Custome outdoor programming for kids and adults

Call/text/email to create your own experience 434-218-2095 cvillenatureschool@gmail.com

testimonials

Aaron Hackett facilitates an experience that is as safe and welcoming as it is fun and expansive. I had the privilege of working with him for several years when I was a young adult aspiring to be a mentor for the children’s programs I grew up attending. He was a phenomenal example of a nature mentor and instructor for me to learn from. His facilitation always left me feeling more embodied, self-aware, joyful, and connected with nature. He helped me grow into the adult I am today and I will always be thankful for the time spent in nature with him.

 Esperanza Vicente - Nature mentor, aspiring herbalist, and organic farmer

I’ve enjoyed working with Aaron many times over the years and highly recommend his programming. He’s got a broad knowledge of nature skills and is an expert teacher. He’s great at challenging students within their comfort level and sharing his passion with them.

Peter Yencken - Maker and instructor of many things

instructor

Hello!

I'm Aaron Hackett, the sole instructor at Cville Nature School. I'm thrilled to be embarking on this journey to share fun, challenging, and meaningful skills!

  • I grew up in Charlottesville and first started learning wilderness survival skills by attending classes at Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School during college breaks. During the school year, I shared what I had learned with local teens as an AmeriCorps volunteer and studied philosophy. I served as a nature connection mentor at the Living Earth School for 4 years after graduating, then led educational adventures, taught ecorestoration practices, and partnered with therapists to provide ecotherapy at Wildrock, a nature play & discovery center. 

    I’ve continued to practice and study wilderness survival skills in my daily life while exploring careers focused on environmental stewardship, health, and housing. Over the last ten years, I have led the agricultural side of a farm-to-table operation, learned and practiced several different healing techniques, apprenticed under a soil scientist, toured as a professional musician, earned a master naturalist certificate, and built 5 houses (4 were 3d printed!) I currently teach outdoor education at Free Union Country School and work part-time as a personal trainer and massage therapist.

Survival skills

SAFETY

Learn how to navigate local hazards. Bears, bees, snakes, poison ivy, poison hemlock, spiders, ticks, mosquitos, and weather.

SHELTER

Stay warm and dry in the wild. Get practical experience in tying knots, setting up tarps, and assembling primitive structures.

WATER

Find or create safe, clean water. Get water from the ground, plants, trees and air, make a primitive filter, set up a rock boil, and more!

FIRE

Primitive and modern firecrafting techniques. Harvest firewood sustainably, experiment with various fire structures, and build your own friction fire kit.

FOOD

Practice ancient techniques of hunting and gathering. Stealth movement, camouflage, dynamic target practice, primitive traps, and edible plants.

FAQ

  • Cville Nature School partners with local Charlottesville businesses to host outdoor programs.

  • Each day will feature a selection of adventures, crafts, games, challenges, and activities. Here’s one example of how a day might go:

    We’ll play a game while we wait for campers to arrive, then have an awareness challenge during the hike to the creek. Once at the creek, we collect some small rocks that we will later grind up into paint. On the way back from the creek we’ll practice caretaking by removing any invasive species that we find to make the first iteration of a survival shelter. Upon arriving back to base camp we’ll create our rock paint and make some simple art. Depending on how much time we have left, we might work more on the shelter, do some animal tracking, or play a few more games before pickup.

  • Either text, call, email, or fill out the form below!

  • Yes! I’m able to work with family groups of any size.

  • Yes! Get in touch and we’ll set something up.