SENTINELS
To be a sentinel is to be one that watches over; in sentinels you learn how to see nature so that you can effectively watch over it. This course is a 90% field based. You will learn natural history, how to read the history of a forested landscape simply by looking at it (was the land farmland? Grazing land?), how to start a fire with nothing more than a knife, how to build a shelter, how to heat water with rocks, and how to make rope. You will identify over 40 different tree species, you will witness how the forest changes over time, learn what properties of the forest you can utilize and how and what to avoid. You will come away from this class seeing things that had previously been blind to, hearing things you had previously been deaf to and experiencing the forest in ways you never thought possible. You cannot learn about nature in the classroom until you have experienced nature first hand—this class is that first-hand experience.
"You must justify why you are here. I have accepted to give the best of myself so that wildlife can be safeguarded beyond all pressure. Beyond all spirit of greediness about money. Beyond all things. All that could happen to me I will accept it. I am not special...In the end, we will be judged if we just stand by as the park vanishes." –Virunga
Student blowing on tinder in order to make a fire.
John (student) emerging from shelter completely dry!
Jed (professor), standing on a shelter made by students throwing water on it.