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 nature-based 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 and companionship of 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 nature-based 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.