Welcome to the Wild Wind Summer 2015 Newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE:
Kid for the Wild Scholarship
A Note from Susan Grace
Words to Ponder
Music Special
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder,
he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it,
rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
~Rachel Carson
From the Wild Wind Foundation Kid for the Wild Scholarship:
This year, Chloe Loeffelholz, was awarded the Kid for the Wild Scholarship. She is from Bozeman, MT and will participate in the Traveling School. Her high school semester will take place in in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
From the “Traveling School” website:
In our South-West Africa semester, students travel through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. This trip explores southern Africa from the tip of Cape Horn, to the ghostly Skeleton Coast in Namibia, to the massive elephant herds in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. We stay with local families outside of Cape Town, hike Table Mountain, and meet with freedom fighters that helped to bring an end to Apartheid in South Africa. We rock climb, listen to African drums in ancient villages, help with service projects and experience a river trip on the gentle Orange River between Namibia and South Africa.
Not only are Chloe’s awards and achievements impressive, her outlook on life makes her a perfect “Kid for the Wild”. Chloe is a history nut, Violinist, focusing on women and leadership; she has found healing in her life through many outdoor experiences. Chloe told us that this choice to study abroad is difficult because not many scholarships are available for her age-group that aren’t specifically for college. The Kid for the Wild Scholarship is unique in its emphasis on the environment, music and the lives of teenagers.
Congratulations, Chloe! Thanks for being a “Kid for the Wild”.
A Note From Susan Grace:
Happy Earth Day Dear Friends!
As spring unfolds here in the arctic, sounds of thrush fill the Boreal forest along with the chickadee spring song. The sap is flowing and we have begun our annual birch sap collecting and syrup making.
Fairbanks Alaska…we will have Rachel Carson, John Muir, John James Audubon, and Mardie Murie in person visiting our local schools for the next 2 weeks. The lucky 4th-6th grade classes will have the opportunity to meet face to face with some of our nation’s bold wilderness and conservation characters from our past. Students will learn what these amazing people from our history have done as individuals to explore and protect this country’s wilderness areas, create National Parks /Refuges, protect humans and other species from toxins such as DDT, learn about extinction of species and how to protect unique habitat.
This educational living history program is important to enhance their understanding of the natural world and provide a great opportunity to learn about those who have had an important role in shaping this countries natural heritage. We each as individuals have the power to make a difference and make this world a better place; a healthy place for all of us who call it home. We all are responsible for what we leave as our heritage for the next generation.
Wherever you live may there be a noisy spring! May the world around you be filled with songbirds, the explosion of leaves opening with the New Spring Green and activity of critters in your neighborhood returning from the winter stillness! Celebrate the life and the living earth we call home everyday; every time you drink a glass of clean water and take a deep breath of air!
Let’s count our blessings. Share the joy, curiosity and wonder with everyone in your world especially the younger generations.
Joyous Earth Day!!
Susan Grace
Words to Ponder:
Colorado poet laureate Dave Mason was commissioned to write a poem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. It got him wondering: what exactly is wilderness? The result: the following short work, which he read at the state Capitol.
Saying Grace
If every moment is
and is a wilderness
to navigate by feel
whether half or whole,
the river takes a turn,
the forest has to burn,
the broken fern to grow,
the silence of a night
of supplicating stars
may answer us aright:
our worries and our cares
are not the same as theirs.
Give us this day more world
than we can ever know.
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Come walk with me
Through the big pine trees
From the mountaintops
To the shining seas
Where the critters roam
Free and on their own
In the wilderness
We’ll be right at home.
~ Come Walk With Me by Walkin’ Jim Stoltz
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“GET OUTSIDE!” MUSIC SPECIAL
Songs for the Earth – A Tribute to Rachel Carson CD
AND
Come Walk With Me DVD
($17 + shipping)
Wild Wind Foundation – PO Box 160477 – Big Sky, Montana – 59716
406-995-4906, Email Us walkinjim@walkinjim.com