Appreciations

1-on-1 Earth-Rooted Mentoring, Ecotherapy & Course Testimonials

“Thank you for your dedication to this work and for modeling new/old ways of being in leadership and community! I gained a sense of companionship on the journey of exploring some of life and death’s biggest questions. The community formed in the group gave me a glimpse into how we can come together to unlearn, deconstruct, remember, and create more natural and balanced ways of being and relating. One of my biggest take-aways is understanding belonging as something inherent rather than “found” or “earned”. Being witnessed and witnessing others after our solo time on the land was very powerful and deeply meaningful to me on my/our journey. Special thanks to you, Ryan, for shining your light on us and welcoming us into deeper belonging.” —Leslie Hammer, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“Ryan is an amazing human being and teacher. This course will nurture your soul, challenge you, and open up new ways of seeing yourself and our wonderous planet. I will definitely be signing up for another Wild Nature Heart experience!” —Rob Daroff, MD, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“I loved this course! This is the second course I’ve taken with Ryan and both times I felt affirmed and supported as he led us on a journey delving into themes of belonging, being, grieving, healing, and growing. Ryan encouraged us to engage with the more-than-human-world on an intimate level of discovery and connection thus cultivating a more earth-centered life. I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking a deeper connection with self and with the natural world.” —Cecelia Futch, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“I’m so appreciative of Ryan’s guidance. He exudes a deeply personal and spiritual, earth-honoring connection which has been inspiring. His knowledge, respect and heartfelt care for the subject and our growth, both in class and in his feedback, greatly enriched my experiences. He’s a lovely, compassionate and passionate person, and I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity to learn with him.” —Louisa Squires, LMFT, Spring 2023 Level 1 Ecotherapy Course, The Earthbody Institute

“This experience is still very much inside me, deep and regenerative. I absolutely loved being in that community of other participants that were really involved and really open. It just felt like a space of really deep listening and I found that really, really beautiful. I felt really blessed to be part of that.

I really loved your presence–You are a magical and very special facilitator/teacher-guide, and so generous and the entire course was just full of generosity. I think that’s really exceptional in this capitalist society. And it felt really, really well held and organic and emergent and so much knowledge. Your skill of feeding back was just astonishing to me. The mirroring and everything was just beautiful and how you remember it all. Just such beautifully held space and full of kindness. So I loved that.

I think what surprised me for myself is there was a session on grief and that it was a real place to share the grief, collectively share some grief for what’s going on with humans and the world and creatures and earth. I’ve not really experienced that space before and I really, really needed to, even though it was difficult, I’m glad I didn’t shy away from it. I feel that grief has taken me deeper into my person, into my being as a being of nature.

I loved all the stuff about pace and decolonizing time and bringing in slug, and I loved the listening circles and when we said to each other, “I hear you”–being heard is so powerful and it’s just such a void so much of the time. It’s been a real eye-opener for me.

It was a safe place for me. As a woman of color, I really felt I could just express myself as I wanted and that I didn’t have to mask, that I didn’t need to code switch, I didn’t do any of those things and that’s really beautiful thing. So thank you, Ryan, for holding that.

The solo journey and my one-to-one sessions with you were both absolutely invaluable and precious and it’s just quite something that you opened up the space for me at such short notice after my solo journey to talk about it and what you reflected back to me was just so powerful. I’m really, really grateful for that. I’m so inspired and I want to learn more and will definitely do one of your programs in future.”—Dal Kumar, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning (Fall 2022)

“I find myself repeatedly touched by the depth of your caring for Earth and all her beings and by your dedication to practice and evolving new pathways of relationship and culture. I am moved by the presence that you bring to deep listening and your willingness to explore different perspectives. Your ability to express through poetry and action what’s in your heart and your desire for healthy relationship among all beings is a source of inspiration for me.” —Marianne B. Rowe, MS, LMFT, Summer 2022 Level 3 Ecotherapy Training, Earthbody Institute

“Ryan’s well-designed course on Deep Belonging was just what I needed at a stressful time in life. The facilitation, knowledge and materials shared were generous and truly a gift to enhance my nature connection and learn about myself. This course also provided support for a solo experience which was rich and rewarding. I appreciated being in a group and connecting with other like-minded people.” —Lezlie Scaliatine, Psy.D, Deep Belonging in the Great Turning Course Participant (Fall 2020)

“Ryan was FANTASTIC. He was knowledgeable and most importantly, a great listener and guide. I greatly admired his mirroring skills, which have clearly been learned from Mother Nature herself. I have learned so much from Ryan and look forward to incorporating his techniques into my practice as well.” — Participant in Spring 2021 Ecotherapy Certificate Course, Earthbody Institute

“Ryan is a very thoughtful and sensitive instructor. His background in teaching and poetry, along with his ability to effectively “mirror” our stories about our journeys make him an excellent facilitator. Ryan helped us to organize our thoughts and feelings in this politically and environmentally challenging time, gave us hope, and guided us towards developing a personal plan for coping with the future of our planet.” — Nan Siringer, California, Deep Belonging for the Great Turning Course Participant (Fall 2020)

“Thank you again Ryan for your mentorship prior to this quest of mine. You empowered me to trust in myself, in the wild, and in the ceremony and it seemed so fitting to receive these gifts of yours just prior to a decent. I love and am sincerely grateful for your poem. It certainly helped give me courage to unflinchingly make those leaps over trees and off every known cliff and will continue to do so.

