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Hello from Rowe! We’re so glad to connect with you as we look ahead to March, April, May and June of 2025. Our calendar is full of wonderful events, both online and in person, and we’re excited to share them with you. Whether you’ll be joining us virtually or in the Berkshires, we can’t wait to spend time together again. Here’s a look at just some of what’s coming up: .jpg)
Online Programs: 4/24/2025Â Bison Medicine:Â The Moral Teachings of Our National Mammal with Brandon Peete
As our nation descends further into chaos and Constitutional crisis, we’d do well to remember that we are a nation that does big things. We are the nation of not just the Constitution, but Moby Dick, NASA, and the Internet. We defeated the Confederacy and the Third Reich. And we will defeat hate again. But first we have to scope the problem. The nature of our problems is not political, technological, or material – we already have every resource, tool, and policy we need to be free and flourish. Rather, our problems are moral, cultural, spiritual, and psychological and we have to work the problem on these levels. Only then can we remake society, be free, flourish, and finally give hate no quarter on this soil. This course jumpstarts this moral, cultural, spiritual, and psychological transformation, by activating the three key ideas of Brandon’s book “Bison Medicine”:
This six-week practical and interactive and dialogue-based course will introduce you to the ideas and inspirations that guide us to locally activate the life-giving ways of our national mammal. All participants will receive a signed copy of “Bison Medicine”.
Learn more about the book – summary, reviews, and source material at BisonMedicine.com
5/10/25 Â Beyond the Threshold the Landscape of Grief with Kelly Butler
 Your instructor is Kelly Butler, MHSc.
Kelly is a facilitator with more than three decades of experience in teaching, nursing, pain management, grief work, and end-of-life care. Along with a personal contemplative practice, she has extensive training in yoga, mindfulness, ritual work, and trauma-informed care. Her mission is to foster connection and a more compassionate society.
Who is this workshop for? This workshop is for all those willing to bring tenderness to the hurt, to cultivate a place of healing and transformation. It is for the curious and the courageous; those with aching hearts; those who want to deepen into compassion and be witnessed in grief. The workshop does not focus on any specific form of loss. We ask the recently bereaved to be mindful of titration. If you are flooded by grief, it may be too soon to enter into a deliberate exploration. In a world that rushes past loss and sadness, too often we are offered a brief respite to mourn then, “back to normal.” Many of us know the experience is otherwise. Once we cross grief’s threshold, there is no “normal” to which we can return. We are permanently altered. The expectation that we quickly overcome sorrow leaves us feeling isolated, adrift in our sadness and searching for meaning. Grief asks for more. Before it can be metabolized, transformed, and integrated, it must be witnessed. In this gathering, we don’t banish broken-heartedness, we offer it a place of honor. We allow its presence and explore a deeper wisdom. Like roots in the earth, we form a community of practice that nurtures healing and connection. This four-part workshop invites you to journey toward a deeper relationship with grief, using a compassionate, mindful approach to navigate its complexities. Over two weekends, we will engage in an alchemical process: Introduction – We will uncover misconceptions and explore the true nature of grief, preparing ourselves for the work ahead. We dispel the myth of separateness and examine what it means to be whole. Excavation and Exploration – Delving into personal and collective grief, we recognize our interconnectedness and shared experiences can be a source of resilience and strength. Transformation – We are remade by grief. In learning to approach it as a transformative experience, we might find our sorrow reshaped and we are renewed. Integration – With a focus on healing rather than cure, we discover our fullest, deepest self exists with and beyond sorrow. We step into wholeness. Drawing from current research and incorporating tools of meditation, reflection, expressive art, ceremony, and discussion, discover compassion for ourselves and our suffering. Through gentle attention, we might move sadness from its place of hiding to a place of healing. When we are present to grief, we recognize it cannot be avoided; we must move through its terrain. But in that journey we encounter unexpected gifts. Join as together we navigate this path. Welcome, wayfarers of grief, to this time of shared sorrow.
