The other day a reel on social media introduced me to a word I had not heard before. The word is from the Welsh (Cymry) language, one of the many tongues that are woven into my amalgamated ancestry. In the clip, a Carolina Wren sings out while Cedars sway against a dusky overcast sky. Over this, the word cynefin (kuh-neh-vin) is displayed with the definition: a place where one feels it ought to live and belong, where nature embraces and whispers its welcome.

Hearing that Wren and seeing those Cedars brought me back to one of those places and communities that conjure these feelings of belonging— 4 Elements Earth Education Family Tracker Camp at the primitive camp in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

It has only been about a year and a half since my 11 year old son, Stellan, and I started attending family camp, in August of 2022. And yet it's hard to believe it hasn’t always been a part of our lives.

It’s easy to call up the memory of our first time waiting at the Wells Mills parking lot, and the anticipation of arriving while on our first long, bumpy drive in to camp. Of being greeted by new faces, and getting acclimated to the new-to-us surroundings. Of visiting the tea-colored swimming hole for the first time, and meeting the many kindred spirits who became fast friends. Of introducing myself to the sit spot by the stream in the Cedar swamp that took some crawling and effort to get to. Of that special trip to the Medicine Waters on a sweltering hot summer day.

Many vivid memories have been made in this place that allows us to thrive in ways that I had yearned for, for both of us, long before arriving. This thriving includes wandering barefoot in a place that feels safe and sacred. It means a kid who gets to play and make connections and be skillfully guided by beloved mentors. It includes a kid who finds joy in the nighttime by the fire, stalking parents and listening to animated storytelling with his whole being. This thriving place is also where the same kid, who at our urban home fears the dark, boasts about knowing the trails in camp so well he can navigate them at night fearlessly and without a flashlight.

After our first week of camp, we arrived back in Brooklyn, both of us transformed and longing for more. Once I had parked the car on the busy street near our apartment, Stellan started to emphatically whine from the back seat, “turn the car around! I want to go back. I want to go home.” I replied, “I feel the same way, buddy."

Now, when we return for camp, the rhythm of it is so familiar that we can sink in deeper with each arrival. As soon as we kick off our shoes and get our feet on the soft earth—which Stellan does before we even leave the parking lot—it’s a reunion, a homecoming. With every departure we both look forward to returning to this place—this cynefin—where the people, the land, and the spirits of the land welcome us back again and again into belonging.

We are so grateful to everyone at 4EEE and to all of those who have had a part in tending and protecting the land we hold so dear!

- Liz Neves & Stellan Bet

Our son, Noah, has participated in Coyote Tracks homeschool class for the last three years. His time with Jamie, Rose, Jess and other instructors has deepened his respect and love for nature while also fostering a significant knowledge base about our local ecosystem.

Jamie, Rose and Jess are respectful, nurturing and enthusiastic instructors who guide their students to develop their own skills, take risks and be curious and self directed while being careful stewards of their environment. It has been amazing to see Noah become more confident and independent while learning valuable leaderships skills through his time at Coyote Tracks.

- Autumn and Aaron Perlstein

“One of the reasons I love Coyote Tracks so much is where we live I don’t have as much outdoor space and I love being able to have time in nature. I love playing all the fun games and learning skills like making fires and how to track animals. I also really like that all the teachers know different stuff so we learn new things from all of them. Coyote Tracks is my favorite day of the week!”

- Noah (age 8)

My family and I moved up to Nevada City 4.5 years ago and were blessed to be told about 4EEE right before we moved up here. I was told it was a program that taught nature skills to youth, which was right up our alley as we have a love for the outdoors and already have a strong connection to nature. What we discovered was that it was so much more than that!

