The Monthly Skills Series is a two hour, once a month opportunity to explore different skills through a rewilding lens. It is accessible and open to the public, and no previous experience is necessary to attend.
Our Monthly Skills Series has one core ethic behind it:
All people must have accessible and open access to creating resilience in their lives.
Contemporary life finds us completely dependent on a very fragile network of global connections and technologies. We have become disassociated from the land where we live: our food comes from hundreds and thousands of miles away, we spend countless hours indoors, interacting with screens in human-created virtual worlds instead of the natural other-than-human reality that surrounds us. This has many negative effects on our physical and mental health, as well as making us less prepared for the inevitable failure of these systems. Yet access to learning any other way often comes with a high price.
Rewild Portland urgently works against this trend. Since 2010 we have hosted the monthly Free Skills Series (our first program ever), which we have rebranded in 2025 as the Monthly Skills Series, in an effort to preserve this integral offering. Participants of all ages and levels of experience are introduced to various skills and knowledge. This is an inclusive space for people of all abilities and backgrounds to learn and share with each other. We are queer-friendly, straight-friendly, race-friendly, gender-friendly, age-friendly, family-friendly—just plain friendly! All of the skills we practice come with a set of ethical principles for environmental sustainability through reverence and regeneration. We charge a low fee for these offerings, and are committed to keeping them accessible for years to come. Limited scholarships are also available, and we encourage you to apply!
These accessible classes work to build resilience on multiple levels. On the surface, they enhance each participant’s skills and knowledge, showing them how to get what they need from their own place rather than relying on global systems. Our participants learn, for example, how to find, identify, sustainably harvest, and prepare foods that grow all around them; how to start a fire without matches or lighters, but by rubbing sticks together harvested from the trees in their own neighborhood; how to increase their physical and mental health through connecting to nature using their body and senses; and how to make medicine from the plants that grow in their own backyard.
But while the Monthly Skills Series may seem at first glance like a skills class, it’s actually a community-building program. When someone attends the Monthly Skills Series, they are surrounding themselves with people who are seeking the same skills and the same connection to place. Here, people make friends and create communities together. This leads to participants teaching and learning from one another outside the context of the Monthly Skills Series, or even Rewild Portland. This is our ultimate goal: to create robust social connections that exist without need or input from us, that ultimately make the Monthly Skills Series obsolete. While skills are certainly important for resilience, these social connections are the most important and valuable aspect of our program.
So, what are you waiting for? Check out all our exciting themes for this coming year, and RSVP by clicking on the link below. All themes, dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Thank you for you interest in and support of our programming!
Support the Monthly Skills Series
Accessibility scholarships for this program are made possible through regular donations from individuals we call recurring supporters. Are you someone with an income who can give a little to make this program possible? Become a recurring supporter today! And thank you for making the Monthly Skills Series accessible and an ongoing core offering of Rewild Portland.
Become a Sustaining Donor
Community Partners
The Monthly Skills Series is in part made possible with our local business sponsors. We are always looking for business sponsorships for the Monthly Skills Series. You can read more about that here.
The best way to make sure you RSVP on time is through our e-newsletter! In order to be reminded to register, you must be subscribed and follow the link in the monthly e-mail. Sign up to our newsletter below and make sure that the confirmation does not go to your spam filter. We send one or two e-mails a month with all of our upcoming programs and a link to register for the next Monthly Skills Series.
2025 Monthly Skills Series Themes
February: Authentic Relating – The Noticing Game
Saturday, February 14 2–4 pm @ N. Portland, location TBA
The game is simple: be present, bring your attention and your curiosity. Share whatever is present and alive and real for you in the moment. If you don’t feel like talking, then don’t! Do what feels authentic for you and honor your authentic experience. This is a relational meditation and an emergent space. The vibe can be anything from silly and playful to profound and it is impossible to predict because it is created by the people who show up, and by how they participate.
March: Spring Greens & Foraging Ethics
Saturday, March 15 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
In late winter and early spring, many edible greens begin to emerge, such as stinging nettle and dandelion. Let’s celebrate them by learning about their cultural histories, how to encourage their growth, what roles they play in ecology, how to process and prepare them, and of course, how to eat them and what nutritional value they bring. We’ll also cover the history of foraging ethics, why things are changing, and exciting ways to continue the life cycles of the plants we know and love.
April: Principles of Survival
Saturday, April 19 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Description forthcoming! Peter Michael Bauer is facilitating this class, so you won’t want to miss it!
