A strong sense of local history was omnipresent as local Wampanoag leaders at an Indigenous People's Day event at Felix Neck spoke about the painful history of colonialism and genocide that the tribe has endured.
A warm fire, tasty potluck and live music and dancing are in order on Saturday, Dec.21, as Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah celebrates the winter solstice.
Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah has a full lineup of events during the off-season. There’s Nature’s Nest for young children on Fridays, Squirrels and Coyotes for the 6 to 14 year-old set on Sundays, and some Saturday events for “wild families.” If mom and dad are interested in seeking a deeper connection with nature, there are special events for them as well. A couple of upcoming workshops include a Saturday, Oct. 19, offering on bird language and then Nov. 16 features an open fire cooking session using locally harvested foods.
In 2003, Saskia and David Vanderhoop started Sassafras Earth Education in Aquinnah as a one-week summer camp. Since then it has grown into a year-round program with camps every week during the summer and programs throughout the year for both youth and adults. The intention is to teach participants a variety of outdoor skills while encouraging them to reconnect with the natural world.
Sassafras Earth Education begins its fall programming this month. Outdoor home-schoolers program begins on Oct. 5 and meets every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This program is for childeren kindergarten age and up. Dress for outdoors and bring a snack, lunch and water bottle.
Girls in the Woods begins on Oct. 7 and will meet weekly every Thursday after school, from bus pickup until 6 p.m. This program is for girls ages 8 to 14 and includes outdoor time picking edibles, making fires, cooking, crafting, talking and singing.
