Our classroom is nature.
Our curriculum is
thousands of years old.

Our mission is to address the effects of nature deficit disorder through reconnection to place, community, ancestry, traditional cultures, and skills.

White Pine Wilderness Academy is a nature connection and survival skills school located on the island of Rocky Ripple in Indianapolis, Indiana between the Wapahani River and the canal. Surrounded by riparian habitat, our classroom is the Eastern Deciduous Woodlands. Our curriculum is aboriginal technology, the knowledge of our hunter gatherer ancestors. We use wilderness survival skills and aboriginal technologies to foster a connection with nature and each other. Our instructors are masters at their craft and are driven by a passion for knowledge.

UPCOMING

Summer Camp

2026 Registration Now Open!!

Enroll your kid into one (or more!) of our summer camps for an epic week in the wild, fueled by nature connection and survival skills! All campers will get to experience fire-making, wood splitting, plant ID, foraging, crafting, scouting, tracking, and storytelling ...

UPCOMING

Woolly Bears Forest School (3-4)

2025-2026 Registration goes LIVE on February 16 at Noon!

White Pine’s Woolly Bears (ages 3-4) spend their days on explorations as we exercise key components of our curriculum: free play, social and emotional learning, resilience, self-empowerment, …

UPCOMING

Tree Frogs Forest School (5-6)

2025-2026 Registration goes LIVE on February 16 at Noon!

White Pine’s Tree Frogs (ages 5-6) spend their days on explorations as we exercise key components of our curriculum: free play, social and emotional learning, resilience, self-empowerment, an…

UPCOMING

Flying Squirrels Forest School (7-9)

2025-2026 Registration goes LIVE on February 16 at Noon!

White Pine’s Flying Squirrels (ages 7-9) spend their days exploring the great outdoors with a balance between enjoying the seasons, working on focused skills, and playing nature connection games.…

UPCOMING

Scouts Forest School (10-12)

2025-2026 Registration goes LIVE on February 16 at Noon!

White Pine’s Scouts (ages 10-12) spend their days exploring the great outdoors with a balance between enjoying the seasons, working on focused skills, and playing nature connection games. Along t…

UPCOMING

Teens Forest School

2025-2026 Registration goes LIVE on February 16 at Noon!

White Pine’s forest school Teens (ages 13-17) spend their days exploring the great outdoors with a balance between enjoying the seasons, working on focused skills, and playing nature connection g…

UPCOMING

Flying Squirrels After School (7-9)

Registration Now Open!!

Shikari is a community operating system structured around wilderness skills, naturalist training, seasonal rhythms and self empowerment. We utilize variations of Shikari for all ages from 3 to Elde…

UPCOMING

Scouts After School (9-12)

Registration Now Open!!

Shikari is a community operating system structured around wilderness skills, naturalist training, seasonal rhythms and self empowerment. We utilize variations of Shikari for all ages from 3 to Elde…

UPCOMING

Teens After School

Registration Now Open!!

Our After-School Teen Sessions are an excellent way for teens to unplug, immerse in nature, and train in wilderness skills. Teens are at the height of defining their identities and love exploring t…

UPCOMING

Protectors Club (7-Adult)

Registration Now Open!!

Protector club sessions weave together martial arts, movement, and meditation in a way that is both challenging and empowering. Some students are drawn to the physical strength and mobility they de…

UPCOMING

Bow Building

April 30-May 3, 2026

The Bow Building Course is run each year, the first week of May in Northern Indiana. The traditional ‘self bow’ is made from a single sapling or stave. This workshop will take you from standing tr…

UPCOMING

Midwest Wildlife Tracking Intensive

September 2026-May 2027

The Wildlife Tracking Intensive provides in-depth training in the art and science of wildlife tracking for students of various backgrounds and experience. Visiting a variety of locations and habitats …

Our programs center on aboriginal technologies and ancient skills for ages 3 to 99+.

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