Preparing for Semester Conservation Apprenticeships

The more experience or training you have with the following activities, the greater success you will have with this program:

• Time Outdoors
• Traditional Craftwork
• Wilderness Survival Training
• Wild Edible Foods & Herbal Studies
• Gardening and Farming
• Permaculture Design and Earth Skills Courses
• Music & Artwork; Photography & Recording; Writing & Journaling; Sketching & Drawing
• Wildlife Study (in-the-field biology classes, sit-spot sensory awareness exercises, etc)
• Orienteering (map reading, aidless navigation, etc)
• Hunting and Fishing
• First Aid Training
• Search & Rescue Training
• Tolerance of Varying Beliefs on Religion, Politics & Lifestyle

Application Process

These programs require an application process to ensure that this is the right choice for you, and that you are the right choice for us. To apply, first call Chris Chisholm at 253-604-6481 or email us with questions.

Your application should contain:

• Completed and signed registration form.
• Copy of your current driver's license or state/provencial identification.
• Copies of all past relevant certifications you have received, particularly in Wilderness Medicine and water-related rescue training. If you do not have a recent First Aid / CPR certification (within the past 6 months) then you will need to show that you have registered for a minimum 16 hour or longer course, such as the Red Cross Mountain-Oriented First Aid & CPR class.
• Your most recent educational transcripts. Unofficial copies are fine.
• A cover letter detailing your passion for your outdoor educational focus, your intention to complete this apprenticeship opportunity, and what you hope to do in the future with this training.
• Your thoughts on the history of conservation, including its relationship to multi-use of land, the preservation movement, hunting and fishing, energy, heritage, and finally, how it reletes to earth skills education, which is a combination of survival skills, herbal medicine, wild edible foods, wildlife tracking, naturalist academia, traditional technologies, permaculture and other influences.
• A description of any previous environmental education you have received, including academic work, mentoring during your childhood, personal dirt time, and trainings at other earth skills schools. For instance, make a list of times you might have experienced plants, animals, minerals, and outdoor phenomena in the past on a personal level. Perhaps herbs had effect on your own healing, or an animal encounter as a child or adult had an impression on you. List the herbs, animals, minerals and outdoor phenomena that you have studied or largely understand, without getting too off-tangent and lengthy. Note if and when you have experienced gardening with herbs, taking care of animals, or working with minerals.
• A letter of recommendation from a recent employer, and a letter of recommendation from a recent teacher.
• $250 deposit, which will be refunded (only) if your application is not accepted and you do not wish to attend any of the scheduled training courses. Please click here for refund deadline dates.
• After being accepted, you will receive your first Wolf Journey Earth Conservation Course book and need to start a blog such as the one linked here.

Word to the Wise: All those who have kept their applications concise and focused are almost always accepted. We generally don't get applications from people not eligible because the very detailed description of the program on this page has turned out to be an excellent filter. In other words, you decide if this program is what you most need in your lifer. Suggestions for your biography include any previous training, skills or experience in teaching (including age groups and a description of knowledge of their needs), a list of any nature awareness and survival skills you know and your level of study with them, and a description of your method of continuing education in these skills.

Apprentice Responsibilities

The most important behavioral expectations while enrolled in the apprenticeship programs include: pouring your greatest effort into learning these earth skills; never harboring any illegal items, people or behavior on or in the vicinity of Wolf Camp; never having participated in child abuse or workplace sexual misconduct, nor having any impulse to do so; not unfairly discriminating against anyone based on color, ethnicity, origin, sex, sexual orientation, religious preference, or handicap; and always acting in a safe manner to help make the Wolf College the most excellent outdoor educational program possible.

Living on campus also means sharing responsibility for maintenance of all common facilities as well as your own shelter space (usually tent under tarp in the summer, or in a yurt or cabin in the fall-spring) just like if you were renting a house elsewhere and needing to spend time cleaning, etc. However, it is much more efficient to live in a community like this where you are taking turns cooking, cleaning, recycling, shopping, organizing supplies, caretaking farm animals, etc., etc., rather than having to do all that on your own, and thereby leaving more time for your studies. Blog entries, making foods from scratch, maintenance checks and first aid drills can also take up some time, and they are important aspects of your learning program. In addition, hygiene is key to everyone's health (including appearance and smell of body, hair and clothes) and when in community, behavior is the other fundamental (including the very same agreements which youth campers must uphold during camps and contracts guaranteeing the physical and emotional safety of all participants - see youth camp pages to read these agreements); and finally, we have found that remaining free of drugs (including alcohol, tobacco, and illicits) is an important ingredient for success.

 

Notes from Chris

I’m looking forward to receiving your application, but feel free to call or email me so I can clarify any questions you have. There is so very much to gain and to give in this program, so I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

Until then! - Chris Chisholm