Greetings Earth Lodge! My name is Geoff Cox. I am a two-year veteran of the Earth Lodge (I lived there way back when it was called the Outdoor House). During my all too brief trip to Richmond this winter break, I was flooded with memories of my time in the Earth Lodge and reminded of what a tremendous impact the experience had on me. I am writing to you from an educational farm called Hidden Villa, where I live and work now. Hidden Villa has farm animals (chickens, pigs, goats, sheep and cows!) and five acres of community supported agriculture nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. I have been here since late August, working as a teacher and learning how to grow my own food and take care of farm animals. By day I roam the farm and surrounding 1500 acres of wilderness with a different small group of students, ranging from kindergarten through high school, each day. My job description: to inspire the kids I work with to have a deep reverence and curiosity about the natural world and maybe most of all, to help them start to see how all things are connected, to know where food comes from and to understand their own biology a little better. Most of the students I work with are growing up in a city and have never had the satisfaction of pulling a carrot from the earth or seeing a breathtaking view after a steep hike. I am supposed to inspire them, but I think I am more inspired by them from seeing the natural world through the fresh eyes of the children every day and remembering what a miracle it is to take even one breath on the amazing planet.
My afternoons are spent getting dirty in the garden or taking care of the animals. Almost all of the food we eat comes from our farm, either from the plants or as milk, eggs or meat from the animals. There is something incredibly natural and empowering about actually taking an active role in the cycle of growth and death that sustain us all. I am finding that working with my body and my mind and ending the day tired and dirty fulfills me in a way that the work of classrooms and offices never did.
When I talk to my other Richmond friends, who all seem to have made their way to graduate school, an office, or back to their parent’s house, I can’t help but reflect on how my Earth Lodge experience influenced my vision of myself in the world. I have endless memories of backpacking, caving, huddling together around the fire on a snowy hillside, laughing, hanging out on the James River and feeling at home in the Earth Lodge community. Looking back now, I realize that impact of the Earth Lodge went way beyond the magic of the wilderness adventures and community. Through the class with Lee Carleton, I was invited to read great literature that helped me really examine both myself and the world I lived in. I was challenged to live more authentically and more bravely and not back down from hard questions. For once, I had the space to take a breath of fresh air and really consider what was meaningful to me in the context of a supportive community and learning environment.
My two years in the Earth Lodge were like starting a fire through friction (which I did with a group of high school students in the rain today). If done correctly, the friction of a stick rubbing on a baseboard creates a hot coal that when placed in a bundle of tinder and blown on can burst into flame and be the foundation for a fire that lasts through the night. For me, my time in the Earth Lodge made me look more deeply into where biology meets technology and my role in helping create a world worth living in for future generations. I was struck by a vision of a world on fire with development and destruction and the odd notion that we are still biologically and neurologically still hunter-gatherers trying to make sense of this complex, digitally-mediated modern industrial world. We think we are so insulated from the dangers associated with survival; yet, some of my wilderness experiences during my time in the Earth Lodge reminded me that we are still and forever part of this great mystery of life and death, one hurricane or car stuck in the snow away from survival being the only thing that is important.
(Earth Lodge winter camping trip)
So for me, my time in the Earth Lodge compelled me to follow my questioning back toward the roots of human livelihood. I realized that before I could make sense of the modern world, I had to better understand my human heritage by learning to do what humans have done for millennia, grow food (something that was not part of my suburban upbringing) and be closer to the earth. Here at Hidden Villa, I have been so inspired both by the kids I teach every day and the opportunity to live where I am and do what I am doing that I spend most of my spare time doing naturalist training and really getting to know the world around me. I am getting to know the plants and animals in the area and am noticing the patterns and connections that weave throughout the landscape. I spend part of each day just sitting in one spot, bringing my awareness to the present moment and delighting in watching life, big and small, take place all around me. I feel like my eyes are being reopened to the newness of each moment and the richness of my own biology and the world around me. Even on my walk down the farm to meet the kids in the morning, I am intrigued by new bird sightings, the growing sprouts, and the tracks and signs of animals. By the time I make it to work, I am filled with gratitude and awe and am reminded to be open to the richness of each moment.
I do not think that technology and the modern world are bad. Even now I am using our most ancient and profound technology, language (although I am admittedly a bit out of practice), and transmitting it through the Internet, another amazing tool with infinite potential. I just think that as a modern people we have forgotten so much of what makes us human and our relationship with and dependence on the natural world. From what I have seen and learned in college and beyond, I think we will continue to destroy the world and ourselves if we don’t reclaim and reintegrate the wisdom of our biology, which is inextricably linked to the natural world. So here I am, years later, still living the questions that came up while living in the Earth Lodge, still exploring where biology meets technology and being humbled by the mystery of life and death in the modern world. It is a wonderful journey.
When I think about the Earth Lodge, I am reminded that more than being just for people who love camping and hiking, it is a place for people who want to be in a community that is eager to live a little more deeply, to ask hard questions of themselves and be brave enough to listen to the answers and explore the mystery. Who knows where it will take you?
To all of you out there on the digital ether, enjoy the journey!
If you want to learn more about where I work or what I am doing, check out www.hiddenvilla.org or email me at geoff.cox@richmond.edu.
