White Pine Wilderness Academy

White Pine Wilderness Academy is a nature connection and survival skills school where participants practice fire-making, wood splitting, plant identification, foraging, crafting, scouting, tracking, and storytelling. Programs also include martial arts, movement, and meditation through offerings such as Protector club sessions, which combine these three elements. The program uses wilderness survival skills and aboriginal technologies based on the knowledge of hunter-gatherer ancestors, following a custom curriculum drawn from several well-known nature connection models and Indigenous cultures from around the world.

• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: The location is open for scheduled classes and workshops only.

White Pine Wilderness Academy was founded by Matt Shull in 2014 as a 501c3 non-profit organization. The organization offers instructional programs for youth ages 3–12, teens ages 13–17, and adults ages 18 and up, including summer camps for ages 4–17, and also runs a volunteer program for ages 13 and up. Its mission is to address the effects of nature deficit disorder through reconnection to place, community, ancestry, traditional cultures, and skills. The program is secular, with students and staff from many cultural and religious backgrounds, and attendance is based on following five core agreements: Respect Life, Respect Each Other, Respect Ourselves, Respect The Circle, and Be a Caretaker. Instructors are described as masters at their craft, and the staff is described as highly trained and passionate about high-quality mentorship and deepening their own skills. Through community support, the organization offers financial aid, and it invites donations so that local children can attend programs such as after school and summer camps.

Last updated May 13, 2026.