Eps 543: Building a parent community with Melissa Esposito
Episode 543
My guest today is Melissa Esposito, and we’re talking about the power of nature & the power of building a parent community. We discuss expanding the relationships that our adolescents have and the benefits of other adults in your children’s lives. Melissa shares about how and where to find parent and family community so our youth have other adults in their life to support them. We talk about when you just don’t understand your kid. We wrap up this episode with some suggestions for places & opportunities to volunteer & connect with youth.
Guest Description
Melissa Esposito is cofounder and lead mentor of Feather and Frond forest school, an outdoor wilderness school in Bellingham, WA.
Melissa was raised in Suburban Long Island and had a pretty typical upbringing as a kiddo of the 80s/90s. She started to be drawn into nature and learning about the natural world during her teen years. After spending some time teaching outdoor programs for kids after college, she longed for a deeper understanding of the natural world, which led her to a 9 month nature immersion program at Wilderness Awareness School in Washington State.
By the end of that program Melissa was a much different human. She found herself knowing all sorts of things about nature, like what coyote poop looks like, how to make medicine from Oregon Grape roots, and that birds aren’t just singing when they make noises. She also healed some of her childhood trauma by connecting so deeply with the natural world.
Melissa has been using the 8 Shields/Coyote Mentoring philosophy to connect children with nature ever since her time at WAS. Over the years, she’s received training in Waldorf and Enki philosophies, and liberally sprinkles bits and pieces of those teachings into her outdoor “classroom” as well.