NATURE-BASED
MENTORING AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Are you a parent, an aunty, uncle, child carer, youth worker, therapist, teacher, mentor… a human, who feels our innate responsibility for the growth and well-being of the next generations?
Have you noticed the epidemic that has taken hold of our children?
Witnessed a culture that has them turning to screens, social media and gaming to feel a sense of meaning, belonging and empowerment?
Have you seen the rise in anxiety, depression, suicide and other symptoms of deep disconnection generated by our cultural narrative?
Do you see children turning away from the wilderness in all her beauty and genius, and the destruction and suffering this brings?
And still… at the same time…
Have you seen those turning back?
Re-awakening their connection to place; their awe and wonderment for wild things.
Re-kindling a way of being that ignites fires of joy and connection.
Re-forging pathways to adulthood that honour their wild, powerful, animal being; and their incredible Earth-based wisdom.
Re-membering how to create a village around our children.
Do you feel called to be part of this returning in a powerful and practical way?
Inspiring, leading and mentoring young people in a way that honours their heart and mind, their sovereign power and their innate connection to all things?
If so, join us.
We have been tending these fires for many years now, and we know more fires need lighting.
So we want to give you the “fire kit” needed to do so.
What?
We are offering a mentoring and leadership program aimed at cultivating the skills, knowledge, heart and mind needed to hold and guide children, youth and the young-at-heart in nature-based settings:
Creating a culture of connection and empowerment.
Drawing on powerful ways of relating and communicating.
Learning skilful ways of bringing circle, games, song, story, survival skills, ecological knowledge, awareness training and more to young people.
Tending to your own heart, your own inner children/parts and your own valid needs for connection, belonging, sovereignty, play and power.
How?
Combining in-person immersion and exploration calls with hands-on experience at the Wild Village, we can give you what's needed to grow a bush kids’ program, bring nature-connection culture and practices into your current work, build better relationships with your children, support young people as they enter adolescence and more.
Alongside a deep dive into mentoring and leadership practices at the in-person event, you can join our life-changing Wild Village programs as a mentor in order to integrate and enrich your skill development. A place where we have seen incredible transformation at the individual and family culture level. A place where children run free, contact wild beauty, feel powerful emotions and experience a sense of belonging and care they might not ever receive in the “other” world.
You will be held, guided and mentored through the whole experience. And your own gifts will be honoured and honed so that you can show up in the best ways possible for your people and place.
When?
The program includes a 4-day in-person immersion training in the Winter School holidays and your participation at one or both Wild Villages this year (April and October) in which to immerse in the practices. There will be 4 online calls to round out the experience.
Who?
The program will be led by Mahli Hawke.
He is a Co-Founder and Core Leader of the Wild Village, who has guided the mentor team since its beginning in 2017. He has been leading nature-based programs for children and teens for over 8 years, including bush schools, nature-based education and home school programs, school camp programs and boys adventure and rites of passage programs. He is a storyteller, fireside MC and group facilitator. Mahli has a 17 year background working with young people as a teacher, child care worker and mentor.
He is a committed student of connected and ancestral culture, particularly healthy men's culture, and has learnt from and supported many of the leaders in the field including Kate and Sam from Nature Philosophy, Lee Trew, Simon Thakur, Tom Brown Jnr, Jon Young, Bill Plotkin, Martin Shaw and more. In his home life he is an adoring father of his son Ochre, and a dedicated, loving partner to Nele-Mae.
Mahli wil be supported by other skilled guides and leaders where necessary, especially at the Wild Village, where there will be a number of highly experienced mentors and guides to learn from.
Experiences
Nature-Based Mentoring and Leadership Training (July holidays)
This immersion will empower you with the art and skills of mentoring and group leadership that we bring to the children and teens at the village. We will offer a repertoire of games, stories, songs and activities that wrap around the core elements of “survival”. This includes awareness training, shelter and fire, food and water, tracking and “hunting”, and of course, tribe and relating. We will practise the wildcrafts of fire, carving, string and bush tucker in a way that helps you introduce them to young people of different ages. We will also explore the concept of rites of passage in a culturally appropriate way.
Additionally, we will cultivate internal awareness, resilience and connection. We will dive into greater cultural and inner cultural explorations that help re-wild your heart and mind in a way that aligns with Earth wisdom and the wisdom of your/our ancestors.
And we'll make sure you get to feel the joy and aliveness of the wild child within.
Wild Village Mentoring Experience
You are encouraged to join one, or more, Nature Philosophy’s Wild Villages as a mentor where you can learn from experienced mentors, cultivate and practise your skills, and, with support, gain a deeper understanding of the core elements of culture regeneration as they are lived and breathed. This experience contains all the wonder, workings, beauty and challenges of being in a “Wild Village”; a unique and transformative space.
Mahli or another leader will be available for regular check-ins at the village to help guide and support your journey.
Online Calls
There will be an opening group call and a post-camp call available for integration and support. These will combine knowledge, personal stories and practical information about the in-person programs. They are an important way to prepare, integrate and consolidate your in-person experiences.
Guidebook
To support your practice, you will receive a digital guidebook with the concepts, games and ideas we introduce.
Added Options:
👉 Nature ONE
It is highly recommended that you attend a Nature ONE training as well to develop your own wilderness skills.
Participants receive a $200 discounted spot to a Nature ONE experience within 12 months of the immersion program.
👉1-on-1 Mentoring with your trainer, Mahli Hawke
You may want to engage with Mahli for one-on-one mentoring sessions to help with your journey, from the emotional/spiritual to the practicalities of creating and running a program.
Mahli offers up to 3 x 1.25-hour calls at an investment of $160 per session - booked as a package of 3, this costs $480 and attracts a saving of $120!
Taking your total investment to $360. You can reach out to Mahli directly to book these calls.
👉 Lead Mentoring at the Village
We do have a limited number of paid positions within the village for those who show the skill and commitment necessary to lead a group. By completing this training, Nature 1 and holding a First Aid Certificate, you can apply for positions when they are available.
In-Person Program Dates
Nature-based Mentoring & Leadership Training In-Person Immersion
Wednesday 9th - Sunday 13th July
Tanamon Pillar Valley, NSW
GROUP CALLS
Tuesday 1st July - 7 - 8:30 pm (Sydney time)
Tuesday 28th July - 7 - 8:30 pm (Sydney time)
OPTIONAL
Wild Village Mentoring - Spring Camp - Sept 29th - Oct 4th 2025 ($250 or free if already attended)
2026 DATES TBC
Your Exchange
For this experience, we are asking you to invest $1,499.
Early Bird price available until Thursday, 29th May at $1,199
Existing Wild Village Mentors are welcome to use their Mentor Coupons to join the program.
Payment plan options are also available - please reach out if you need to arrange a bespoke plan.
We are offering 2 x half price scholarships to any First Nations Australians with financial disadvantage, or those coming from a minority group that also has them at a financial and social disadvantage (other First Nations or Refugee/Immigrants etc).
We will have a limited number of helper exchange spots available for existing mentors, also.
