What Others Are Saying About The Book
"Told with humor and honesty, the stories in Forever Wild Parenting illustrate how experience in the natural world can build strong family bonds and instill joy and confidence in children."
Richard Louv
Author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods
Children & Nature Network, Founding Chairman
"Getting a child to soccer, football, baseball, dance, cheerleading, tennis, and basketball, are all part of a parent’s life these days. We do a great job of juggling schedules, carpooling, and being two or three places at once. Where we have not done such a good job is connecting our children to nature. This book may help the reader bridge that gap and allow a child to learn all that nature has to offer. There are so many lessons to learn—some by just watching and some by getting down into the creek and capturing crayfish. I encourage you to read this book and get outside!"
Don Winslow
Deputy Director for Outreach and Support Services
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
"Forever Wild Parenting is unlike most any book on raising children you'll ever read. While the advice is familiar and consistent with what I myself have written about, the context is a wholesome adventure into leading your children into life's experiences. This book will put you in the woods or on the farm to see through the eyes of someone who wants their child to see the value of living and to have their heart race in the course to those lessons. If you are wild enough as a parent to make it through "Deuce" then you should be ready for what this book has to say about wild parenting."
Danny Silk
Author of Loving Your Kids on Purpose
"Forever Wild Parenting should be on every parent's coffee table, ready to be opened for the next fun outdoor adventure they can share with their children. And all of these are spelled out so clearly and made so easy. And the cool thing is kids will learn valuable life lessons with each one, not to mention the wonderful bonding time shared between parent and child. Thank you for this most terrific resource. It's a precious gem."
Bren McClain
Author of One Good Mama Bone
"Outdoor enthusiast, educator, and mother-hen rolled into a ball of energy. That’s the Laura Blind I know from her years directing activities at Playcard Environmental Center in Horry County, SC. This wonderful facility’s existence is owed to the late James Blanton. His vision for educating the people of Horry County was legendary, from his involvement with the county school system to the creation of what is now Coastal Carolina University. Though secondary and post-secondary education was important to James Blanton, his vision to teach something much more basic may be his best, and most lasting legacy. At Playcard youth, mostly, and adults were offered an opportunity to learn the background of the land, and the very story of life as it has transpired in the black swamp of South Carolina. It was Laura, in the beginning, who brought James’ vision to life for countless thousands of school children, and thousands more who took advantage of the annual SwampFest celebration at Playcard. Though she’s long since moved on from Playcard, the outdoor enthusiast, educator, and mother-hen is evident in Forever Wild Parenting, co-authored with Lauren B. Bontrager, a certified wellness coach and health education specialist. What they have created is a wonderful how-to book on living. Parents will find wonderful real-life lessons they can share with children of all ages, and tips on making those lessons real, and personal, through educational and inspirational activities. It’s an easy read that will touch your heart and make you smile, parent or not."
Deuce Niven
General Manager/Editor, Tabor-Loris Tribune
"Laura Blind is a true gift and an inspiration. I served on the Board of the Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center when Laura was the Director. The school children experienced the outdoors through wonderful scavenger hunts and fun nature walks identifying trees, birds, and wildflowers. They learned to give back to their community through service. They learned the importance of clean air and water and the impact of pollution on our world. They learned to appreciate their ancestors who had carved out an existence in the Back Country through living pioneer life in the log cabin at the Center. Laura taught the adults about land trusts as a way of saving some of the special places and was instrumental in my decision to place land under conservation easement so that generations to come may experience forests and creeks and fields undisturbed. Laura’s message to parents of giving their children the gift of appreciating nature is so important to their peace of mind and well-being. God placed Adam and Eve in a garden, the perfect home. This book can help families enjoy and experience this beauty and hopefully to become good stewards of it."
Dianne Culbertson
President, Gray Court-Owings Historical Society
Upstate Forever Land Conservation Champion 2009
Colonial Dames XVII Century Community Service Award 2012
"These intriguing stories linking nature with family and spiritual lessons would not let me put this book down. Lauren and Laura draw on three generations of being in the out-of-doors to deliver an important message to all of us—create and discover experiences in nature to enrich your lives. Encounters in nature have led them to deeper family connections with more life understandings. I believe our lives will only be richer by reading and practicing these principles! I highly recommend this to you to inspire your own “wildness” within your family."
Cindy Skelton
Camp Program Director, Camp La Vida
"Forever Wild Parenting arrives at a time when the plea for re-introducing outdoor life to the technology-driven generation is on the rise. As one who spent the first 8 years of his life shepherding farm animals and tilling the land in rural Ethiopia, I welcome the contribution of this book. Now as I shepherd and challenge CHAMPS youth toward building harmony with nature, this book becomes indispensable. It compels the reader to internalize the unfathomable, life-giving beauty and sacredness of the Earth. The closer the young child comes to experiencing and knowing nature, the more ingredients he/she collects for building harmony between man and nature."
