Moon Sisters

A monthly earth-based program for female-identifying youth ages 12-14. 

Moon Sisters supports a blossoming community of girls committed to the Wayfinders values of caring for ourselves, each other, and the earth.

During this age where girls are questioning their identities, friend groups are shifting, bodies are changing, and social media and screen time is influential - we gather to ground ourselves by deepening our competency, connection, and care for each other and the larger cycles of life. We learn new skills and make beautiful crafts focused on personal empowerment, and exploring our place in the larger collective.

What are Moon Sisters?

A Time to get into Rhythm with Nature

Spending time connecting in nature allows us to attune to our natural rhythms with a stronger sense of self.

Each month, we gather on the land to learn and practice using tools to care for ourselves, each  other, and the earth. We use our hands to make crafts and fire, listen to ancient myths and share stories around the fire, make herbal medicines, cook nourishing meals, sing, enjoy solo time in nature, and play games.  

A Safe Space to Exhale

When we exhale from the constant business of school, homework, sports, extra-curricular activities, socializing and screen time to immerse ourselves in and amongst the natural world with our “sisters” and loving mentors, we realize that we are part of a wider web of interrelationships.

A Place to be Supported during the Transition into Adolescence

Moon Sisters culminates with an overnight campout where “sisters” will have the experience of deepening all we have explored and the ways we have grown individually and as a circle.

There will be an optional opportunity for a mentor supported initiatory experience that the “sisters” will build towards on the previous Sundays.

We will sleep outside in the elements, cook delicious food, and be warmed by our hearth fire while engaging with the skills and awareness that it takes to spend the night outside.

Following the overnight campout, families are invited to join in a potluck celebration and closing of our time together.

Schedule

March 10

9:30am-2:30pm

Lenoir Preserve

April 7

9:30am-2:30pm

Lenoir Preserve

May 5

9:30am-2:30pm

Lenoir Preserve

June 8-9

10am (Saturday) - 12pm (Sunday)

Campground

*Moon Sisters needs at least 8 participants to run and will be capped at 12*

A Typical Day at Moon Sisters

Morning Time

  • Gather at our central hearth

  • Make a fire

  • Prepare herbal teas or a nourishing snack for later in the day

  • Snack, share gratitude and stories 

  • Movement/Games - Time to be in our bodies

  • Crafting & Skills (i.e. making natural self-care products, baskets, carving, cordage making with natural fibers, beading, etc.)

Mid-Day

  • Lunch around the fire

Afternoon

  • Sit Spot time/Journaling time - Solo time in nature

  • Council or sharing time from the group with relevant topics (i.e. self image, self care, goals, dreams,  technology, bullying, etc.)

  • Saying goodbye

  • Leaving our space better than we found it

Meet the Team

  • Michaela Himelfarb

    Michaela is a mender and tender of the wilds, a seasoned basket maker and nature connection facilitator.

    In addition to her Bachelors in special and elementary education, Michaela received high quality, nature based training at Wilderness Awareness School, Rite of Passage Journeys, NOLS and Wolf Tree Programs.

    She has worked for several wilderness schools and most recently spent 6 years working at Wild Earth working with young girls through the Artemis Program, teens in the rite of passage and ropes program and she was the program coordinator and lead instructor for the adult teacher and training apprenticeship.

    She brings an openness, approachability, and passion for intimacy with the earth that will support moon sisters in navigating their way through adolescence.

  • Miram Rubin

    Miriam sees nature connection, soul-growth, and the involvement of community, as critical practices for creating a meaningful and inspiring response to the urgent times that we're living in.

    Miriam is trained as a Purpose Guide™, Environmental Educator, and Interfaith Minister. Over the past 15 years, she has guided hundreds of youth and adults in deepening their connection to the earth, their cultural history, and the wisdom of their soul.

    Miriam earned her Bachelors degree at Barnard College in Environmental Science, where she studied the impacts of climate change on the relationship to pollen production in Northeast plant populations. She is a licensed Massage Therapist specializing in Somatic Education, trigger-point therapy, and somatic-neural pathway re-education.

  • Gwen Merkin

    Gwen strongly believes in Wayfinders mission to provide youth with the tools to prepare for and become leaders of their generation.

    She spent 20 years as a Corporate Sustainability and ESG Strategist and Consultant before founding Wayfinders.

    Gwen's early training and career focused on sustainability education and ecopsychology and after her recent chapter in the corporate world she completed the Wild Earth Apprenticeship & Teacher Training - an in-depth experiential training on nature mentoring, wilderness living skills, & creating connective nature experiences -which motivated her to fulfill her long-standing dream of creating Wayfinders.

    She completed her BA in Environmental Studies and Sociology from UVM and received her MA in Urban and Region Planning from PSU.