About Wild Cypress
The Wild Cypress provides inclusive Nature Therapy experiences, guiding individuals back to their innate connection with the natural world.
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Rooted in accessibility and belonging, we offer education, training, and immersive retreats that break barriers--
incorporating sign language, silence, and play as powerful tools for connection.
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By rewilding both land and self, we foster holistic well-being, encouraging a deeper understanding of our place in nature and each other.
About Summer
Summer Crider is a cultural studies educator, certified Forest and Nature Therapy guide, and founder of The Giving Cypress—now known as The Wild Cypress.
Born and raised in the cypress swamps of North Florida by a family rooted in environmental conservation, Summer developed a deep relationship with silence, nonverbal communication, and sign language during their formative years. Reading the rhythms of nature, they discovered that their deafness was not a limitation, but a gift: a heightened way of perceiving the world.
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After earning degrees in Expressive Arts Therapy, Educational Media, and Deaf Cultural Studies, Summer taught ASL, Spanish, and Deaf Culture at both K–12 schools and universities. Driven by a passion for access and belonging, they launched The Giving Cypress in 2014 as an educational media company focused on making visual learning accessible to sign language users.
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But years spent in front of screens—teaching, directing, coordinating—led to burnout. Longing to return to the rhythms of the natural world, Summer followed that inner call home to the forest. In 2020, they became certified as a Forest and Nature Therapy guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT), shifting the focus of The Giving Cypress toward healing through nature connection and making it accessible to the Deaf and disabled communities nationwide.
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In 2022, Summer launched a cross-country tour on their converted shuttle bus "Turtle Shuttle" across the United States, inviting Deaf community members to explore forest bathing and nature connection practices. Along the way, they recruited and mentored Deaf/signing guides to ensure that Deaf communities could access nature in their own language and culture at their own regions.
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Today, Summer has returned back home to Florida and is now focused on offering retreats, educational programs, and heart-centered experiences rooted in accessibility, belonging, and reconnection with the Earth. Summer continues to blend academic insight with entrepreneurial creativity as a self-taught business owner, filmmaker, educator, and consultant.
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Through partnerships with ANFT and organizations seeking to build inclusive, culturally responsive programs, The Wild Cypress supports people from all walks of life—restoring harmony, healing the spirit, and embracing communication beyond words.
We come from Muscogee, Seminole, and Timucua land.
Land Acknowledgment and Solidarity Statement
The forests where we gather have long been protected by the Timucua and Seminole peoples of Florida, with deep ties to the Muscogee Nation. Many Indigenous people were killed by genocide or forced from these lands. Honoring that truth is only a beginning. Indigenous peoples are not a thing of the past—they are present, sovereign Nations and communities today.
Our practice is relationship, not reproduction: we cite origins, seek consent, and compensate teachers when drawing on cultural knowledge, and we do not reproduce ceremonies or sacred items outside their communities.
How we support decolonizing practices in our offerings:
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Acknowledge place & people. Our programs name Indigenous and other land protectors. Sacred items/rites are not ours to lead or sell.
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Consent + credit + pay. We cite origins, obtain permission, and compensate knowledge keepers.
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Work with, not for. We follow local protocols and invite Indigenous leadership on their terms.
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Material support. A portion of revenue supports Indigenous-led work.
Learn more: Explore our blog series on Indigenous Spirituality & Land Relations to see how we build relationships with land and Indigenous partners in practice
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We hope this acknowledgement invites others to stand with Native nations in solidarity and action.