Way of the Hunt with Neill Bovaird hosted by Wild Earth

Spring 2024 – Winter 2025

Wild Earth’s Welcome to Way of the Hunt

For nearly a decade, Wild Earth has partnered with Neill Bovaird (Founder of Wolf Tree Programs) to bring his courses to people in the Hudson Valley to learn about the process of hunting such as: Using the Whole Deer, Buckskin Sewing, and Hide Tanning.

Driven by the community’s enthusiasm, we are excited to continue partnering with Neill to offer ‘Way of the Hunt’, an apprenticeship program about the art and process of hunting.

Way of the Hunt cultivates a culture of reverence, compassion, respect, and learning when approaching hunting. Participants will be shown all the steps needed to prepare for a hunt, what to do the day of a hunt, and what to do after an animal is hunted. It is in all seasons a process of learning.

About Way of the Hunt from Neill Bovaird

The Way of the Hunt is a reorientation to life. It is a restoration of relationships long since neglected. It is an awakening to interdependence. Hunting is a way of life. It is a way to shed all that we carry in our modern lives and breathe into being human again. It reconnects us with ourselves, the land, the animals, each other, and life itself on a very fundamental level.

We relearn how to participate in the essentials of life, to be provided for and to provide for. It reestablishes pathways of connection to our food and our community. The foundation to all this connection is developing a high level of skill in all parts of the hunt.

The Way of the Hunt is an intensive hunter training class to create competent, skilled, conscientious, and respectful hunters that are committed to the entire hunting process.

Important Notes:

• • This is a rigorous program, both physically and in terms of your input. Be prepared for long hikes, cold/wet weather and early mornings.
  • Homework will include 5+ hours of your time per month
  • This program is intended for adults 18+, however there may be a few exceptions for dedicated teens 15 and older to join. Guardians of interested teens may email info@wildearth.org for more information.

About Hunting & Wild Earth:

In our programs, we strive to create a more compassionate, more connected relationship between people and nature.

We recognize that hunting and taking life from another to sustain oneself can be an experience that fosters and bridges intimacy between the hunter and nature. While hunting has long been a core part of the human experience, we recognize that modern Americans may not have been born into a culture of reverence, compassion and respect when approaching hunting.

Rekindling A Culture of Reverence, Compassion & Respect

Through awareness skills, tracking, bow-making, trap making, cordage and other indigenous skills, Wild Earth aims to rekindle a culture of reverence, compassion and respect. While our programs are laying a foundation of strengthened connections, we do not hunt or kill in any of our general nature connection programs. With compassion and respect, Wild Earth instructors may utilize dead animals to facilitate the teaching of wilderness skills and crafts. Recognizing that a family or an individual’s values or preferences may lead to a desire not to come into contact with deceased animals, all dead animal processing activities offered at our programs are choice-based and are offered out of sight from those who may choose not to participate.

Hunting & Slaughter Only At Clearly Identified Special Programs

NOTE: As of October 2017, Wild Earth has not offered hunting or slaughter at any regular or special programs. There will be no hunting or slaughter at the Using the Whole Deer workshop or Way of the Hunt apprenticeship program; however this may be done prior to these programs for the purpose of hands-on learning.

Killing is only practiced for Wild Earth programs that are specifically designed to focus on reverential hunting and harvesting live animals for food, clothing or tools. While teaching specific skills, these programs also focus significant amounts of time and energy into creating a culture of reverence, compassion and respect. These programs must be easily distinguished from our regular programs by their program titles and descriptions. We recognize killing is an important part of the hunting process, but want to leave the decision to be a part of killing an animal to each individual in their own time.

About Neill Bovaird

Neill Bovaird has been practicing and teaching wilderness skills since 1998. He has a B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation from UMass Amherst and holds a Track and Sign Level III certification through the CyberTracker Conservation. Neill has been a facilitator at Art of Mentoring since 2001 and has studied with Jon Young, Mark Elbroch, Errett Callahan, and Steve Watts.

In addition to being the founder and director of Wolf Tree Programs LLC, Neill has taught wilderness skills at countless private and public schools, nature centers, museums, conferences, elder hostels and camps. He has been a passionate hunter and gatherer for over ten years and is dedicated to sharing how to approach hunting and gathering in a respectful way, helping people connect more deeply to themselves, nature and their communities.

Testimonial from Dustin Lamberta – Three Year Apprentice of Way of the Hunt

“I may have always been destined to be a deer hunter but knew for sure when I first encountered Neill Bovaird at one of his workshops called “Using the Whole Deer”. It’s a butchering class with a very intriguing name, what could it mean to “use a whole deer”? I’ve been learning that it means a lot of love, hard work, and community.

After that workshop I decided to take an apprenticeship with Neill called “Way of the Hunt”. I took it for three years in a row in fact. I learned so many things from this apprenticeship, but I think the greatest lesson I learned was that hunting can be a year round practice, not just during the short season from October through the end of December.”

Register now and reserve your space in Way of the Hunt with Neill Bovaird hosted by Wild Earth today. Space is limited.

You may also be interested in...

Using the Whole Deer

Saturday & Sunday December 2 & 3, 2023 for: Adults

Buckskin Sewing

Saturday & Sunday January 6 & 7, 2024