"The day is coming when a single carrot freshly observed will set off a revolution." - Paul Cezanne

The poet and scientist Goethe developed a new approach to science involving a way of seeing that weds artistic sensibility with exact thinking and observation. The Nature Institute is inspired by Goethe's approach, and in its weeklong intensive summer courses aims to open up this new way of seeing to course participants.

We often view science as a discipline that deals with the world in cool and distant objectivity, gaining understanding of the world through experiments and instruments that overcome human limitations. Goethe wrote provocatively that the human being is the "best and most exact scientific instrument," and he believed that science involves human development: "If we want to achieve a living understanding of nature, we must become as flexible and mobile as nature herself." He saw that we can transform ourselves to ever better fathom the wisdom and depths of the world.

Much today stands in the way of this transformation. We form abstract concepts about the world that we take to be more real than the things themselves. Filled with our own predilections, we don't perceive carefully how the world actually appears and how we are interacting with it. And our experience is increasingly mediated by all sorts of instruments and gadgets, so we lose faith in our senses and in our ability to judge.

To counteract these habits of mind, The Nature Institute's weeklong intensive summer courses emphasize immediate experience and practice. Participants practice observation: observation of natural phenomena, observation of thought processes, and observation of how we form judgments about the world. And this observing always involves doing-getting out into nature and observing and drawing plants; painting elements of a landscape; drawing geometric forms that "track" a progression of thought. By weaving together reflection and observation, taking in and actively creating, science and art, we bring ourselves into inner movement, and transformation begins. Our own process of knowing becomes more transparent and nature shows herself from new sides.

As one participant in the 2003 course stated, "It is such a gentle Aha! experience for me-a peeling away of a veil or film that has covered my eyes for years. It again gives me context and tools for seeing the familiar in a deeper and more penetrating way."

To read other comments from summer course participants, click here.

2010 Summer Course at The Nature Institute
Transformation in Nature and in Human Knowing
June 20 to 26

“If we look at all forms, especially the organic ones, we will discover that nothing in them is permanent, nothing at rest or defined – everything is in a flux of continual motion…. When something has acquired a form it metamorphoses immediately into a new one. If we wish to gain a living understanding of nature, we must follow her example and become as mobile and flexible as nature herself.” Goethe

Everywhere we look in the world we find transformation. But how strongly is the way we participate in the world infused with awareness of transformation? Typically we think about the world in terms of discrete objects and things; to make sense of fluids, we often conceive of particles. How often do we catch ourselves thinking in static terms when the phenomenon we’re facing is crying out for us to acknowledge change, flux and development? In this course the different seminars will provide a variety of practices to help participants learn from transformative processes in nature and to become more aware of sources of transformation within ourselves.

Morning seminars:

• Projective Geometry: Thinking in transformations. (Henrike Holdrege)
• Plant and Animal Study: Observing transformation in nature; practice of what Goethe called “exact sensorial imagination” to cultivate transformative knowing. (Craig Holdrege) 

Afternoon activities:

• Observation exercises in small groups.
• Drawing: Deepening our experience through observation. (Nathaniel Williams)
• Each day will end with a review and open forum.

Daily schedule:
Morning seminars from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Afternoon activities from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The course begins on Sunday, June 20, at 7:00 p.m. and ends on Saturday, June 26, at 12:30 p.m.
Please register by June 1. To print out a registration form, click here.

Tuition: $550 (less $30 if you register by May 1)
Tuition includes all materials, as well as morning and afternoon snacks.

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Course Staff:
Craig Holdrege is a biologist, educator, and the director of The Nature Institute. About Craig Holdrege.
Henrike Holdrege is a mathematician, biologist, and educator and works at The Nature Institute. About Henrike Holdrege.
Nathaniel Williams is an artist and teacher.

Course Location:
The Nature Institute is located near the hamlet of Harlemville (town of Ghent), New York, and is nestled at the foot of the Taconic Hills. Our neighbors include the 400-acre biodynamic Hawthorne Valley Farm, the Hawthorne Valley School (a K-12 Waldorf school) and the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store. Walking trails wind through forests, wetland areas, and creeksides. Click here for directions.

Lodging and Meals:
We can refer participants to local families who rent rooms ($25 to $50 per night). Camping at nearby state parks is approximately $15 per night (see below). For a list of motels and bed & breakfasts, click here.

We provide morning and afternoon snacks. Course participants will be responsible for all other meals. The Hawthorne Valley Farm Store is within walking distance and has extensive organic food and deli selections.

Camping:
For reservations and site information go to: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/ or call the New York State Camping Reservation Service: Reserve America (800) 456-2267.
Lake Taghkanic State Park (off the Taconic State Parkway) is the closest and most accessible campground to The Nature Institute. The Taconic State Park, Copake Falls Area is also nearby if the other one is full. Information for both campgrounds can be found on the above website.

To view 2009 Summer Course, click here.
To view 2008 Summer Course, click here.
To view 2007 Summer Course, click here.
To view 2006 Summer Course, click here.
To view 2005 Summer Course, click here.

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