Teachers in the Forest

"A rewarding and enriching fusion of traditional wisdom, science and first-hand experience." -Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator, and How to Read Nature

Drawing from a similar lifestyle and environmental ethic as Henry D. Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, Babcock has lived more than two decades off-grid in northern Minnesota. Here he discovered a balance in the interconnectedness of all life in the forest, and derived his sustenance from hunting, fishing, gardening, gathering wild food, and providing his water from a hand-pump well and minimal electricity from the sun. He befriended an Ojibwe Elder, Chi-Ma''iingan (Big Wolf), from whom he learned the Seven Grandfather Teachings (Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth). In this collection, Babcock shares his love of the natural world through a unique land ethic that combines the ideology of Thoreau and Leopold, and that which he learned from Chi-Ma''iingan.

Babcock has been active in supporting the environment and wildlife for more than two decades, and was recently featured in the documentary films: Medicine of the Wolf, and Wolf Spirit.

From the pages:
"We must stop seeing the natural world as a commodity and start seeing it as we would see a family member, something to love, protect, care for, and cherish."