Organized by Flying Deer Nature Center Inc
Flying Deer Nature Center
In our 25th year, more students than ever before found a haven at Flying Deer—over 2,000 young people from our region and beyond. Our programs at Daley Road, at our satellite campuses, in schools, and at community centers provide refuge from the accelerating pace of life. In their time with us, children find positive relationships and peace, develop self-mastery, and build a healthy sense of both independence and interdependence.
One of our newest year-round instructors, Olivia Ellard, beautifully embodies the impact Flying Deer has had over the years. Olivia began her journey with us 18 years ago as a summer camper, attended our girls’ rites-of-passage program, and trained as a counselor and instructor. Today she shares her deep love of the earth in our homeschool, in-school, and Luna Moth programs.
Olivia’s connection with nature has supported her in tangible and intangible ways throughout the years. “My early lessons in the woods made nature a safe space for me,” she says. “No matter what else is happening, I can return to that space to recenter my mind and pursue opportunities that would otherwise feel overwhelming. Being grounded in my love for the outdoors helped me maintain a sense of normalcy amidst the upheaval of the past few years. It gave me the resilience to restructure my plans in a way that was exciting rather than disappointing. Flying Deer has influenced almost everything about my life.”
As we head into 2023, we want to give more children the benefits that have supported Olivia. Our young people need resilience, confidence, problem-solving and relationship skills, and, most of all, the grounding that comes through connection to the earth. Flying Deer has been dedicated to fostering all of these qualities since our beginnings.
To continue growing our impact and reaching more young people and families, we have identified four strategic goals for the coming year. Your support is essential in making these goals a reality:
Cultivating Nature-Connection Experiences for Diverse Communities
To truly expand inclusion, we must bring Flying Deer to the world rather than expecting the world to come to us. This year, we are taking more programs on the road and working with community organizations, including the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, Hudson Greater Promise, the STEAM enrichment program for Pittsfield public school students, and the Capital District’s Nature Bus. To expand quality outreach programming and meet the growing need in our region, we must also grow our pool of mentors. To this end, we are creating immersive training modules for adults that build personal nature connection along with an understanding of FDNC’s mission and philosophy while offering a pathway to employment.
Ensuring Sustainable, Year-Round Employment for Our Staff
Our staff are mentors, friends, role models, and holders of the unique Flying Deer culture that students immerse in each day. In 2023, we will be focused on expanding benefits and opportunities for these skilled and dedicated individuals. Our growth has created more year-round roles, and we will continue to expand our professional development efforts, helping each individual thrive as a mentor and community leader.
Fostering Ecological Health and Nurturing Earth Stewards
We are diversifying the ecology at our Daley Road home by sowing native plants, creating food sources and safe havens for a host of critical species. This citizen action can lead to global change. As we engage in this work, we empower children to cultivate biodiversity, take home lessons on backyard habitat, and experience for themselves how shifts come about through individual action.
Developing Our Relationship with the Stockbridge Munsee People
As we seek to strengthen our relationships with indigenous communities, we continue to share knowledge and history with our students and community and to foster a reciprocal relationship with those whose ancestral land we inhabit. In 2023, we plan to support a group of Stockbridge Munsee young people to attend Flying Deer summer camp, providing transportation to and from their home in Wisconsin, lodging, and sponsorship to make this possible.
Your generosity will allow us to get new initiatives off the ground, expand and evolve our existing work, and bring the gifts of nature to more young people. Thank you, our community, for sustaining each step of our growth and efficacy over the past 25 years. Thank you for supporting us as we navigate the changing world and needs of our students. Thank you for sharing our vision of a healthier, more resilient planet guided by compassionate, connected leaders. Please join us in this essential work by making a gift to support this vision.
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