The Nature Institute

Special Book Rate for Teachers: As lesson plans are being made for the coming school year, The Nature Institute is offering educators and students our projective geometry workbook at the wholesale price of $13 each for orders of 5 or more. Hands-on, off-screen learning! Book details are on our website. Email [email protected] to order.

Special Notice for Educators: As teachers are making curriculum plans for the 2020-21 school year, The Nature Institute is pleased to offer a special group rate for Henrike Holdrege’s To The Infinite and Back Again, Workbook in Projective Geometry, Part 1. With an order of five copies or more, the 103-page illustrated workbook is now available to teachers, homeschoolers, students, and study groups for the wholesale price of $13 (retail price is $22). With its immersive appr...oach to projective geometry, we think Henrike’s hand-illustrated publication is an ideal way to engage high-school math students off-screen in mindful, hands-on learning. It provides artful exercises that foster clarity of thought and precision in imagination while introducing key geometry concepts and theorems. Math done painlessly! Read more about the book at our website, natureinstitute.org Wholesale purchases of the book can be ordered by emailing or calling our office: [email protected]; 518-672-0116.

Consider the Milkweed! Abundant in our area, it's a plant that's characterized by exuberant vitality as it transforms from nectar-rich flowering now, in summer, to sprouting large pods full of silk-topped seeds in the fall. To learn more about this remarkable species, see Craig's article: https://natureinstitute.org/txt/ch/Milkweed.pdf

As things begin to open up again, we're pleased to let you know that our staff will be teaching courses at two new education initiatives, starting late summer. Free Columbia, a non-profit in Columbia County, will launch its M.C. Richards Program (https://www.freecolumbia.org/m-c-richards-program) at the end of August. A nine-month course in trans-disciplinary inquiry for ages 18 to 35, activities will include study of texts, experiential learning in a variety of fields, and s...tudio work in the visual, practical and performing arts. From August thru December, the Thoreau College Semester Program (https://www.thoreaucollege.org/aboutsemester) in Wisconsin will welcome up to 12 young people, ages 18 to 25, for an immersive experience in thoughtful study, practical labor, wilderness expeditions, community self-governance, inner development, and artistic practice. A few spots are still left in each! See more

The latest chapter of Steve Talbott's book-in-progress, *Evolution As It Was Meant To Be And the Living Narratives That Tell Its Story,* has now been posted on our website. Entitled, What Is the Problem of Form?, it deals, among other things, with some remarkable (and remarkably problematic) work by Michael Levin, head of the Levin Lab at Tufts University near Boston. Here's where to find it: https://natureinstitute.org/txt/st/bk/form1.htm

Dear Supporters: Given that current retail restrictions and physical distancing measures lead many of us to order commodities on line, we’d like to let you know that The Nature Institute is able to receive donations, based on your web purchases, through the AmazonSmile Foundation. Its website is operated by Amazon and offers the same selection of products, but also donates 0.5% of the purchase price of a customer’s online choices to their designated nonprofit. Understanding t...he importance of supporting local business, our aim is not to promote Amazon or online buying. But in the current pandemic, when local retail shopping is not always an option, some of you may appreciate the ability to use online purchases as a means of donating to a chosen non-profit without any additional cost. If such charitable giving interests you, please go here: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/14-1803390 THANK YOU! See more

While you are mainly staying home, here's fresh reading to inform you about the cause of such confinement. In this article, Craig looks at viruses in their larger, living context.https://natureinstitute.org/txt/ch/virus.pdf

Steve Talbott has just posted a new chapter in his online book "Evolution As It Was Meant To Be - And The Narratives That Tell Its Story." He welcomes your thoughts and commentary. You can read the latest installment here: https://natureinstitute.org/txt/st/bk/epist1.htm

Dear Friends, With all that we do to protect our bodies during this pandemic, it's easy to overlook things that can bolster our mental wellness during such uncertain times. We would like to offer you a free book download that can help focus the mind and expand the imagination. It is Henrike's new publication, To the Infinite and Back Again: A Workbook in Projective Geometry. This math book does not deal in measurements, calculations, and axioms, but rather in precise, illuminating forms. For more info and to download a copy, go to our website: https://natureinstitute.org/index.htm

For obvious reasons, the talk by Walter Alexander originally scheduled for this Thursday evening at The Nature Institute, is being postponed. We will let you know that date when socializing resumes. In the meantime, congregate with nature!

Day 4 of the Winter Intensive! So many discoveries, hidden in plain sight.