Teachers in the Forest
New Lessons from an Old World
“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 deep in the forest near the headwaters
of the Mississippi River. Here he has discovered a balance in the interconnectedness
of all life in the woods, and derived his sustenance from hunting, fishing,
gardening, gathering wild food, providing 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, Courage, Honesty, Humility, and Truth). Each of these seven teachings are represented by an animal. 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 proposes a radical shift in how Americans support our environment and wildlife. He was recently featured in the documentary films: MEDICINE OF THE WOLF, and WOLF SPIRIT.
From these 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.”
Babcock lives off the grid in the Mississippi Headwaters country of northern Minnesota. His lifestyle is one of simple and self-sustaining existence. He gathers what he needs from the land by gardening, hunting, harvesting, and his only electricity is harnessed from the sun, his water from a well which is pumped daily by hand. He lives an intimate balance with the natural world.
He has pursued a way of life distanced from the economic and consumptive norms which he believes can hinder a person's connection to the natural world. He truly lives on the perimeter of society.
