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Animating & Deepening our Experience in the Wild By Shari Davis, Co-Founder/Director Camp Wildcraft  Wood Turtle we met in Kingston, NY Her wide black eyes watched us, without a blink. Four scaly orange and gray legs held up an oval shell, stamped with patterns of seashells, fossils, tree rings, stone. On a forested trail in upstate New York, after camp this summer, we met a turtle who at a distance looked like a rock in the road. We sat beside her (or him), its gray shiny face encircled in an orange folded hood. This turtle was in no rush so we spent some time observing each other before moving him to a safer place away from wheels, dogs and feet. What stories did this solitary turtle hold? How far did she travel to this spot in the road and where was she going? When did our new friend last have a meal and what was on the menu? Was there a mate or turtle children in the nearby woods? How old was she? Why was the shell imprinted with those ancient, circular, symmetrical designs? Sitting with this patient turtle and asking these questions we didn’t (yet) have the answers for, expanded the narrative of our linear walk with images of this turtle’s imagined life. We came home eager to learn more about this beautiful creature. We discovered she was a rare Wood Turtle who lives near streams and hibernates in winter and that each turtle shell pattern is a unique identifying “fingerprint”.  Benny continuing his turtle drawing (from memory) that he started on the trail. Every hike is a story. You don’t always meet a roaming Wood Turtle, but wherever you walk, whether around the block or on the trail, when you activate your eyes, ears and curiosity, there are small wonders everywhere: the industry of insects, the flight coordination of crows, the tenacity of trees as they rebound from drought and fire—the giant possibility of every acorn. The hike begins and along the way there are a series of encounters and discoveries and small dramas to be shared, “look at this!”—“did you notice how that ….,” “what do you think the (fill in the species) was thinking, feeling, doing?” As we observe and ask questions, we invite curiosity to roam the landscape of our imagination. When we shape and tell stories or draw what we see, write a poem or make a mandala of collected seedpods, stones and twigs, we allow ourselves to ponder, feel and make meaning of these small wonders. We animate and deepen the experience for our kids and ourselves and as the joy, connection and sense of belonging take root, we feel an expanded sense of home in the wild.  Drawing by Benny Ferdman Every Hike is a Story: Questions to Ask Along the Way At the beginning of the hike
 We later came across the fossilized remans of this 2 million year old Land Turtle at the Natural History Museum in NYC! A giant, prehistoric ancestor of our little Wood Turtle! 🐢 We'd love to hear how you and your family find stories in nature. Please share your thoughts, ideas & comments below!
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AuthorsShari Davis and Benny Ferdman are artists, educators, co-founders of Camp Wildcraft--and passionate collectors of wondrous and surprising objects and stories found along the trail. They are also the co-founders of Creativeways.org which houses the archive of thirty years of ongoing arts, education, exhibit and curriculum projects. 
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