What people are saying about Wild Zones “I consider Wild Zones a stroke of genius, a deceptively simple marvel to redeem the sanity of our culture and the health of our families.” Joanna Macy author of World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal “Thank you ever so for the opportunity to discover my daughter’s love of Mud! I have trouble finding the words to express their excitement and total entrancement with the Zone. We began building the best Fort/Hut ever. At one point there was even Mud flinging to add more artistic flare to the building.” Fran, a mother from Mountain View “I just wanted to write to you to say what a wonderful experience the Wild Zone was. It was simple, educational, and inspiring. While I had the opportunity to grow up near forests and lots of open space, my 2nd grade son has rarely had the opportunity to actually play/work in such as space. The Wild Zone provided him an opportunity to invent and create in a way he hasn't had a chance to before. What struck me about the kids that went even beyond what I expected, was the interaction by the kids between themselves. At first the kids started on their own or with a few familiar faces. They gradually they explored the works of others. Interestingly the first encounter between a couple boys wasn't friendly. One child didn't want the other visiting "his" space. However, with no parent supervision, through a series of different approaches they resolved differences and actually started cooperating. My take away from that is in today's global economy to raise kids that are leaders and creators we need more then simple rote skills. We need kids that can engage the world. A world full of differences and unexpected landscapes. Those kids need more then being capable is simple math and reading. Where does one get that kind of training? In a structured classroom? Probably not, probably in just the kind of environment you have created. We are a family from Mountain View and came with other families from there as well. My son is a student as Castro Elementary school, which has a population of parents unable reach destinations outside of bike/walking range. We would love to get involved with other Mountain View families to find a way to establish a Wild Zone in our city to make it more accessible to our community. Thanks again for the work that you do. I have to say that I personally had a great time reliving some of my childhood memories building forts that day. There is something about working with your hands in nature that is rejuvenating in the middle of our busy Bay Area lives. We look forward to becoming more involved with your organization.” Rahul, a father from Mountain View, California “Many of the kids and parents have told me how much fun they had, and would like to go to the Wild Zone again! I think Cub Scouts and Wild Zones go well together, and we were grateful that such an opportunity existed for the boys to mess around in the mud!” Riley and Susan, Cub Scout leaders, Santa Clara “I work with the YMCA After School Program in Santa Clara. Last year our students had the opportunity to participate in Wild Zones and had a blast. I’m hoping that this year we could come back for another year of fun.” Kesheia “I had the pleasure of building forts with my family at Guadalupe Park today. It was awesome!!! Thanks for a fun time!” Paige, San Jose “The Family Play Day today was a great success. We had a really great turnout and it was a beautiful day. Also, one little girl was having her 6th birthday party, complete with cake, hot chocolate and fort building.” Liza Dadiamov, Play Ranger “A couple boys had already constructed a giant and beautiful tepee, with sticks and palm fronds, and ‘flowers to make the place pretty and smell good’ in the boys own words. They were in the process of building a floor and patio with flat rocks. I should point out how much teamwork was going on here. Not only did little groups form to create these fabulous places, but the kids walked around helping one another. A few little girls stopped to admire the flowers and add some of their own. Watching the kids carry around giant rocks, and my sons with huge sticks, I kept an observant eye, but let them play and chatted with the parents. Given their love of jumping off high places, I had to learn early on to let my kids take risks, and to keep my heart in check. I was enthralled with the idea of letting the kids loose in a muddy, tree-filled area allowed to do whatever they want. As an added bonus, the volunteers are teenagers and my kids, like most little kids, love hanging out with teens.” Nicole Pelton, www.notjustaworkingmom.com “The students reported feeling much more relaxed and, as a result, it was easier for them to concentrate on subject matter. They enjoyed working in teams which formed naturally in the informal atmosphere where the work was not done with adult direction but guided by the students’ own interests. Some of the students decided to walk all the way back to school from Roosevelt Park because they said it felt so good to walk feeling relaxed after the Wild Zone. This is a good indication of how invigorating the students found the experience.” Alba Lucia Diaz, Principal, Escuela Popular, San Jose “On the way to the Wild Zone workshop the students were skeptical about the value of spending their time on this. Even after they got the instructions about what they were to do a few of them thought it was rather silly stuff and weren’t sure what was expected of them but, as they became involved. even the most reluctant really liked it. They were surprised by what they could create. It was very beneficial. They were much more relaxed afterwards and in contact with themselves as well as pleased with what they had achieved. It enhanced their creativity and put them more in contact with nature…. and more in contact with themselves.” high school teacher, Escuela Popular “At first I felt intimidated by no one telling me what to do. But gradually I enjoyed being given space. I felt much more connected to my own desires and found the experience very beautiful and so relaxing.” high school student, Escuela Popular “I feel that we need more of these activities close to nature. We have all seen that something like this is possible and I would like to request that Wild Zones continue supporting us in these types of projects. We felt relaxed for the rest of the day and could concentrate much better in our classes.” high school student, Escuela Popular “I saw everybody being engaged and concentrated creating art from local materials. I connect easily with nature so I took some rocks and began making a figure. I got so excited when I saw the first figure I made – it looked great. I felt happy knowing that my art was appreciated by our teachers and that our efforts are recognized and nurtured.” high school student, Escuela Popular

What people are saying about Wild Zones

“I consider Wild Zones a stroke of genius, a deceptively simple marvel to redeem the sanity of our culture and the health of our families.”

