Earth Smarts Summer is back again, focused on immersive and engaging nature education that shifts with the season. Organized in 90-minute blocks, these individual, topic-driven workshops can be taken as a full-day, half-day, or signed up as individual workshops on any day.
Earth Smarts workshops are centered in nature and play, creating the opportunity for children to deepen their sense of wonder and belonging to the Earth. Our planet’s wisdom cannot be taught with words or books alone. It must be revealed through direct experience.
This summer, your child could meet raptors through the HawkWatch program. They could create wildcrafted art projects with paint made from berries, flowers, and mud. Or spark their curiosity with a nature-infused scavenger hunt. They could explore nature with a camera, or forge a bond with the horses, goats, and chickens on the breakfast rounds.
Through these immersive experiences, your child will learn from the season of summer and develop a kinship with the land. They will come to understand, as our ancestors did, that all life moves in cycles and they are not separate from the circular reciprocity of nature.
Workshops are held in 90-minute blocks, four days per week, offering your child a variety of opportunities to connect with animals, people, spirit, and place. All workshops are for children ages 7-12, and younger children and their parents are welcome to attend our HawkWatch and Scales and Tails workshops. Weave a unique experience whether you choose one workshop a summer, all the workshops in a series, or every workshop for a week.
Click to June and July to register and purchase your children's workshops.
Sunrise in the Barn
Spend the morning with our furry and feathered friends and learn more about the routines and relationship we have them. Mornings are our favorite time with these companions, as the sunshine warms the ground, they are in their best spirits. Attend multiple mornings and get to know them better. You'll come to understand Dublin's wild nature, and Boogie's sensitive soul. You'll become familiar with Dill and Rose's unbreakable bond and see firsthand how the chickens react when you gather their eggs. With only 12 spots per morning, these special workshops are perfect for children who are interested in animals and want a closer look at how caring for them is a reciprocal relationship.
Hawk Watch
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We are so excited to be partnering with Hawkwatch, a national 501(c)3 whose mission is to conserve our environment through education, long-term monitoring, and scientific research on raptors which include hawks, falcons, kites, eagles, vultures and owls. During these 90-minute workshops, we invite all in the community, parents and children, to come and see these magical creatures. You'll meet one of HawkWatch International's Raptor Ambassadors face-to-face, learn their story, and discover lots of cool facts about their species. At the end of the workshop you'll participate in a bird-friendly activity such as create birdfeeds to invite these important animals back onto the land.
Each workshop will be different with Hawkwatch bringing a different bird, so if you love birds, sign up for multiple times!
Scales and Tails
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Scales and Tails Utah is a reptile and bird educational company raising awareness for reptiles and birds to inspire the community by providing safe, interactive, and educational presentations. Each workshop will be an educational and up-close experience, with a Q&A and possible handling experience at the end. Depending on the day, we may be focusing on lizards, small snakes, turtles and tortoises, crocodilians, or camouflage. Check the descriptions in the week and make sure to come for them all.
Nature-infused Art
Children have an uninhibited creativity that slowly get forgotten if not allowed to flow freely. In our nature-infused art workshops we'll be exploring a myriad of ways to create, using nature as our inspiration and allowing the child's individuality to flourish. From canvas art to botanical stamp making and everything in between, your child will come home with a beautiful project at the end of the day. But the real value is not the finished project, it's the time and space allowed to create it.
Wild Things
In our Wild Things workshops, stories and folklore are at the center. Each workshop will start with a different story or poem that will enchant and inspire the rest of our time. This series of workshops is perfect for those kids who want to be on the move, with a heavy focus on adventuring and hands-on activities our imaginations will be our guide as we explore, discover and create in nature.
Wildcrafting
Working with the Earth in a reciprocal way helps us deepen our connection to the people and creatures around us. In our Wildcrafting workshops we will be learning about plants and animals and wildcrafting projects to strengthen these senses. Throughout the five weeks we'll be learning about edible plants and flowers, going on bug hunts, working with fresh foods to explore plant-based cooking, making our own infused olive oils, and making culinary wreaths. The sky is the limit on ways we can work together with nature so join us for one or all of these hands-on workshops.
Budding Botanist
At The Kinlands, we believe in bringing the outside in. Nature is all around us, infusing us with energy and creating an endlessly enchanting world with discoveries around every corner. Plants surround us, whether that be the flowers blooming in the forest garden, the herbs growing in your planter garden, or the strawberries peeking out from under the leaves.
In our Budding Botanist workshops we dive into the world of plants. Depending on the day they may learn about plant identification, planting and growing, or how the soil affects the health of the plants. They'll make botanical-inspired creations such as pressed flower cards, floral crowns, or nature journals.
Overall, the Budding Botanists workshop will instill in children a love and appreciation for nature, as well as the basic knowledge and skills necessary to begin exploring the world of botany on their own.
Nature Photography
Summer is alive here at the Kinlands, and the amount of small details that could be captured are endless. We've seen amazing photography from the artists that visit but have noticed that children sometimes notice the smallest details that we, as adults, miss.
These workshops are an opportunity for fresh eyes to be mentored on the techniques of light, dimension, and perspective. Each participant is encouraged to bring a camera, whether that be an old cell phone or a digital camera. If kids don't have a camera, they can still participate by using a provided frame to set their scenes and see how the world changes when you look through a narrow focus.
Each week the focus will be different. From plant and animals, to flowers and bugs, we'll talk about how the lighting, the scene, the perspective, and the subject all work together to create the feelings images create.