04/25/25 Family Constellations Workshop Retreat with Luisa Muhr  Family and Systemic Constellations is a transformative practice and process, developed by German psychotherapist and psychoanalytic, Bert Hellinger, with its roots in the practices of the Zulu people and Western therapeutic approaches. Program OverviewFacilitated by Family and Systemic Constellations practitioner Luisa Muhr, a leading voice in this work in New York City, you will be led through a guided exploration of deep relational healing—not only within your family system of origin (your ancestors) but also in relationship with partners, children, and other important people in your life. This process allows you to gain insight into your own system, not only by exploring your own patterns but also by witnessing those of others, which can sometimes lead to even deeper realizations. Who Should AttendThis program is suitable for people who feel blocked, stuck or lost, are seeking change, are disconnected from their origins and/or family, are experiencing chronic illness, are having relationship and/or financial problems with recurring patterns, and/or have tried many other methods or modalities without feeling any major changes.
 05/02/25 How to Love a Forest with Ethan Tapper
About the PresenterEthan Tapper is a forester, author, birder, hunter, and natural historian from Vermont. He has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the forestry and conservation community of the northeastern United States and beyond, winning multiple regional and national awards for his work. Ethan runs a consulting forestry business – Bear Island Forestry – is a regular contributor to Northern Woodlands magazine and a variety of other publications and is a digital creator with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. In his personal life, Ethan works, writes, hunts and birds at Bear Island – his 175-acre working forest, homestead, orchard and sugarbush – works toward a graduate degree at the University of Vermont, and plays in his 10-piece punk band, The Bubs. What does it mean to love a forest? Join Ethan Tapper, the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest, for a weekend-long exploration of forests and what it means to care for them. Ethan will lead participants in talks and discussions centering on forest ecology, natural history, and forest stewardship, and walks focused on birding, spring ephemeral wildflowers, reading a forest’s history through landscape clues, and more. In the evenings, join Ethan for informal discussions about his writing, his creative process, and anything else that comes up! Support Rowe and our Presenter by purchasing his book through our Amazon affiliate link. 05/09 – Mothering the Self, Mothering the World with Jennifer BrowdyÂ
Join us for Mothering the Self, Mothering the World, a purposeful memoir writing course this special Mother’s Day weekend at the beautiful Rowe Retreat Center in the forested mountains of northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Through the practice of memoir writing, tap into your own creative well as you reconnect with the land, plants, animals, and other Gaian beings that sustain us.Spiritual teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Berry, and Llewelyn Vaughn-Lee agree with cutting-edge quantum theorists that there is no essential separation between our individual selves and the larger world of which we are a part. With every breath we inhale the oxygen created for us by the plants of Mother Earth, which we nourish in turn when we exhale.Over the course of an intimate, thought-provoking series of writing-based workshops, award-winning memoirist and veteran teacher Jennifer Browdy, PhD, will guide participants in the practice of purposeful memoir: exploring the ways our life stories are interwoven with the larger unfolding stories of our time and the places we have lived and loved.
05/23 – PoZitive Impact –For men living with or deeply affected by HIV 
In 1985, as the HIV/AIDS crisis was terrorizing gay communities across the nation, The Rowe Center took the bold step of opening its doors and creating a public weekend for men who love men. Nearly four decades later, a great deal has changed. HIV, for many men, is no longer a death sentence but a manageable, chronic condition. Nonetheless, these past four decades have been brutal for many long-term survivors of HIV and their loved ones. Some, regardless of status, lost lovers, close friends, or entire circles. Some feared impending death and mourned a future that might never come to pass. Some went back into the closet, sexually or otherwise. For as much as the disease has changed, many of the issues men struggle with have not: issues of disclosure, medical care, and fears both well-founded and imaginary. These issues seem to have equal impact on men regardless of the date of their seroconversion. Like soldiers returning from war, many tried to wipe these things from memory, to simply “move on”, to try to get past the past. But the scars of battle do not pass so easily. So with the support of the Rowe Center, we return four decades later to offer, for the first time, a weekend for those impacted by HIV which we hope will be transformative, encouraging, and healing.
