On the windy last weekend of October, we hosted our first two Walk and Write Workshops with AC Davis High School students at Snow Mountain Ranch in Cowiche, WA. The workshops aimed to promote outdoor activity and personal reflection about our relationships with our natural surroundings.

For us, the workshops were successful for two major reasons. First, the workshops represented many students’ first visit to Snow Mountain Ranch. Many students expressed an interest in returning for longer hikes. Second, students wrote — a lot!

On the first day we created Fall-themed haikus — some sad, some scary. On the second, we began stories from non-human perspectives – stories narrated by trees, land, coyotes, and other critters. Both workshops challenged students to think about their worlds — big and small — in new ways.

We’re grateful for a grant from the Fresh Hop Group for making this program possible. The grant is paying for the staff time, teacher time, transportation, and snacks required to run quality workshops. We plan to continue to host workshops this Spring. If teachers or school administrators are interested in participating in a workshop, please email Cy (eco@cowichecanyon.org).