I feel super motivated to continue on this path of mine and stay open to all the wild mysteries that present themselves within myself and within this more-than human world of ours. And to taking the next steps in unfurling my own gifts and presenting them to the world.”
— Brady W., Mendocino, 1-on-1 Client

“This course is a deep-dive across 6 weeks. Ryan’s skill and generosity of spirit has guided me through a variety of themes and practices that have been both thought-provoking and empowering. I’ve valued this time immensely, and the abundant materials provided will keep me moving through this journey for a long time to come. I’ve developed a richer relationship with my Urban Wild environment in very unexpected ways, and for that I am so very grateful.” —Claire, United Kingdom, Reclaim Your Wild Nature Heart Course Participant (Fall 2019)

“Ryan naturally holds sacred space and creates a sense of safety for exploring oneself deeply, freely, and without judgment. My wilderness ritual was more fruitful for the guidance he provided, the deepening questions he asked, and the reverence he embodies for the process.” —Kelly, Solo Wilderness Ceremony

“Thank you Ryan for holding such a clear and present space, where we could feel safe and held while you confidently guided us through a very seamless experience. I gained insights into patterns that I’m applying directly today! I loved it so much, I took a dear friend there again yesterday and we spent a quarter of an hour just imbibing our surroundings in silence at a spot that spoke to us. It was fascinating to watch the different play of light on the rocks and trees later in the day.”  — Verna Lim, Oakland (Participant in Flow and Grounding in the Redwoods workshop)

“I feel like the best version of myself. There are parts of me that I feel, which haven’t shown themselves in years. On a soul level everything is very “lit up” yet calm at the same time. Content, confident, empowered, grounded, aware, exceptionally optimistic. One big thing that’s different is I feel connected with an inner knowing that I have the resources and agency to respond sustainably and healthily. This is possibly the best I have felt about myself and life that I can remember.”  — Karen S., Participant in Soul-Rooted Visioning Weekend

“After participating in Katie and Ryan’s New Year Visioning Weekend, I started getting very excited about all the new possibilities of experiences to lead in my new context of women’s empowerment. I hadn’t felt excited and flowing like that in a long time!” Ariana Candell, Psychotherapist, Founder The Earthbody Institute

“I attended an ecotherapy session with Katie and Ryan recently, and feel like what they are offering is greatly needed. I derived so much healing from being not only among nature’s calming beauty, but from having sacred space held by such exceptionally tuned-in guides as Ryan and Katie. It felt like not only were they channeling conscious, creative energy for the betterment of those in the circle, but effortlessly facilitating the opening of hearts. If you are run down from the hustle and bustle daily life, and journaling alone in a city park isn’t cutting it, attend one of the ecotherapy sessions and you will find that does of peace and expression that you need!” – Lyuba A., Sacramento

“For many years, I have been a fortunate recipient of Katie’s mirroring capacities in a council circle held before and after medicine walks and vision fasts; these are undertaken seasonally by our small group in various wild places on the land.  She brings to the role of council elder an authentic visionary acuity for identifying metaphorical patterns spoken as the language of the Earth itself.  Without falling prey to the temptation of too swiftly interpreting what emerges in the gap of mystery opened by the imagery of the stories shared in sacred trust with her, Katie’s gift for crystallizing gems as offerings to each of us is predicated on her respect for not-knowingness as the sacrament required for gestation of authentic insight. She is a poet with a genius for this calling.”  — Holly Allen, Santa Rosa

“Ryan has a way of gently guiding people to be more connected to the earth. He has a deep appreciation for the wilder places in our world, and understands how vital they are for our well-being (physical, mental, and emotional). As a participant in his nature therapy events, I have been astonished at the deep insights and healing I feel during each and every one. His events are a great break from our fast-paced and stressful lives, where we can slow down and really listen to the deep wisdom that can be found in nature.” — Diane Dew, Oakland 

“When I arrived home I felt like I was in a new body with a different perspective of the world. I felt very humbled and wiser, I felt so blessed in so many ways – to connect with each of you in such a deep and authentic way, to be able to join so freely on several occasions with the watershed of that incredible forest. I felt so grounded, so at peace, so expanded after experiencing the way Mother Earth held all of me, all my tears of sadness and all my joy and creativity, and my dreams. And the beauty of it all is that I am still feeling it!” – Constance B., Participant in Soul-Rooted Visioning Weekend

Creativity Workshops in Nature Testimonials

“Thank you for awakening not only my inner playful poet but for allowing me to remind myself all that is in there… including nature and everything in it. What is true reveals itself as I am ready for it, through you guiding us. It’s all unique to everyone; more an ‘unfoldment’ than ‘class’ or exercises. You guys, if you didn’t make it, you are really missing out!” – Karen S., Fremont

“Ryan is a deeply earthy, magical, inspiring poet and person. Katie is a courageous, heart-full, dynamic storyteller and writer. You will be amazed and forever touched by learning and creating with them!” — Ariana Candell, Psychotherapist, Ecotherapist, Dance Movement Therapist, Berkeley

“I went to an event with Wild Nature Heart near the American River, and it was magical! Ryan and Katie were excellent guides and mirrors, and made me completely comfortable sharing my story- even personal at times. I feel more at peace, and a passion for writing has been rekindled; it also doesn’t hurt that they found a beautiful and secluded location 🙂. If you love writing, nature, community or even need a safe space to explore who you are, I highly recommend them!” – Candace C., Writing Wild Gathering, Sacramento

“I have never thought of myself as a poet, or even very good with words. Until fairly recently, most poetry left me feeling lost. Ryan helped me discover my “inner poet” by using nature as a means of finding it. It was surprising how easily I slipped over the line from non-poet to poet! Ryan has a gentle way of helping us feel more connected to nature, and thus, to ourselves. I highly recommend trying out his nature poetry events, even if you don’t “feel” like a poet.” — Diane Dew, Oakland