What is an Immersion Program?
Our immersion courses are intensive programs that allow participants to take a deep dive into a particular field of study. These courses meet for one full weekend a month over anywhere from 3-10 months, depending on the course. We believe that these courses that go above and beyond what can be found at any other naturalist schools in our region. Each of our programs features multiple instructors with expertise in a wide variety of fields, and guest speakers who are even more specialized.
Learn more about our current immersion course offerings below!
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2027 ETHNOBOTANY IMMERSION COURSE IS NOW OPEN!!!
Register by August 1st for a 10% off Early Bird Special!!!
In this 10 month course, we study hundreds of Washington’s plants at every stage of their growth cycle, and learn how they interact with all of the other elements in the ecosystem around them (the soils, microbes, invertebrates, wildlife, and us as human beings). We will discuss how our own species is connected with these different plants, both currently and historically. Participants will come home from this course with comprehensive knowledge of the many edible and medicinal plants of this region, and will learn how to make plant based medicines, personal care products, baskets, primitive tools and how to preserve and store all of our food/medicine once it's been harvested. Find out more and apply below.
Space also still available for the last few classes of the 2026 cohort of Ethnobotany Immersion! Learn more and apply here.
Weaving Our Dreams Basketry Immersion
Registration for 2026 now open! 2 Spots left!
This 6-month course is a hands-on, basketry journey that connects us to the natural world. All humans across the Earth, no matter what age, gender, class or ethnicity have traditionally made and used baskets on a daily basis for thousands of years. It has only been until the recent Industrial revolution of the 1900’s did this relationship change. All of our ancestors have amalgamated with the indigenous plants of their homelands to birth beautiful and functional vessels, to not only contain their foods and medicines but also their dreams and prayers for the world. Weaving Our Dreams is a basketry immersion that focuses on reestablishing our relationship to the plant world through weaving with the wild plants that we share our homes with. My goal is to give participants a strong foundation in processing wild plants into useable and beautiful baskets, while weaving in a container of a supportive community. Each class builds upon the next as each project increases in skill level.
Wildcrafting Immersion Course
Registration for 2026 is SOLD OUT.
This 7-month course is a hands-on, full-bodied wildcrafting experience. Participants will join Instructor Reisha Beck on wild harvesting missions for food, medicine and crafting materials. We will be driving long distances, climbing steep cliffs, sleeping under the stars and sharing wild food meals together. This course is for people longing to incorporate wild plants into their daily lives; by building relationships and reciprocity with the land they call home. As we harvest, we will tend wild patches, and give back and create a more abundant wild food system for future humans and non-humans. We will build relationships with nutrient dense foods that feed our families and communities. We will harvest wild medicines that heal and transform our souls. We will spin fibers and weave our dreams. We will create comradery in shared experiences together. Apply below
Registration for 2026 is SOLD OUT! Stay tuned for our 2027 Course Dates, coming soon.
This is the path of the naturalist: a journey to deeper, richer and more alive connections to all of the life around you. This course takes students on a journey of enthusiastic engagement with the natural world, both as observer and participator. Through the studies of wildlife tracking, bird studies, basics of botany and ecological. This course is for beginners and experienced outdoorsmen alike. The course is a journey of rewilding, of learning who your wild neighbors are and how to have a better relationship with them. The course will include both lessons in different scientific disciplines such as zoology, biology, osteology, ethology as well as including discussions on nature-based psychology and the philosophy of the relationships of humans and the natural world.