Silent contemplations with Grandmother Oak, Fremont County, Iowa.
Feral Friends,
Paling skies and lower suns (lingering moons pass the second cup of coffee) ask of us a lighter form of verse — taking the length of fingers without mittens. A young and woodsy wanderer confessed the lines are slow to come if ever, but happily for us a poem can take a palette of forms: the act of slipping the thorny thicket or gathering leaves/feathers/shells/pods in your hat or stuffing nuts into woodpecker pokes (an old oak) — secret treats for creatures — or planting saplings grown from sacred acorns. Opening your soul to deep silences. The ephemeral arts of wildness.
Embrace the poetics of the Wild. Wear good socks. Bring a snack to share.
Jack Phillips
Sacred Oak sapling, Saunders County, Nebraska. We collect acorns from pre-settlement oaks revered by the Pawnee Nation for replanting on their most holy bluff — the site of ancient creation stories. We also plant locally-native trees and shrubs, grown by our co-op nursery for our planting projects through the our region.
Poetry break during tree planting with local poet Angélica Perez.
Join us in our wild and sacred work! To learn more, wander this website or contact Jack Phillips at thenaturalistschool@gmail.com . Please support our work with a donation of any size. Just click on the “Donate and Join Us” tab above.
Neomorph gray tree frog (Hyla sp.) documented and photographed by TNS member Kristin Zahra in summer 2023. With our program partners we conduct ecological surveys to make data available for research and to develop conservation plans.