Jerman Disasa
Director of CHAMPS and Professor of Education Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC
Richard Louv
Author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods
Children & Nature Network, Founding Chairman
"Getting a child to soccer, football, baseball, dance, cheerleading, tennis, and basketball, are all part of a parent’s life these days. We do a great job of juggling schedules, carpooling, and being two or three places at once. Where we have not done such a good job is connecting our children to nature. This book may help the reader bridge that gap and allow a child to learn all that nature has to offer. There are so many lessons to learn—some by just watching and some by getting down into the creek and capturing crayfish. I encourage you to read this book and get outside!"
Don Winslow
Deputy Director for Outreach and Support Services
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
"Forever Wild Parenting is unlike most any book on raising children you'll ever read. While the advice is familiar and consistent with what I myself have written about, the context is a wholesome adventure into leading your children into life's experiences. This book will put you in the woods or on the farm to see through the eyes of someone who wants their child to see the value of living and to have their heart race in the course to those lessons. If you are wild enough as a parent to make it through "Deuce" then you should be ready for what this book has to say about wild parenting."
Danny Silk
Author of Loving Your Kids on Purpose
"Forever Wild Parenting should be on every parent's coffee table, ready to be opened for the next fun outdoor adventure they can share with their children. And all of these are spelled out so clearly and made so easy. And the cool thing is kids will learn valuable life lessons with each one, not to mention the wonderful bonding time shared between parent and child. Thank you for this most terrific resource. It's a precious gem."
Bren McClain
Author of One Good Mama Bone
"Outdoor enthusiast, educator, and mother-hen rolled into a ball of energy. That’s the Laura Blind I know from her years directing activities at Playcard Environmental Center in Horry County, SC. This wonderful facility’s existence is owed to the late James Blanton. His vision for educating the people of Horry County was legendary, from his involvement with the county school system to the creation of what is now Coastal Carolina University. Though secondary and post-secondary education was important to James Blanton, his vision to teach something much more basic may be his best, and most lasting legacy. At Playcard youth, mostly, and adults were offered an opportunity to learn the background of the land, and the very story of life as it has transpired in the black swamp of South Carolina. It was Laura, in the beginning, who brought James’ vision to life for countless thousands of school children, and thousands more who took advantage of the annual SwampFest celebration at Playcard. Though she’s long since moved on from Playcard, the outdoor enthusiast, educator, and mother-hen is evident in Forever Wild Parenting, co-authored with Lauren B. Bontrager, a certified wellness coach and health education specialist. What they have created is a wonderful how-to book on living. Parents will find wonderful real-life lessons they can share with children of all ages, and tips on making those lessons real, and personal, through educational and inspirational activities. It’s an easy read that will touch your heart and make you smile, parent or not."
Deuce Niven
General Manager/Editor, Tabor-Loris Tribune
"Laura Blind is a true gift and an inspiration. I served on the Board of the Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center when Laura was the Director. The school children experienced the outdoors through wonderful scavenger hunts and fun nature walks identifying trees, birds, and wildflowers. They learned to give back to their community through service. They learned the importance of clean air and water and the impact of pollution on our world. They learned to appreciate their ancestors who had carved out an existence in the Back Country through living pioneer life in the log cabin at the Center. Laura taught the adults about land trusts as a way of saving some of the special places and was instrumental in my decision to place land under conservation easement so that generations to come may experience forests and creeks and fields undisturbed. Laura’s message to parents of giving their children the gift of appreciating nature is so important to their peace of mind and well-being. God placed Adam and Eve in a garden, the perfect home. This book can help families enjoy and experience this beauty and hopefully to become good stewards of it."
Dianne Culbertson
President, Gray Court-Owings Historical Society
Upstate Forever Land Conservation Champion 2009
Colonial Dames XVII Century Community Service Award 2012
"These intriguing stories linking nature with family and spiritual lessons would not let me put this book down. Lauren and Laura draw on three generations of being in the out-of-doors to deliver an important message to all of us—create and discover experiences in nature to enrich your lives. Encounters in nature have led them to deeper family connections with more life understandings. I believe our lives will only be richer by reading and practicing these principles! I highly recommend this to you to inspire your own “wildness” within your family."
Cindy Skelton
Camp Program Director, Camp La Vida
"Forever Wild Parenting arrives at a time when the plea for re-introducing outdoor life to the technology-driven generation is on the rise. As one who spent the first 8 years of his life shepherding farm animals and tilling the land in rural Ethiopia, I welcome the contribution of this book. Now as I shepherd and challenge CHAMPS youth toward building harmony with nature, this book becomes indispensable. It compels the reader to internalize the unfathomable, life-giving beauty and sacredness of the Earth. The closer the young child comes to experiencing and knowing nature, the more ingredients he/she collects for building harmony between man and nature."
Jerman Disasa
Director of CHAMPS and Professor of Education Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC
