Heartwood Nature Programs follows in the footsteps of Camp Roots Forest School, the 100% outdoor program created by founder April Rose and program director Katherine Hale. Their simple mission: Get kids outside. In the Spring of 2020, in part due to the COVID19 outbreak, April closed the program so that she could move back to Arkansas to be closer to family. With her blessing and full support, former Camp Roots teachers Tess Golden-Orr and Erin Cole have opened this program based on the same principles originally envisioned by April:

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Mindfulness, Stewardship, and Connection.

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With a great sense of responsibility to the community that formed the Camp Roots family, Tess and Erin's dream is to continue offering 100% outdoor immersion programs and advocating for the outdoor education model. 

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"Let the forest be our teacher and the trees our guides. Let nature's wisdom root us to the earth, awaken our mind, nourish our body, and free our soul. When we are rooted to the earth and feel the connection, it becomes a part of us and we become a part of it.” —April Rose