Connect and Thrive
Instructor Mentorship Program
The Program is an intensive experiential learning journey for gap-year participants, university students, and teachers seeking deeper exploration of how societies pass on knowledge and skills, and organize cooperation, stewardship, and regeneration.
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Participants join an international cohort to travel through landscapes shaped by river systems while exploring the River System of Human Time and the Global Care Packs 7 Direction Compass.
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Through field exploration, collaborative inquiry, and shared community life, expedition participants examine regenerative transitions not as abstract ideas but as lived questions about how communities thrive across generations.
The Learning Experience
Place-Based Exploration
Participants travel through river valleys, coastlines, and mountain landscapes while studying the ecological and historical forces that shape communities.
Knowledge Systems Dialogue
Group discussions explore how different cultures organize knowledge, governance, and cooperation across time.
Collaborative Learning
Participants work together in small international teams to investigate real-world questions about community resilience and regenerative practice.
Expedition Community
Living and learning together creates a supportive environment for reflection, challenge, and personal growth.
Expedition Landscapes and Regions
Southwest England
This expedition follows the River Avon basin from the historic city of Bath through the surrounding landscapes of Somerset and Dorset.
Field explorations include Cheddar Gorge, Glastonbury and Stonehenge, the ancient forests of the New Forest, and the dramatic cliffs of the Jurassic Coast.
Catalonia and Pyrenees
Beginning along the Mediterranean coast near Cadaqués, this expedition moves through the river valleys, volcanic hills, and mountain landscapes of Catalonia and the Pyrénées-Orientales region of France.
Pacific Northwest, Canada
This expedition explores the river systems, forests, and coastal ecosystems of British Columbia.
Based in the Cowichan Valley and surrounding Gulf Islands, participants travel through old-growth forests, and lake, river and the marine environments of the Pacific Northwest.
Role in the Learning Community
The teach and mentor training program operates alongside the Youth Summer Immersion and community/family programs.
Trainee teachers engage in deeper study and reflection while contributing to the shared learning environment.
During selected sessions, expedition participants may support group activities under the supervision of program staff.
Accommodation is separate from youth participants, creating space for independence while maintaining a connected learning community.
Residential Life
Expedition participants stay in a designated camping area with dedicated facilities.
This environment supports independence, outdoor living, and close connection with the landscapes being studied.
Shared meals and community gatherings bring together participants across the Connect and Thrive learning community.