Nature Connection: A Six Principles Anthology Book

Nature Connection: A Six Principles Anthology Book by Charlie Botting is one of the books in our Six Principle Anthology series which share blog stories written by Trails to Empowerment community members, guests, volunteers and students. Focusing on one of the Six Principles, Nature Connection, this book shares stories about the experiences and mindsets that help us feel a deeper connection to the natural environment.

All of our Six Principles are a holistic concept as each principle is essential for every other principle. With Nature Connection, we become more conscious and aware, self-sufficient and empowered by learning from nature. Every time we are in the wilderness is a personal development opportunity. Without feeling a connection to nature, we won’t have a motivation to conserve it.

When we are at the ranch, we experience a nature connection as wildlife graze the grass on the property, we are surrounded by mountains and our daily chores such as splitting wood, moving sprinklers and caring for the animals, take place outdoors. Yet the deepest nature connection comes when we ride, hike, ski or mountain bike into the backcountry and immerse ourselves in the South Chilcotin Mountains for days at a time.​

This book starts with the “theory” of nature connection, describing biophilia and nature deficits as reasons for us being drawn to a natural environment. Some stories contrast life in the wilderness or at the ranch with life in the city, the different opportunities, yet how life closer to nature feels more real, more meaningful and more engaging.

Through stories about some of our camps and guest trips, this book shares an overview of what guests and students can experience for a nature connection in the backcountry. This includes alpine landscapes, long days of riding, crossing rivers, climbing shale slopes, staking horses in wildflower meadows and observing mule deer, mountain goats, California bighorn sheep and grizzly bears. Hiking and mountain biking stories show how travelling under our own power intensifies sensory experience and appreciation for nature, more than an easy-access fly-in experience ever could.​

In many stories, the relationship between nature connection and nature conservation is highlighted. Guests and community partners learn to identify wildflowers, whitebark pine, wildlife tracks and habitat types, record wildlife sightings and collect grizzly hair for DNA analysis. These conservation contribution influence habitat and wildlife management in the Chilcotin Ark, allowing everyone to make a bigger picture impact. The more we care about an area, the more we want to protect it, that is the key link between nature connection and nature conservation.

But it isn’t all about “good experiences”. Challenging weather conditions or uncertainty about our abilities can sometimes create the strongest nature connection experience, that lead to strong feelings of empowerment.

Outside of the main summer season, there are opportunities to explore the backcountry by snowmobile, skiing or snowshoeing. Staying in a remote cabin, splitting firewood, tracking wildlife in the snow and listening to wolves howling are all ways we can experience a winter nature connection.

Rewilding is another key part of nature connection, building on the biophilia and nature deficit concepts at the beginning of the book. Spending time in nature is a reset from the distractions and technology of modern life, brining us back to a more basic, grounded sense of self. This is how nature connection links directly to personal development and conscious and aware.

Throughout the book, horses are a wilderness facilitator, noticing wildlife before we do, finding the safest way over challenging terrain and carrying us to the mountain tops. Our horses are often from the wild herds, bringing with them a strong nature connection and awareness that is a way for us to fast-track our own nature connection.

Nature Connection: A Six Principles Anthology Book is available in paperback and ebook on our partner, Fortress Books and Web’s website here.

Want to learn more about Nature Connection with an online course? Our Nature Connection online course from our online training partner, the Institute for Human Potential, will introduce you to nature connection and how to apply it in your life. Sign up here.

Want to experience some of these wilderness opportunities for yourself? Our partner, Wilderness Trails’ Wilderness Lifestyle Experience allows you to experience all of this and more – you’re only limited by your imagination. Find out more about the Wilderness Lifestyle Experience here.

Find more recommended books from the Trails to Empowerment community here.