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

Check out our upcoming Summer Camp enrollment options!

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.

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


Train the body through the skills of survival.
Re-pattern the mind through the science of tracking and bird language.
Confront deepest fears through ancient rites of passage.
Integrate these transformative experiences into the wider circles of family and community.

Sponsor a Youth

Send a kid to class! Small donations make big differences.

Many children in Indianapolis are eager to explore nature, but many families cannot afford the cost of extracurricular activities like after school and summer camps. For a small donation, you can give the gift of wonder and discovery to a child in our local community.