COMING SOON - Nov. 18, 2018
Late Fall Earthwalk
Wheaton Regional Park, Silver Spring, MD
10:00am - 3:00pm (full walk)
*10:00am - 1:30pm (short walk)
Open to: All Adults and Young Adults
$25 - Reserve Your Space
Facilitators: Keely Owens and Kelli Cronin
Earthwalks are opportunities to connect with nature close to your own backyard. Experience a local park in a new way, and reap the benefits of restoration, transformation, and resilience.
Contact Keely or Sign Up under "Earthwalks" below.
Late Fall Earthwalk
Wheaton Regional Park, Silver Spring, MD
10:00am - 3:00pm (full walk)
*10:00am - 1:30pm (short walk)
Open to: All Adults and Young Adults
$25 - Reserve Your Space
Facilitators: Keely Owens and Kelli Cronin
Earthwalks are opportunities to connect with nature close to your own backyard. Experience a local park in a new way, and reap the benefits of restoration, transformation, and resilience.
Contact Keely or Sign Up under "Earthwalks" below.
Earthwalks
"I can't remember the last time I just spent a day out in nature, with nothing in particular to do. It must have been going on thirty years." Preliminary modern research, as well as the cultural heritage of many different world wisdom traditions, all suggests that high quality, unstructured time in nature has many benefits for both mental and physical health. Yet despite its simplicity, "high quality, unstructured time in nature" can be challenging to access, especially in busy developed areas. The Earthwalk is an event that provides access to this experience close to home, offering an opportunity to experience the direct benefits of engagement with nature. The Earthwalk combines concepts from Jungian psychology, Japanese shirin-yoku "forest bathing", and the modern ecopsychological practice of the "Medicine Walk", adapted from American indigenous practices. It is an opportunity to be outside for a day: outside of your home, but also outside of your schedule and your agenda. You do not need to go far in order to reap the benefits of the Earthwalk. Our Walks are held in suburban, Washington DC area parks, and are offered as full day or half day weekend events. 2018 Schedule of Open Earthwalks: January 28 - Early Registration 1/22 March 25 - Early Registration 3/19 May 20 - Early Registration 5/14 July 22 - Early Registration 7/16 September 30 - Early Registration 9/24 November 18 - Early Registration 11/8 2019 Schedule of Open Earthwalks UPCOMING All Earthwalks are held Rain or Shine. Walks require 4 participants registered by the Early Registration cutoff date, or they will be cancelled. Cancelled walks are fully refundable, or funds can be transferred to a future Walk. Registered Walkers who need to cancel before the cutoff date can be fully refunded. Registered Walkers who cancel after the cutoff date cannot be refunded. $20 - Early Registration * $25 - Walk-In SIGN UP FOR AN EARTHWALK NOW by using the form below. You will be contacted regarding payment. 
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Underground Circles
"Every landscape has lessons and benefits for the body, heart, and mind. And the benefits of one landscape or ecosystem are not the same as the benefits of the others: therefore the ocean offers something differ from the desert, the forest, the mountains." Underground Circles are group activities designed to bring participants into a closer connection with the specific physical elements of the natural underground environment, and explore the potential of those elements for supporting change and personal growth. Caves are uniquely enclosed and secluded environments, challenging and inspiring in an inimitable way. Many people who have devoted their lives to exploring caves have observed these elements, but rarely is a cave trip designed to intentionally pursue and explore these elements. The Underground Circle is that cave trip. Each Underground Circle is different, designed for a distinct group of participants and with a specific potential theme. Because the cave environment is psychologically potent as well as providing some physical risk, and because the processes introduced in the Underground Circle are experimental, participation in Underground Circles is screened. Please contact Keely for more information if you are interested in being a participant. An explanation that might help: "Experience with process work" - Some Underground Circles are open to people "experienced with process work." "Process work" is a generic term to describe exploring one's emotional landscape, personal identity, goals, strengths, weaknesses, and character, within a group setting. Process work utilizes dynamic activities guided by self, peers, and/or facilitators. There are many organizations that provide avenues for process work: some examples are Woman Within International, The ManKind Project, and Vets Journey Home. The critical skills that come from experience with process work include: 1. Keeping Oneself Safe - The ability to accurately monitor one's internal emotional weather, identify the difference between constructive or tolerable discomfort and a boundary violation or situation that is psychologically destabilizing, and to communicate needs to the group and take personal responsibility for protecting personal boundaries. 2. Respecting Safe Group Norms - The ability to respect and support others, to communicate respect and open-mindedness in the face of other people's personal content, to respect diversity, and to be present to provide support to other people's needs. If you have any questions about whether this is you, please Contact Keely. 2019 Schedule of Underground Circles: UPCOMING: STAY TUNED Twilight Circle 2019 Details TBA The Twilight Circle is designed to work with the threshold (entrance area) of the cave, and its symbolism. This is the ideal Underground Circle for those who may have physical or psychological barriers but are drawn to explore the inner and outer dimensions of the cave. Experience with process work recommended but not required. Contact Keely for more information. Deep Circle 2019 Details TBA The Deep Circle is designed to work with the full darkness and spatial breadth of the cave. This is the ideal Underground Circle for those who are drawn to adventure and challenge, both inner and outer. Experience with process work recommended but not required. NOTE: Access to some portions of the cave is weather- dependent, and requires a dry season; as such, Deep Circles are scheduled in August or September. However, there is no guarantee of dry conditions (indeed, in 2018 the north wing of the cave stayed flooded all year.) We will improvise with the conditions we are given. Contact Keely for more information. All Underground Circles are held Rain or Shine. Circles require 4 participants registered by the Early Registration cutoff date, or they will be cancelled. Cancelled circles are fully refundable, or funds can be transferred to a future circles. Registered participants who need to cancel before the cutoff date can be fully refunded. Registered participants who cancel after the cutoff date cannot be refunded. $40 - Early Registration * $45 - On The Day SIGN UP FOR AN UNDERGROUND CIRCLE NOW by using the form below. You will be contacted regarding payment. |
Workshop Staff
Keely Owens, LGPC, has an MA in Ecopsychology from Naropa University, and has ten years' experience creating and facilitating outdoor workshops. Suburban Grotto is her Washington, DC - based ecopsychology project. An avid caver, Keely is on the executive committee of the DC Grotto of the National Speleological Society, and has been leading cave trips at all levels for over ten years. Keely is wilderness first aid and CPR certified.
Kelli Cronin, LCSW-C, is a psychotherapist in private practice in downtown Silver Spring, MD, and specializes in work with trauma, and with queer, trans*, and gender non-binary folks. Kelli is a Somatic Experiencing (R) Practitioner-in-Training, and a Facilitator-In-Training with Woman Within International.
Keely Owens, LGPC, has an MA in Ecopsychology from Naropa University, and has ten years' experience creating and facilitating outdoor workshops. Suburban Grotto is her Washington, DC - based ecopsychology project. An avid caver, Keely is on the executive committee of the DC Grotto of the National Speleological Society, and has been leading cave trips at all levels for over ten years. Keely is wilderness first aid and CPR certified.
Kelli Cronin, LCSW-C, is a psychotherapist in private practice in downtown Silver Spring, MD, and specializes in work with trauma, and with queer, trans*, and gender non-binary folks. Kelli is a Somatic Experiencing (R) Practitioner-in-Training, and a Facilitator-In-Training with Woman Within International.