May: Cybersecurity
Saturday, May 17 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Description forthcoming! We are in the process of confirming the facilitator. Stay tuned!
July: TBA
Saturday, July 19 2–4 pm @ Location TBA
The theme and facilitator are in the process of being confirmed! Stay tuned!
August: Roadkill Processing & Laws
Saturday, August 16 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Picking up roadkill in many states is now legal. However, there are still many regulations around this process. In this class we will the benefits and uses of roadkill, what do you do once you have the roadkill, what you need to make the most of it, and the hazards of picking up roadkill. Join us for an informative talk that will answer all these questions and more: we will also demonstrate how to process small game.
September: Acorn Processing
Saturday, September 20 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Join us for a class on how to eat acorns and care for the remaining oak ecosystems of the Willamette Valley and beyond. We’ll take you step by step, cooking-show style, through how to make acorns edible and cook them. Always a favorite class with our youngest fans, who love grinding acorns! Enjoy some of our acorn meal and treats.
October: Cordage; Knotless Bag
Saturday, October 18 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Making rope and saving it used to be an essential skill for everyone. With industrialization came machines that can make string and rope in such large quantities we no longer think about the energy and effort involved. In this class we will teach you how to spin cord with your own two hands, as well as how to use a drop spindle. We will also teach you useful knots, and how to save cordage instead of cutting it. Many plant fibers are useful for making rope and this is also something you’ll learn. You’ll leave class with a knotless bag that you made yourself!
November: English Ivy Basketmaking
Saturday, November 15 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Invasive species get a bad rap, but there are many amazing qualities to these plants that we can benefit from. Rewild Portland is famous for our work in creating new relationships with invasives, with basketry in particular. Come pull some ivy and learn how to weave a quick little basket. No experience necessary! This is a great one to work on with children.
December: Friction Fire
Saturday, December 20 2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Humans began to utilize fire potentially over a million years ago. Friction fire is a common method of starting a fire by “rubbing two sticks together.” At this Free Skills Series we will demonstrate how this works, give attendees the opportunity to try it out, and help those who have some experience troubleshoot their own kits. We will also cover how to work with fire in a safe way. As the climate warms, fire is becoming an increasing concern. We’ll cover what you need to know before, after, and while tending fire.
Monthly Skills Series
The Monthly Skills Series is a two hour, once a month opportunity to explore different skills through a rewilding lens. It is accessible and open to the public, and no previous experience is necessary to attend.
Our Monthly Skills Series has one core ethic behind it:
Contemporary life finds us completely dependent on a very fragile network of global connections and technologies. We have become disassociated from the land where we live: our food comes from hundreds and thousands of miles away, we spend countless hours indoors, interacting with screens in human-created virtual worlds instead of the natural other-than-human reality that surrounds us. This has many negative effects on our physical and mental health, as well as making us less prepared for the inevitable failure of these systems. Yet access to learning any other way often comes with a high price.
Rewild Portland urgently works against this trend. Since 2010 we have hosted the monthly Free Skills Series (our first program ever), which we have rebranded in 2025 as the Monthly Skills Series, in an effort to preserve this integral offering. Participants of all ages and levels of experience are introduced to various skills and knowledge. This is an inclusive space for people of all abilities and backgrounds to learn and share with each other. We are queer-friendly, straight-friendly, race-friendly, gender-friendly, age-friendly, family-friendly—just plain friendly! All of the skills we practice come with a set of ethical principles for environmental sustainability through reverence and regeneration. We charge a low fee for these offerings, and are committed to keeping them accessible for years to come. Limited scholarships are also available, and we encourage you to apply!
These accessible classes work to build resilience on multiple levels. On the surface, they enhance each participant’s skills and knowledge, showing them how to get what they need from their own place rather than relying on global systems. Our participants learn, for example, how to find, identify, sustainably harvest, and prepare foods that grow all around them; how to start a fire without matches or lighters, but by rubbing sticks together harvested from the trees in their own neighborhood; how to increase their physical and mental health through connecting to nature using their body and senses; and how to make medicine from the plants that grow in their own backyard.
But while the Monthly Skills Series may seem at first glance like a skills class, it’s actually a community-building program. When someone attends the Monthly Skills Series, they are surrounding themselves with people who are seeking the same skills and the same connection to place. Here, people make friends and create communities together. This leads to participants teaching and learning from one another outside the context of the Monthly Skills Series, or even Rewild Portland. This is our ultimate goal: to create robust social connections that exist without need or input from us, that ultimately make the Monthly Skills Series obsolete. While skills are certainly important for resilience, these social connections are the most important and valuable aspect of our program.
