Our guiding belief is that Nature is everyone’s first and greatest teacher and caregiver. As staff, our role is to listen and be attentive to our Forest and all the nature beings so that we can help share her knowledge. Acknowledging our role as guides, not as information conveyors, we think of ourselves as facilitators, rather than as teachers.

Our program takes place in two Oakland green spaces - Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller Park, two incredible urban ecosystems that boast flourishing redwoods, creeks, and wild creatures. These forests are on the occupied territory of Huchuin, the ancestral homeland of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, now known as the East Bay.

We acknowledge and honor the Chochenyo Ohlone people for the continued tending and restoring the sacred relationship with their ancestral land. Through our work with children, we also commit to heal and transform the legacies of colonization, genocide, and patriarchy. One way we do this is to pay Shuumi.

We also acknowledge and honor the rangers and other caregivers of the land from the East Bay Regional Park District. We are grateful to their constant care to maintain and support the land and creek. We love waving at them and marveling at their ranger buggies and trucks. The park district offers hundreds of fun activities for people of all ages and we encourage you to join in on the fun!