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The FEELS LIKE HOME Project
Premiered December 7th, 2020
The song "Feels Like Home" opens our senses to the stories of nature and sends us on an adventure with no particular destination, letting our curiosity lead the way.
It brings us into a world where we are deeply connected to ourselves, to others and to our environment, remembering that we are all seamlessly interconnected with one another.
A world where we already all belong, exactly as we are.
Where we give permission to the creative, unique and beautiful weirdo within us to shine.
Where together we nourish a culture of love, and we can appreciate the magical and intricate ways that nature provides for us and allows us to thrive.
Where “Home” is simply “here, now, in this grounded moment of presence and connection”.
Feels Like Home is a celebration of life on Earth, and how extraordinary it is to be a human, mud-deep in the mysteries of the universe.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SONG
Feels Like Home started as a song, inspired from experiences connecting with nature and wandering through the forest. It was written in the summer of 2017 by Emma Anders and a group of campers (aka “The Forest Fairies”) at Coyote Camp, a survival skills and wilderness program hosted at YMCA Camp Kanawana. The organic live recording you hear in the video was made shortly after the song was written and premiered around the campfire.
THE DRIVE
Through Emma's experience working as a wilderness guide and nature mentor, she has witnessed the powerful and transformative impacts that nature connection has on countless people’s lives in allowing them to connect more deeply with themselves, and in doing so, more deeply with others. This work of connection is an important building stone in creating healthy, resilient and supportive communities that celebrate diversity and live more harmoniously with the natural world.
THE MUSIC VIDEO
In the summer of 2019, Emma decided to go back to YMCA Camp Kanawana to direct a music video for Feels Like Home and turn it into a community project. In just 2 days, Emma and her team shot this video and got to know and enjoy the presence of so many incredible campers while bringing this to life.
This video aims to celebrate and support the places (be it outdoor programs, camps, forest schools, etc.) that hold space for us to engage with nature and be ourselves, while raising awareness about the importance of connecting with nature.
"FEELS LIKE HOME" STORIES
Serving as a platform for the community's nature-inspired stories, this project invites us to reflect on our own experiences in nature or at camp, and what "feels like home" means to us, then share these with one another. Below you will discover an ever-growing collection of "Feels Like Home" Stories from the community, You will also find out how to share your own story with us and be part of this momentum of exchange and celebration.
YMCA CAMP KANAWANA's FUNDRASING CAMPAIGN
On December 7th, 2020, Camp YMCA Kanawana hosted the premiere of this music video, alongside the launch of a month-long fundraiser towards ensuring the camp’s re-opening in 2021. A place she called home for numerous summers while growing up and introduced her to working in the outdoors, Emma is very excited to be collaborating with them on this project and contributing towards creating accessibility for others to experience the gift of camp. You can learn about the incredible opportunities Camp Kanawana provides for youth, how to donate, as well as read a handful of "Kanawana Feels Like Home" Stories below !
RESOURCES
See the growing RESOURCES SECTION at the bottom of this page to discover useful links, as well as outdoor programs and summer camps across Canada that might inspire you in your journey of connecting with nature!
LEARN THE SONG &
BRING IT TO THE WOODS!
JOIN US IN CELEBRATING & SUPPORTING
NATURE CONNECTION
FEELS LIKE HOME STORIES
Camp Kanawana Collection
Sean & Eloise's #feelslikehome story
Nay's #feelslikehome story
Gretchen's #feelslikehome story
Olivia's #feelslikehome story
Abby's #feelslikehome story
Layla's #feelslikehome story
Evan's #feelslikehome story
The Lapierre Family's #feelslikehome story
Kate's #feelslikehome story
Alex's #feelslikehome story
"Kanawana feels like home because it has been a constant in my life for the last 15 years. I had the immense fortune of spending parts of 12 summers at camp and continue to stay involved through the Sam Jam committee. Nothing compares to that feeling of driving down Saint Elmire on my way back to camp and seeing Lake Kanawana emerge through the clearing.
But Kanawana is also so much bigger than the 546 acres it sits on. It is all those people who pass through the Dining Hall and go on to do amazing things all over the world. It is the countless lifelong friends that I have made. It is running into a fellow Kanawanian who I haven’t seen in years and knowing that there is something special that will keep us bonded forever. It is that feeling of being welcomed and comfortable with who I am. It is the memories that will always stay with me.
