Headwaters Outdoors School is much more than its name implies. It is so much more that I find it difficult to put into words what the school has given me, how much it means to me, and what it will continue to be for me in the future. It is a place of learning, friendship, and of something special, something that touches anyone and everyone who sets foot upon the land, even for a moment.

I first came to Headwaters at the age of 15, in the summer of 2009, planning to attend a single class. Before I knew it, I had signed up for the rest of the summer, and spent over a month learning everything from fire by friction to how to obtain a deeper spiritual connection with nature. I was in my element! As a person who has always felt they were born a thousand years too late, I relished the opportunity to live and learn in an almost primitive and very natural environment. While my appetite for learning was fed by the patient and knowledgeable teachers, I also enjoyed getting to know the other students of all ages attending classes. One of the beauties of Headwaters is that everyone of any age is respected, and thought to have a valid opinion. Adults teach young children, children teach young adults, and everyone watches out for each other.

Since that fist summer, I have attended a Winter class, and two other full summers there. In all of the classes, I not only learned the valuable skills, but also a lot about myself. I became more aware, self confident, motivated, and more connected with the Earth and with myself. This past summer, I had the pleasure of being part of the amazing Headwaters staff, learning from the other staff members what it takes to keep a school of Headwaters’ size and quality running smoothly. From helping to keep up with the voracious appetites of the students to organizing and planning classes, Headwaters set me on my path towards a career in outdoor education.

Headwaters has given me the most unbelievable relationships with people. The friendships that are forged in the woods there are seemingly unbreakable, and last long after they are first made. During the winter and fall, when former students organize Headwaters Reunions and I see my friends’ faces, it is like we never parted.

Headwaters has given me an extended family made up of the teachers, the students, the land and even the camp dogs. We who have shared a summer there are bonded in many ways, and I feel connected in my heart to the land and the people that make it special. Someone once said “Home is where your heart is”. Well, my heart is at Headwaters. Sometimes, when I feel stressed or pulled in too many directions, I simply close my eyes and feel myself walking down the dirt path to the camp craft yard; past the spring, over the stones, around the cedar tree at the bend of the path. The alder leaves filter the sunlight that speckles the soft ground underfoot, and in the east, Mt. Shasta stands proudly and serenely on the horizon. I breathe deeply, and know that I am home.