Branch of Knowledge | Tree of Wisdom is a ritual to support and celebrate a young person’s rite of passage in starting school and their life-long journey of learning and growth. In this ritual you and your young person will head out to a site of choice and engage in a ceremony in which your young person is gifted with a collection of talismans, that will adorn a branch they have foraged from the forest, to muse on ideas of learning and growth and to acknowledge and celebrate their innate wisdom and sense of self.  

Branch of Knowledge | Tree of Wisdom was initially created for my sons, to support their rite of passage in entering the world of formal education and starting school. I wanted to find a creative way to offer them a perspective on learning that acknowledges and celebrates their innate wisdom, alongside the ever present support, companionship and conversation with the natural world.

The ritual was a fun and empowering experience for my children and offered a creative framework to navigate the transition to school. The ritual was designed so it could continue to be engaged with and added to over time, offering a creative frame for reflection and articulation of their learning and development.

Having seen the benefit for my own children, I have a created a booklet and set of postcards in collaboration with artist Kirsten Moegerlein. The booklet guides you through the ritual and offers ideas, poetry and reflections on wisdom, learning and how ritual can support, animate and kindle curiosity, creativity and connection in our lives.