois with a degree in Microbiology, Shan moved to Cambridge, England with her husband and worked and taught in a small college biology laboratory. Later as a young mother, she began teaching in her children’s schools: first in a Montessori School and later in a Waldorf School. She completed Waldorf teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA in 1989 and taught as a class teacher in Grass Valley, Santa Cruz and Fair Oaks for 10 years.
In July of 2023, Shan completed a 4- year Applied Arts Handwork Teacher Training Program through the Fiber Craft Studio at the Threefold Educational Center in Spring Valley, NY. This training program helped solidify her work as Handwork Teacher for all ages: Children, adults and a teacher of future handwork teachers.
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Stacey Anderson
STORYTELLER INSTRUCTOR
Stacey began working with schools in 2008. She started teaching professionally in 2011 as a science and math teacher for grades 6-12 at a private school in Orange County, where all classes were taught one-to-one.She believes in a whole-brain, multi-sensory approach to education, meeting the child where they are intellectually and emotionally, working toward making academic concepts relevant to the child's interests. Most of all, she believes Nature is our greatest teacher. Inspired by nature-based educational experiences, she has a love for many ancestral skills including cordage, weaving, fire by friction, plant identification, building shelter, and environmental awareness.
Stacey grew up in rural coastal South Carolina and graduated from a small liberal arts college on the west coast of Florida with a BA in Biology.
