Wild wolves
A wilderness educational year group for boys
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How it all began
In the summer of 2021, Julian Jaeger received a message from Sylvia Ahlheim, founder of the Wolfspfade Wilderness School on Schönberg. Would it be possible to start a boys' circle in nature? The parents and boys were already ready. On a train ride from Leipzig to Freiburg, the concept of the annual circle for young adolescents was born, which wants to get to the roots of what it means today to accompany boys on their path through life with presence, human diversity and authenticity. Now, a few years and many, many adventures later, we are a genuine wilderness annual circle for boys between 8 and 12 years old and are now gearing up for a third round, thanks to the support of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation and our parents. Together with ten boys, a group of wilderness educators go to the Black Forest in two small cycles (January to May and June to December), over a large annual cycle (January - December), to experience, research, play and grow together. All kids learn the basics of forest orientation, camp building, water and wild herb knowledge, fire making, archery, sneaking, etc., so that they can feel comfortable in the forest, both independently and in a group. This is one of our biggest benefits, which practically develops little by little.
A little insight
A normal Sunday starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The boys often particularly enjoy wild cooperative forest games, carving around the campfire, listening to stories and playing free games. Many also like the mindful contact through wrestling and fighting, others love the time spent sitting alone and some love to build huts.
Every three to four months we change forest areas and within a year we roam the Dreisamtal, the Schönberg, the lakes of the Rhine plain and usually return to the Dreisamtal.
Every six months we offer an overnight weekend where the kids have more time to connect, cook, sleep in the forest and deepen cool skills. We always have a backpack full of offers, a toolbox full of wonderful educational methods and a deep pocket full of stories, music and interesting facts. But we are not "entertainment robots"; instead, we consciously demand the attention of the participants as wilderness educators.
Anyone who is 12 years old can then head out to the wilderness with us. We look forward to seeing you too!
The educators
Julian Jaeger
Youth and residential educators
Dominik Heise
Wilderness educator
Laureen Mohr
Educational scientist
as well as other selected people (Daniel Bichsel the Abnoetaucher, for example) who can be a good impulse for the Wildlings as reflected images of men, and since 2023 also of women. Over the course of the year, we want to become part of the perception of the little ones with a large number of special educators and positive images of people, so that they can orient themselves in a versatile and reliable way to and as emotionally open and present mentors.
Key data
Prerequisite: Voluntary participation!
Cost: 30 Euro per meeting / 6h
Special feature: We need a commitment of at least 6 months from the families and the boys in order to be able to plan well (enough people there for games, fees paid), so we always book 6 months for a "small cycle". It's great if the boys come as often as possible over the course of a year, so that the group can grow together and this year is something "special". Because that's what it is ;-)
Overnight weekends: From this year onwards we will be doing these separately, from Friday to Sunday and open to young guests, even outside of the group. In recent years this was too intensive for just one night with all the packing and unpacking of material.
Wild Wolves 2024 Program
The dates, Sundays, 10am-4pm:
January, 21.01.2024
February, 04.02.2024
February, 18.02.2024
March, 17.03.2024
April, 21.04.2024
May, 12.05.2024
June, 16.06.2024
July, 14.07.2024
Summer holidays
September, 15.09.2024
October, 20.10.2024
November, 10.11.2024
December, 08.12.2024
Our educational principles
What is wilderness education?
For us, wilderness education is a mixture of immersive learning environments that we can immerse ourselves in (forests, mountains, lakes) and the educational approach of Coyote Teaching. This means that as companions of the boys, we try to create situations in which the elements of the natural environment teach us something and we participate in it through an active circle culture (for example, it is January, cold and everyone wants to cook and eat pancakes by the fire).
Boys between the ages of 8 and 12 are present during the year. Electrical devices are avoided, with the exception of the sparing use of flashlights and watches. Comfort is used very consciously and sparingly in order to create experiences that promote growth but are also beautiful and empowering. The shared activities include, first and foremost, forest games, cooking together and making fire safely, safe use of simple tools such as a pocket knife and building a camp, water and wild herb knowledge, making music, learning and internalizing forms of movement, communication methods and sensory and attention exercises.
The shared experience of such an offer should first and foremost be fun and also promote the personal and character development of the young participants in many ways and be good for them and their environment. Our participatory offer is created with the wishes and ideas of the Wildlings and is particularly suitable for promoting self-responsible and independent behavior as well as solidarity, mindfulness, cooperation, reliability and respect towards other people and nature. Furthermore, physical health is trained in a playful way, involving the entire human musculoskeletal system, from large to fine motor skills, impulses and knowledge about healthy nutrition and lifestyles are given and existing individual talents are strengthened and encouraged. The shared fun and joy that our methods convey are not just an end in themselves, but have a healing effect on the psyche of the participants and also guarantee a long-term and motivated integration of the experience.
Our long-term goal is to promote authentic and lively individuals who are also prepared to take responsibility for themselves and others.
And very important!
Our offer is based on the boys' willingness to participate. We need this attitude on our adventures in order to be able to go well as a group.
Sponsored by
We thank our cooperation partners for their generous support