06/03 – Spring Work Week – Volunteer Now!
Join us once again for an unforgettable week of giving back to the community you hold dear. This is a remarkable opportunity to reconnect with old friends, forge new friendships, and contribute to a range of impactful service projects across the beautiful Rowe campus. Throughout the program, you’ll have the chance to participate in an array of activities, including landscaping, painting, sewing, beautification projects, carpentry, and more! Don’t worry if you’re not an expert in these areas; each team will be supported closely by a dedicated Rowe staff member or experienced team leader. We warmly welcome individuals of all skill levels, so whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or a first-timer, there’s a place for you here. 06/13 – Women’s Regenerative Weekend: Revive and Renew w/ Laura King
Join if you are seeking connection and growth and ready to rekindle your inner flame. Let’s celebrate what happens as these inner sparks ignite and spread. At this restorative women’s retreat we will rest, reflect and reset in nature. In caring community, we will slow down and listen deeply while exploring embodied ways of being. Through mindful self-exploration, sharing, nature walks, and thought-provoking writing prompts, we will tune into and deepen our inner knowing. As we tend to our inner world and well-being we nourish fertile soil for our flourishing transformation. Ready for a regenerative weekend to:
Come explore what is possible and what is emerging. Reconnect with nature to leave revitalized and empowered. This workshop is for women of all ages at all phases of their life’s journey who identify as female or non-binary including a wide realm of gender expression. Now for a glimpse of an event we are truly excited to offer at Rowe in October 2025! 10/3  The Art of the Dry Stacked Wall with James Asbury
Long before the Stone Age, people were building with stone. Today, in urban settings, modern walls are often clad in quickly assembled stone veneers, but they lack the timeless authenticity of true dry stone walls. If you’ve ever driven down a rural road in the Northeast, you’ve likely seen the real thing—moss-covered dry-stacked stone walls lining fields, low walls tumbling and winding through thinned forests. Perhaps you’ve even encountered them in Europe. These dry stone wall structures, built without mortar, rely on gravity, friction, balance, and counterbalance to create enduring beauty—some standing for centuries, so long as floods and shifting earth allow. You may have inherited one or know of one near your home, but this ancient stone masonry technique is deeply intertwined with the history of agriculture, homesteading, and a sense of place. In a changing world, what could be more grounding than spending a weekend learning the art of dry stone wall building, experiencing its quiet presence, and understanding its enduring nature? Rowe is honored to welcome James Asbury, one of the only true Dry Stone Trust masons in the world, to guide you in this hands-on stone masonry workshop. Using sections of Rowe’s own historic dry stone walls—some over two centuries old—you’ll gain practical experience in dry stack stone wall construction. This immersive stone wall building retreat is ideal for beginners and enthusiasts alike, offering a chance to work with your hands, connect with nature, and learn an ancient craft. This is the first dry stone wall workshop of its kind at Rowe. It will be physical work, but not backbreaking labor—an opportunity to create something lasting while immersing yourself in the rich history of this stone walling tradition. Under James Asbury’s expert guidance, you’ll shape stone with intention, carrying forward an age-old practice in the crisp, golden light of a perfect Berkshires autumn retreat.
Summer Camps are Now Open for Registration!
The heart and soul of Rowe is our Summer Youth Camps. We are proud that we were able to revive the camps in 2024 and are building an incredible camp experience for Summer 2025. Our youth camps provide a fun, safe and inclusive experience for everyone. To learn more about our youth camps click here:
 Honoring Our Community: We want to remember and honor beloved members of our greater Rowe community who have recently passed:
Al’s life and presence will always be a part of Rowe. His dedication, love and work for Rowe will always be remembered. Al served on our Board of Trustees and he was the first donor to the Woodside Campership Diversity Fund. Al was also an Anita Pickett Society Member. Al will be sorely missed.
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