Earthcraft

This site is the online home of Earthcraft, a program of outdoor activity, personal development, and environmental service for people ages 4 to 94 - with older and younger participants cheerfully accepted. Inspired by the Woodcraft movement founded by nature writer Ernest Thompson Seton in the early 20th century, Earthcraft offers youth and adult members alike an extensive program of nature-centered activities and opportunities for learning and growth. Seton introduced his movement in these words: "Our purpose is to learn the outdoor life for its worth in the building up of our bodies and the helping and strengthening of our souls; that we may go forth with the seeing eye, and the thinking hand, to learn the pleasant ways of the woods and of life, that we may be made in all ways masters of ourselves."

The same inspiration guides Earthcrafters today. Seton foresaw, however, that if industrial civilization continued along the path it was following, it would someday run headlong into unyielding natural limits, with disastrous results. His visionary warning a hundred years ago has become an unavoidable reality today. For this reason we have expanded Seton's program to embrace environmental perspectives and alternative technologies not yet imagined in Seton's time, and given the program a new name - Earthcraft - to affirm our commitment to preserve and celebrate the living Earth in all its beauty and complexity.

Earthcraft is an activity, not an organization. People become Earthcrafters, not by filling out an application or paying dues, but by taking up the Earthcraft Way and making it part of their lives. Some Earthcrafters join with others in Earthcraft Circles for fellowship along the Earthcraft Way, while others travel the Way alone - Lonecrafters, as they are called, had an honored place in the old Woodcraft movement and have an equally honored place in Earthcraft. There are ranks and honors in the Earthcraft program - earned by learning skills, challenging personal limitations, and committing time and effort to help others and the Earth - but the only thing that comes with an Earthcraft rank or honor is the respect of others who recognize the achievement involved.

This site is a work in progress and we expect to have much more material available here soon. In the meantime, we welcome you to Earthcraft and invite you to visit the links below to learn more about the Earthcraft Way!