So, what are you waiting for? Check out all our exciting themes for this coming year, and RSVP by clicking on the link below. All themes, dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Thank you for you interest in and support of our programming!
Support the Monthly Skills Series
Accessibility scholarships for this program are made possible through regular donations from individuals we call recurring supporters. Are you someone with an income who can give a little to make this program possible? Become a recurring supporter today! And thank you for making the Monthly Skills Series accessible and an ongoing core offering of Rewild Portland.
Community Partners
The Monthly Skills Series is in part made possible with our local business sponsors. We are always looking for business sponsorships for the Monthly Skills Series. You can read more about that here.
How to Register for the Monthly Skills Series
The best way to make sure you RSVP on time is through our e-newsletter! In order to be reminded to register, you must be subscribed and follow the link in the monthly e-mail. Sign up to our newsletter below and make sure that the confirmation does not go to your spam filter. We send one or two e-mails a month with all of our upcoming programs and a link to register for the next Monthly Skills Series.
2025 Monthly Skills Series Themes
February: Authentic Relating – The Noticing Game
Saturday, February 14
2–4 pm @ N. Portland, location TBA
The game is simple: be present, bring your attention and your curiosity. Share whatever is present and alive and real for you in the moment. If you don’t feel like talking, then don’t! Do what feels authentic for you and honor your authentic experience. This is a relational meditation and an emergent space. The vibe can be anything from silly and playful to profound and it is impossible to predict because it is created by the people who show up, and by how they participate.
March: Spring Greens & Foraging Ethics
Saturday, March 15
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
In late winter and early spring, many edible greens begin to emerge, such as stinging nettle and dandelion. Let’s celebrate them by learning about their cultural histories, how to encourage their growth, what roles they play in ecology, how to process and prepare them, and of course, how to eat them and what nutritional value they bring. We’ll also cover the history of foraging ethics, why things are changing, and exciting ways to continue the life cycles of the plants we know and love.
April: Principles of Survival
Saturday, April 19
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Description forthcoming! Peter Michael Bauer is facilitating this class, so you won’t want to miss it!
May: Cybersecurity
Saturday, May 17
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Description forthcoming! We are in the process of confirming the facilitator. Stay tuned!
July: TBA
Saturday, July 19
2–4 pm @ Location TBA
The theme and facilitator are in the process of being confirmed! Stay tuned!
August: Roadkill Processing & Laws
Saturday, August 16
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Picking up roadkill in many states is now legal. However, there are still many regulations around this process. In this class we will the benefits and uses of roadkill, what do you do once you have the roadkill, what you need to make the most of it, and the hazards of picking up roadkill. Join us for an informative talk that will answer all these questions and more: we will also demonstrate how to process small game.
September: Acorn Processing
Saturday, September 20
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Join us for a class on how to eat acorns and care for the remaining oak ecosystems of the Willamette Valley and beyond. We’ll take you step by step, cooking-show style, through how to make acorns edible and cook them. Always a favorite class with our youngest fans, who love grinding acorns! Enjoy some of our acorn meal and treats.
October: Cordage; Knotless Bag
Saturday, October 18
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Making rope and saving it used to be an essential skill for everyone. With industrialization came machines that can make string and rope in such large quantities we no longer think about the energy and effort involved. In this class we will teach you how to spin cord with your own two hands, as well as how to use a drop spindle. We will also teach you useful knots, and how to save cordage instead of cutting it. Many plant fibers are useful for making rope and this is also something you’ll learn. You’ll leave class with a knotless bag that you made yourself!
November: English Ivy Basketmaking
Saturday, November 15
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Invasive species get a bad rap, but there are many amazing qualities to these plants that we can benefit from. Rewild Portland is famous for our work in creating new relationships with invasives, with basketry in particular. Come pull some ivy and learn how to weave a quick little basket. No experience necessary! This is a great one to work on with children.
December: Friction Fire
Saturday, December 20
2–4 pm @ Green Anchors, N. Portland
Humans began to utilize fire potentially over a million years ago. Friction fire is a common method of starting a fire by “rubbing two sticks together.” At this Free Skills Series we will demonstrate how this works, give attendees the opportunity to try it out, and help those who have some experience troubleshoot their own kits. We will also cover how to work with fire in a safe way. As the climate warms, fire is becoming an increasing concern. We’ll cover what you need to know before, after, and while tending fire.