Thomas Elpel's Green University
Our Green University®, LLC immersion program connects the dots from wilderness survival to sustainable living in the modern world. Through primitive living skills, we immerse participants in the natural world and deal with sustainability issues at an intimate level. The acts of finding shelter, harvesting wild foods, making clothes, and keeping warm reproduces issues of modern sustainability on a model scale as we journey to meet our needs.
From Wilderness Survival to Sustainable Living
"Without the benefit of modern camping equipment, the Stone Age journey provides the opportunity to face your own soul, to deal with your dreams and fears. There are no distractions, no breaks for a pick-me-up candy bar and soda, no excuse to go zone out for a while with the television, and there is no safety net. There is just you and your wits to keep you alive. What you overcome in the process is not nature, but your own insecurities. The result is the feeling of total freedom--the realization that you have broken free from your own cages, and that is a freedom that you will take with you wherever you go."
--Thomas J. Elpel
Quest for Freedom
"I really want to thank you for the education you provided for me. Things like permaculture, passive solar homes, and biomimicry were not even part of my vocabulary until I came out there to spend time with you. Now it is something I always think about, whether buying groceries or picking weeds. Give my love to the gang out there. Keep up the good work. I'm thinking about you all. Peace, Love and Happiness to all."
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Change your world while learning to change the world.
In our media-driven world, getting back to nature is essential to gain positive grounding in the real world. Science, history, and ecology concepts learned from books are meaningless without a physical connection. Wilderness experiences help wire the hands to the brain, integrating conceptual knowledge, while building an ethic of stewardship and the tools to think sustainably. For instance, building and maintaining a campfire helps connect the physical world with the conceptual world to more intuitively quantify energy and understand where it comes from. This connection facilitates comprehension of everything from conservation to sustainable design to energy policy.
Would you like to take a class from Green University® LLC, yet don't have the time to commit to an extended immersion experience? We host a limited number of dedicated workshops and intensive programs each year. The workshops and intensives are a great way to dive into a specific, focused skill area, such as animal processing, hide tanning, plant identification and foraging, or working with kids. Read about and register for these classes following the links below, or consider joining our immersion program. Immersion tuition covers admission to all classes concurrent with your stay. Scroll down the page for information on individual classes and adventures.
Conversations started through primitive living experiences may be continued as we collaborate on projects such as alternative construction from mostly recycled or natural materials. We begin with self-sufficiency and look outward towards global sustainability. And for those who are interested, we seek to collaborate towards incubating green businesses to make our society more sustainable.
Green University has a number of programs to fit your needs. Come by and have a look!
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