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Yellowstone Communities and Kinship: Exploring our Place in this Place

Yellowstone Communities and Kinship: Exploring our Place in this Place

$995
Dates:
January 8 - 11
Location:
Lamar Buffalo Ranch
Meals Included?:
No
Instructors:
Sam Archibald, M.E.M.
Audience Type:
Adult
Program Type:
Field Seminars
Program Subject:
Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife
(Activity Scale)
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Join me in greeting our community members that live throughout the Yellowstone landscape. This seminar explores the concept of environmental kinship, the idea that Homo sapiens (we) are simply members of the ecological communities that surround us. By focusing on shared relationships, kinship highlights the agency of the more-than-human world as well as the reciprocal gifts and responsibilities we share with one another. As the epitome of ecological interdependence, Yellowstone is a prime place to study kinship.
By alternating between experiencing this landscape (through wildlife watching and snowshoeing) and classroom discussions of the works of notable conservationists and environmental thinkers such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Aldo Leopold, Gavin Van Horn, John Hausdoerffer, Mary Oliver and others, we will attempt to apply kinship to the ways we conceptualize and engage with Yellowstone and other wild places. We will share with each other our own insights to interacting with place and engaging those non-human relations; there is so much we can learn from one another!

About the Instructor

Sam Archibald is a Lead Field Educator for Yellowstone Forever. After completing his B.A. in history, Sam served with the US Peace Corps, working with an Ecuadorian nonprofit organization to develop outdoor leadership and environmental education programs for youth. Sam has continued to focus on outdoor education, joining the National Park Service as a Crew Leader for the Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps and earning his master’s degree in Environmental Management. Sam is grateful for every day he gets to spend out in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and looks forward to the continual discoveries offered by this wild and wonderful landscape.

Download Program Information:

Yellowstone Communities and Kinship: Exploring Our Place in this Place Course Letter

More Information:

Lodging | Audience Descriptions

We are continually updating and refining our COVID-19 mitigation measures to ensure the health and safety our guests, staff and volunteers. Read our COVID-19 guidelines for program participants.

SUMMER ACTIVITY LEVEL SCALE

  • Be prepared to hike up to 1 mile per day, comfortably, through relatively flat terrain on maintained trails.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 3 miles per day, comfortably, with elevation gains up to 600 feet. Some off-trail hiking possible.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 5 miles per day, comfortably, with occasional elevation gains up to 1000 feet in undulating terrain.
  • Be prepared to hike up to 8 miles per day, at a brisk pace, comfortably, with climbs up to 1500 feet on dirt trails. Loose rocks, uneven footing, and off-trail hiking are possible. Good coordination is recommended.
  • Be prepared for brisk aerobic, destination-oriented hiking up to 12 miles a day. You should be physically conditioned to do these hikes comfortably. Elevation changes up to 2000 feet on dirt trails or off-trail. Loose rock, uneven footing, steep hillside traverses, and stream crossings are possible. Good coordination is required.

WINTER ACTIVITY LEVEL SCALE

  • Leisurely hikes up to 1 mile per day through relatively flat terrain on maintained or snow-packed trails.
  • Hikes on snow-packed trails, or snowshoe or ski trips, up to 3 miles per day with climbs up to 250 feet.
  • Brisk hiking, snowshoeing, or skiing up to 5 miles per day with climbs up to 500 feet, including some trail-breaking in snow.
  • Brisk aerobic snowshoeing or skiing up to 8 miles per day with climbs up to 1000 feet; or steep, rugged, off-trail skiing or snowshoeing—including breaking trail in variable snow conditions.
  • Brisk aerobic snowshoeing or skiing up to 12 miles per day with climbs up to 1500 feet; or steep, rugged, off-trail skiing or snowshoeing—including breaking trail in variable snow conditions.