Stories

Sharing a message from Basil Braveheart, Lakota Spiritual leader, that "we all are connected"

We have been featured on “The Daily Moth”! It’s been an honor being interviewed about my cross-country bus tour and showing my love/appreciation for Nature & the Deaf Ecosystem. Instead of meeting in downtown Detroit, Alex came to a campsite where the Turtle Shuttle was parked and “recharging”. We spent some time capturing some beautiful b-rolls of nature in motion, a tiny peek inside the Turtle Shuttle, chatted about how to bring “light” to our healing journeys and the deaf

Summer, a nomadic Deaf Forest Therapy guide, is currently traveling on a converted shuttle bus, connecting Humans and Nature while making their way across the country. This article shares the mission of the tour which focuses on making sure Nature Therapy becomes accessible and shares stories of the way of the Deaf Traveling Guide. On April 16th, I embarked on a year-long cross-country tour in a 24 foot shuttle bus conversion that I named the "Forest Turtle Shuttle". The purp

In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, The Giving Cypress and Signed By Stories have partnered to underscore the need for awareness surrounding the high rates of suicide among deaf community members, and support for those afflicted. Summer shares their story and urges community members to pull together by sharing their own stories and participating in healing through peer support. Transcript: [TRIGGER WARNING: This video talks about mental health and mentions suicide.] De

In Nature, disability is merely a social construction and using silence in Forest Therapy can help us look deep inside ourselves, past...

Today is #GivingTuesday. We reflect on the meaning of giving. The reason for the name "The Giving Cypress" was inspired by the joy &...

A Guided Experience into the World of Silence with a Deaf Forest Therapy Guide” Original article published in the Association for Nature...

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”- Joseph Campbell I had the honor of participating in a sacred Pipe Blessing* that was performed inside a traditional Lakota Sweat Lodge (Inipi) to support the spiritual grounding for John Cypress Eagle, a local Native artist with Choctaw heritage. I have received permission from the participants to share my experience of this special, sacred event. Names have been ch

As Spring comes and Winter fades away, things start to get busy and our minds become full with “mind noise”. Looking for tools to achieve...

Ever since I was small, I could remember loving animals and caring for their well-being. My parents had a huge role of teaching folks...

written on International Forest Bathing Day, September 14 2020 [image description: Summer is standing next to a young oak tree, in the...

To learn how to meditate is no easy task if you've been wired with timesickness and anxiety. Here, in this blog, I will be sharing my...