It's a wild world, and you're part of it! The RDNA Essentials curriculum is designed to reconnect you to the natural world, enhancing your ability to manage environmental systems in a healthy and regenerative way - learning to tend and regenerate the landscape for the future generations.

You will deepen your relationship to the natural world through core routines of awareness, bird language, survival skills and inner tracking. We channel this deepened connection into community action: applied permaculture skills, solutions-based activism, leadership skills, cultural mentoring, tending the land and peacemaking. The village-based learning environment creates a rich culture for stimulating curiosity and activating learning.

RDNA Fundamentals begins with a 2-week permaculture design intensive taught by Penny Livingston and special guest instructors. This intensive is required for all incoming RDNA students. With documentation of a previous permaculture design certification, this intensive is not required, but is strongly recommended.

For more information, visit one of our open houses.

How to Apply
Tuition
Schedule

Curriculum

The core curriculum of the RDNA Essentials program includes four major areas of focus:

Regenerative Design
Nature Awareness
Ecology of Leadership
Eight-Shield Cultural Mentoring and Core Routines

Regenerative Design

Back to Top

Our senses, minds, and bodies have developed in rhythm with the natural world – and we need continual primary contact with nature to be healthy and happy. 

In RDNA, we emphasize nature awareness through direct sensory experience. With daily experience of this kind, you can form deep connections with the natural world. You will feel roots form on an emotional level, creating space for a sense of peace, curiosity, and wonder. At the same time, a network of new neural pathways in your brain will begin to form – your consciousness literally expands to encompass the rich variety of textures, scents, sounds, and images of nature. You will form lasting memories during this type of deep sensory immersion. 

Through both the visceral (hands-on, sensory learning) and the technical (lecture, journaling and research), you will not only increase your understanding of the natural world, but begin to feel like an integral part of the natural community. Read more...

Some of the skills, topics and techniques you'll be immersed in:

• Naturalist inventory skills
• Sensory awareness expansion and applications
• Journaling and researching
• Awareness of hazards in nature
• Using curiosity as a mentoring tool
• Mammal track identification and natural history
• Low growing plants, identification and natural history
• Basics of ecology and ecological indications and keystone species
• Heritage species
• Woody shrubs and trees, identificaiton and natural history
• Earth living skills – shelter, water, fire, food
• Understanding the language of birds and basic bird identification
• Experiencing and exploring baseline behaviors, tracking and recognizing concentric rings

Back to Top

Study in the Ecology of Leadership

The more our leadership sources from our connection with the earth, the more effective we will be as leaders. Only you can change the world, and RDNA helps you cultivate the leadership skills you need by building an intimate relationship with the natural world and yourself. By integrating these elements, participants will begin to experience leadership as a dynamic process that translates your awareness and insights – about yourself and the owrld around you – into effective action towards your intended personal and professional goals.

Our "inner ecology" influences how we show up in our lives and our communities. In the RDNA program, we explore how our thoughts, mental models, beliefs, and the stories we tell – both about ourselves and those around us – affect our life and our ability to make a difference in our family, community, and chosen work in the world. As we understand and evolve our inner ecology, we become more effective at manifesting our dreams.

As an RDNA participant, you will develop skills, habits, and mindsets to improve your effectiveness in:

• Inner tracking
• Designing your life / ideal scenes
• One-on-one mentoring
• Facilitation and presentation skills
• Spiritual healing
• Effective communication strategies
• Making and honoring commitments
• Project management
• Gaining support for your vision from others
• Using your time effectively
• Bringing all aspects of your life into harmony
• Peacemaking and non-violent communication

By integrating these elements, participants will begin to experience leadership as a dynamic process that translates your awareness and insights – about yourself and the world around you – into effective action towards your intended personal and professional goals.

Back to Top

Eight Shields Mentoring and Core Routines

Nature – and the indigenous elders from around the world that have stewarded nature's wisdom – are amazing sources for restoring balance in our communities and ecological systems. In Eight Shields, Jon Young and his team have incorporated wisdom from these generous sources to develop a mentoring model over the last 25 years.

Learning objectives in each of the four branches of the RDNA curriculum – Regenerative Design, Nature Awareness, Ecology of Leadership and Cultural Mentoring – are achieved through Eight-Shields Mentoring and a series of Core Routines. The RDNA Core Routines help RDNA participants create a lively, rich and fun learning village.

Some of the primary core routines are listed below:

• Observation
• Storytelling
• Tracking
• Research and journaling
• Sensory awareness
• Peacemaking
• Mapping
• Bird language
• Deep listening to the land
• Art of mentoring
• Art of questioning
• Applied cultural technology
• Ceremony
• Creative arts & improvisation
• Design
• Practical skill building
• Permaculture principles
• and many more

Back to Top

RDNA Essentials 2010-2011 Program Schedule

The RDNA Program starts in late August and runs weekly through mid-May, with five breaks. 

RDNA Essentials begins with a 2-week Permaculture Design Intensive taught by Penny Livingston & special guest instructors. This intensive is required for all incoming RDNA students. With documentation of a previous Permaculture Design Certification, this intensive is not required, but is strongly recommended.

The course typically meets one evening and two full days each week – 7pm Tuesday through 5pm Thursday. There is a required weeklong Bird Language Intensive in April (Week 23). Additional days each week are dedicated to research, extracurricular study and project implementation.

Detailed schedule coming...