Elliott’s passion for the natural world developed in early childhood roaming the woods and waters around his home. His dad used to say, “That boy knows what’s under every rock between here and town.”
He still roams the woods today. He has traveled from the Canadian North to the Central American jungles studying plant and animal life and seeking out the traditional wisdom of people with intimate connections to the natural world. And he still looks under rocks. These days he uncovers more than just a few strange critters; he brings to light the human connection to this vibrant world of which we are a part.
The National Association for Interpretation (the professional organization of park rangers, naturalists, museum curators, etc.) gave him the Master Front Line Interpreter Award for his “mastery of interpretive techniques, program development, and design of creative projects” celebrating the natural world and our human connection to nature.
Elliott’s natural history program offerings might include a lecture/ storytelling session on a particular subject, a workshop, or a “woodslore walk” along a trail pointing out and telling about useful plants, tracks and signs, birds, insects, and other critters that enrich our outdoor experience.
Here are some program ideas:
Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom
Stories, Songs and Lore Celebrating Animals, Plants and People.
Groundhogology
Of Whistlepigs and World Politics
Possumology
Everything you never thought you wanted to know about opossums
Everybody’s Fishin’, A Cross-cultural Fishing Adventure
Wrestling sea serpents, tickling trout, grabbing catfish by the snout!
Weeds for Your Needs
Useful Wild Plants
Also programs on Birds, Bugs, Reptiles & Amphibians, Rainforests, Bogs,etc.
Workshops can last from less than an hour to several days. Suggested topics
include:
A Wildwoods Ramble
Exploration, observation and tales on the trail
Weeds for Your Needs
Edible, medicinal or otherwise useful wild plants
Natural Basketry
How to make baskets from bark, splints and vines
Finding Stories in Nature
How to craft stories using nature as a source of inspiration
Stalking the Wild Fibers
How to find, extract and make twine, rope and textile fibers from wild plants
Here’s a fun 12 minute PBS UNC-TV video that features some storytelling, along with possum wrestling, snake charming, a peek at Yanna’s garden, and the surprise guest appearance of a hickory horned devil.