My children were struggling in a variety of ways with our move to Nevada City, and having some other major life changes they were going through. The support they were able to receive from the staff at 4EEE made it possible for them to move through some not-so-easy shifts in their life with a tribe of support and a safe place to let Mother Earth guide them through what they needed. They have built a sense of confidence in the woods through experiences, activities and skills they have learned. They always seem to come home from 4EEE-Foxwalkers with more self-awareness and awareness of their environment. They also have a sense of ease and calm about them as well. I could see that going to Foxwalkers was benefitting them but it wasn't until the pandemic that I truly understood what my children were receiving from this program.

My kids were extremely sad that they could not attend Foxwalkers in person during the pandemic. Although I was not big on doing classes on the computer, I wanted to keep the kids connected to the community. One day I decided to sit in on a Zoom class and I was blown away by Rick Berry's ability to engage children in a fun, dynamic, and interesting way. He honored the innate wisdom of the children and inspired them to listen to their natural curiosities, to learn and explore what was being taught. Another teacher, Pashu, began giving a lesson on traps and identifying animal tracks and skulls. Again I was impressed at the wealth of knowledge this rather young instructor had of these ancient teachings and the manner that he so passionately shared with the youth. I realized at that moment what my children were getting was much more than a youth program that taught nature skills, they were learning that they were a part of something much bigger than them, that they were a part of Mother Earth, and that without her we cannot sustain life. They were learning to respect nature, to care for nature, and to learn from nature in a way that I could say seems to be healing them from the inside out.

Both my children were struggling with some anxiety at the time and during the Zoom I learned about sit spots. As a way of starting our day during the pandemic, we would go to our sit spots for at least 10 min. Being in silence with our surroundings. Listening to the birds, the squirrels, ants, spiders, and any other wildlife we may have observed. We would generally go barefoot to have our feet directly connected to the earth and feel her under us supporting us while building relationships with the other living things we were sharing our land with. The children and I would come into the day with a calm relaxed mind heart and body. During the day if my children became anxious, distracted, bored and or just feeling overwhelmed with the state of the world at that time, my solution became everyone go to their sit spots. And just like magic, they would find that calm centered space again and be able to finish homework, or complete chores, or have an inspired idea of something they could create from nature if they had become bored. My son has discovered he has a unique ability to be close with our local wild life and feels he can speak to them and they speak to him. He was once afraid of being in the woods by himself and now when we get to Pata Panka, he takes off running into the trees all on his own and returns when he feels called. My daughter just did her first debris hut camp out, tanned her first rabbit hide, made her first drum and is dedicated to learning her bow drill this year as well. This program has given more than I can describe to my family. We have deepened our connection with Mother Earth, our own indigenous roots, and our community that has lent to closer relationships with each other and a greater sense of well being!

- Xochi Heather Vasquez

My family loves family camp so much we want to marry it.

When we first signed up to go to family camp we thought it was going to be a week of learning skills, and we were hopeful that it would be interesting enough to our kids to keep them engaged through the week. It was so much more.

4EEE is an organization that is true to it’s vision. From its leadership through its volunteers, it is staffed with people who don’t just care about the skills, they care about the people and especially the children. They care about teaching. The skills are really a vehicle to teach the kids (and the parents) much bigger things. The lessons at 4EEE family camp are about teaching confidence, self-reliance, working with others and building and maintaining a community. They teach us that we are a part of something. 4EEE family camps teach village building.

4EEE teaches connection. Connection to Earth Mother and connection to the past and the ancestors who have handed down the skills. But also a connection to the future. We have taught the skills we have learned at our daughters’ school. We have built friendships at family camp that now extend beyond. We have a group of people that we think of as tribe. We go back to 4EEE family camps as often as we can to see them, and we get together outside of family camp to keep the connections going.

Our oldest child has turned 13 and is excited to get to do the teen weekends and become even more immersed in the 4EEE experience. We appreciate the opportunity she will have to develop her growing independence by facing new challenges guided by such capable hands.

Each time we have attended for a weekend or weeklong camp, it has offered us a unique experience. We’ve camped in different seasons, with smaller and larger groups, at the Mohican Outdoor Center and in the magical Pine Barrens, and as we and our children grow and change. We have never been disappointed!

- Kim Hutcheson