SCHOOL OF LIVING

In 2024 the Heathcote Education Center (HEC) offered 12 educational and cultural events serving a total of 95 participants. HEC's main educational program was a series of 8 Community Days attended by 39 people featuring hands-on learning projects, a potluck, a community tour, and a visit to the Black Locust Hops Farm Brewery next door to Heathcote. Heathcote Community residents cooperatively managed the Heathcote Community Farm, an educational farm that demonstrates permaculture and organic gardening principles. HEC hosted 1 Shiitake Mushroom workshop facilitated by Matt Belmont for 6 participants and a visit from the Ecovillage of New Jersey for 8 participants who came for a community tour and assisted with starting seeds. In addition, HEC was a co-sponsor with the Chesapeake Education Arts and Research Society (CHEARS) of the first North American Analog Forestry Certification course. It consisted of 8 online classes for 20 participants plus a 3-day in-person workshop for 9 participants that took place at Bowie State University. The highlight of the year was an Honoring of the Land Ceremony on Sept. 29, 2024, facilitated by the Spiritual Center for Indigenous Living, that was attended by 13 participants. It was a poignant event acknowledging the ancestral guardians of the land, seeking forgiveness, and fostering a peaceful relationship between Heathcote Community Members and the Indigenous Guardians of the Land.

Auphir Education is a School of Living project committed to land education. It creates physical and virtual workshops, immersive residential opportunities, and events to enhance learning and skill development in land management. The project aims to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools necessary for effective stewardship of land resources through these diverse educational formats. Stellar Roots, a School of Living Land Trust parcel in Virginia, is the home base of the Auphir Education project. Stellar Roots is operated by a collective of Black, Brown, and Indigenous queer individuals. It provides land access to impoverished descendants of America's industrial legacies. The project emphasizes healing and supports land-based community living, focusing on cooperative community living, ecology, conservation, sustainable development, and natural living.