What more could I ask for in a home?"
Julia's #feelslikehome story
"Kanawana feels like home because from the moment I arrived at 13 years old I had a sense of belonging that I’d never felt anywhere else other than home.
Over the next 6 summers I spent at camp, I developed relationships that I will hold close to my heart, and memories I can look back on forever. As an international camper, it gave me a unique opportunity to form a network of support that reached all over Canada, so when I landed there each summer, I didn’t feel nervous, just a sense of excitement, a feeling of returning to the place where I belong and where I can authentically be myself.
Finally, Kanawana offered me an experience like no other to immerse myself in nature away from the stresses of my every day life, a place where I could breathe, and feel the pressure of the world dissipate."
Yumi's #feelslikehome story
"Kanawana feels like home to me because it was where I got to know and like myself. As a camper, I was given opportunities to try new things and develop leadership skills. I was encouraged to get out of my comfort zone in a place where it was safe to fail.
Kanawana feels like home because it was where I first felt a connection to nature, something that I've carried with me into adulthood. I have tried to pass that on to my son, who is a proud third-generation Kanawanian. We want future generations of children to experience the freedom of playing in a forest that feels like home."
Graham's #feelslikehome story
"Kanawana feels like home to me because there are people there who share my interests in ways that people at home don't. And if you don't know how things work at camp, people are really nice about teaching you. I learn a lot there. Also, the experiences I have with the people in my cabin aren't like anything I do with my friends at home. I really hope I can go back to Kanawana next summer. I'd better start practicing my kendama again!"
Community Collection
Charles' #feelslikehome story
Erica's #feelslikehome story
Alice's #feelslikehome story
"Mid Septembre, I was supposed to spend the weekend with friends in a nice house somewhere close to Chinon. But the urge to be alone, to meet that solitude felt stronger. The ocean came to mind. I needed to be by the ocean. So I looked at a map and found that the closest beach to Paris was somewhere around Honfleur. And so here I go, without knowing why I'm going there nor where I'm going to sleep. My intention was to follow..."
Geremia's #feelslikehome story
Charleen's #feelslikehome story
"I first came to Kanawana in 2015 to be a councillor in the first ever ‘Coyote Camp’ led by Steve and Diego. I was enchanted with the beautiful mission, the community of radiant people, and the depth of connection and growth that transpired amongst campers and councilors in a short week. In the subsequent 5 years, I’ve participated in this camp in different capacities: as a councilor, a co-director, and night staff. Magic seems to happen when we hold space for curiosity, discovery, adventure, passions, rawness, and letting go of expectations. I used to say that Coyote Camp gave me a ‘soul bath’; and that feels like home.
This picture took place in 2016 Coyote Camp. My group’s mission was to start a fire after it had rained that morning. They felt like this task was insurmountable, yet they succeeded! This photo is of them celebrating by roasting apples, celery, and marshmallows"
Michelle's #feelslikehome story
Kaimana's #feelslikehome story
Guided by love, I follow the signs... I connect more often with the natural rhythm of my being and come to find peace with what it is to be human. It is through the sensitivity of my heart that I come home to my own nature and remember my friendships with the wind, the sky, the earth and my body. Nature is making the mystery of my own existence a grounding place, and invites me into raw vulnerabilities. In a moment of grace, it turns chaos into order. I find myself smiling embraced by the mountains in recognition of true love’s essence.
@kaimanalovawolf
SHARE YOUR
FEELS LIKE HOME STORY WITH US
OPTION 1
Submit it through this google form for it to be featured in our story collection:
*For Camp Kanawana stories:
OPTION 2
Keep the momentum going by using the hashtag #feelslikehome in your social media posts to share your story and inspire others to join in this celebration of nature connection!
R E S O U R C E S
FIND A CAMP ACROSS CANADA
FIND NATURE-CONNECTION PROGRAMS & FOREST SCHOOLS
NATURE CONNECTION BOOKS
Coyote's Guide to
Connecting with Nature
by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, Evan McGown
Kamana Series
Study-at-home program
by Jon Young
The Tracker
by Tom Brown, Jr.
Conscious Nature
by Josh Lane
The Geography of Childhood:
Why Children Need Wild Places
by Gary Paul Nabhan, Stephen Trimble
USEFUL LINKS
A Global Movement in Rebuilding Nature-Connected, Intergenerational Mentoring Communities