Joanna Macy

author of World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal

“Thank you ever so for the opportunity to discover my daughter’s love of Mud! I have trouble finding the words to express their excitement and total entrancement with the Zone. We began building the best Fort/Hut ever. At one point there was even Mud flinging to add more artistic flare to the building.”

Fran, a mother from Mountain View

“I just wanted to write to you to say what a wonderful experience the Wild Zone was. It was simple, educational, and inspiring. While I had the opportunity to grow up near forests and lots of open space, my 2nd grade son has rarely had the opportunity to actually play/work in such as space. The Wild Zone provided him an opportunity to invent and create in a way he hasn't had a chance to before.

What struck me about the kids that went even beyond what I expected, was the interaction by the kids between themselves. At first the kids started on their own or with a few familiar faces. They gradually they explored the works of others. Interestingly the first encounter between a couple boys wasn't friendly. One child didn't want the other visiting "his" space. However, with no parent supervision, through a series of different approaches they resolved differences and actually started cooperating.

My take away from that is in today's global economy to raise kids that are leaders and creators we need more then simple rote skills. We need kids that can engage the world. A world full of differences and unexpected landscapes. Those kids need more then being capable is simple math and reading. Where does one get that kind of training? In a structured classroom? Probably not, probably in just the kind of environment you have created.

We are a family from Mountain View and came with other families from there as well. My son is a student as Castro Elementary school, which has a population of parents unable reach destinations outside of bike/walking range. We would love to get involved with other Mountain View families to find a way to establish a Wild Zone in our city to make it more accessible to our community.

Thanks again for the work that you do. I have to say that I personally had a great time reliving some of my childhood memories building forts that day. There is something about working with your hands in nature that is rejuvenating in the middle of our busy Bay Area lives. We look forward to becoming more involved with your organization.”

Rahul, a father from Mountain View, California

“Many of the kids and parents have told me how much fun they had, and would like to go to the Wild Zone again! I think Cub Scouts and Wild Zones go well together, and we were grateful that such an opportunity existed for the boys to mess around in the mud!”

Riley and Susan, Cub Scout leaders, Santa Clara

“I work with the YMCA After School Program in Santa Clara. Last year our students had the opportunity to participate in Wild Zones and had a blast. I’m hoping that this year we could come back for another year of fun.”

Kesheia

“I had the pleasure of building forts with my family at Guadalupe Park today. It was awesome!!! Thanks for a fun time!”

Paige, San Jose

“The Family Play Day today was a great success. We had a really great turnout and it was a beautiful day. Also, one little girl was having her 6th birthday party, complete with cake, hot chocolate and fort building.”

Liza Dadiamov, Play Ranger

“A couple boys had already constructed a giant and beautiful tepee, with sticks and palm fronds, and ‘flowers to make the place pretty and smell good’ in the boys own words. They were in the process of building a floor and patio with flat rocks. I should point out how much teamwork was going on here. Not only did little groups form to create these fabulous places, but the kids walked around helping one another. A few little girls stopped to admire the flowers and add some of their own.

Watching the kids carry around giant rocks, and my sons with huge sticks, I kept an observant eye, but let them play and chatted with the parents. Given their love of jumping off high places, I had to learn early on to let my kids take risks, and to keep my heart in check.

I was enthralled with the idea of letting the kids loose in a muddy, tree-filled area allowed to do whatever they want. As an added bonus, the volunteers are teenagers and my kids, like most little kids, love hanging out with teens.”

Nicole Pelton, www.notjustaworkingmom.com

“The students reported feeling much more relaxed and, as a result, it was easier for them to concentrate on subject matter. They enjoyed working in teams which formed naturally in the informal atmosphere where the work was not done with adult direction but guided by the students’ own interests. Some of the students decided to walk all the way back to school from Roosevelt Park because they said it felt so good to walk feeling relaxed after the Wild Zone. This is a good indication of how invigorating the students found the experience.”

Alba Lucia Diaz, Principal, Escuela Popular, San Jose

“On the way to the Wild Zone workshop the students were skeptical about the value of spending their time on this. Even after they got the instructions about what they were to do a few of them thought it was rather silly stuff and weren’t sure what was expected of them but, as they became involved. even the most reluctant really liked it. They were surprised by what they could create. It was very beneficial. They were much more relaxed afterwards and in contact with themselves as well as pleased with what they had achieved.

It enhanced their creativity and put them more in contact with nature…. and more in contact with themselves.”

high school teacher, Escuela Popular

“At first I felt intimidated by no one telling me what to do. But gradually I enjoyed being given space. I felt much more connected to my own desires and found the experience very beautiful and so relaxing.”

high school student, Escuela Popular

“I feel that we need more of these activities close to nature. We have all seen that something like this is possible and I would like to request that Wild Zones continue supporting us in these types of projects. We felt relaxed for the rest of the day and could concentrate much better in our classes.”

high school student, Escuela Popular

“I saw everybody being engaged and concentrated creating art from local materials. I connect easily with nature so I took some rocks and began making a figure. I got so excited when I saw the first figure I made – it looked great. I felt happy knowing that my art was appreciated by our teachers and that our efforts are recognized and nurtured.”

high school student, Escuela Popular

Home / New Form of Social Space / Toolkit / What People Say

Events / Who We Are / Photos / Links / Contact Us