Hello friends!
I need your help funding the trip of a lifetime!
This winter I have the incredible opportunity to travel to Ireland and Scotland for several months to write, connect, explore, and volunteer. The overall intention of this adventure is to immerse myself in land and people, attend writing courses and workshops, and to finally complete a passion writing project: a collection of place-based poetry. The timing of this trip coincides with my off-season, as most of the year I work as a Mentor Educator at the environmental education nonprofit NatureBridge. I have always dreamed of having the means to write and travel in the months when I am not teaching kiddos in the forest, and with your help, it is just within reach!
I was lucky enough to receive a grant-funded award through my workplace this year to help pay for the trip, but even with grant funding and monthly savings, the financial reality of my job as a seasonal educator serving students of all backgrounds means I simply can not make this trip happen without additional assistance. Having struggled with goals and project completion since I was young, I believe this trip could be the life-changing spark I have needed to dive into my passions, learn a lot, and finish a creative dream.
Any and all donations are SO greatly appreciated, and regardless of if you are able to donate, please send along your email address if you’d like a copy of my poetry collection next Spring!
Read my proposal and more about the Baxter Award here
Come along on my journey! I’ll be posting pictures and updates here : https://taylorwoolsey.substack.com/
Tentative Itinerary:
Weeks 1-3: Immersing in land and community, with daily writing while helping on a farm in Ireland, complete 3 poems for collection
Week 4: Travel along the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast of Ireland, seeking remote natural areas and places of Celtic tradition and lore, with daily writing practice, complete 1 poem for collection
Week 5: Residential Writing Course in UK, receive feedback
Week 6: Travel to Edinburgh and Orkney Islands in Scotland, seeking storytelling events, coastal adventures, and writing
Week 7-9: Use writing techniques and get deep into daily work with the land and my poetry in Scotland
Week 10: Travel back toward Dublin, focused time/retreat to finish writing collection
Donations will go towards:
- hostel stays
- transportation in Scotland
- gas and hefty insurance deposit while traveling the Wild Atlantic Way
- travel/medical insurance
- eSIM for phone data while traveling
- bills at home while abroad
Organizer
Taylor Woolsey
Organizer
Port Angeles, WA