Land Resoration Retreat
Saturday and Sunday March 28-29th, 2026
This hands-on land restoration workshop is for anyone interested in cultivating an active role of compassionate stewardship in their local ecosystems. Participants will gain experience and confidence in guiding broken land-based ecosystems back to ecological health. Participants choose the depth of your field experience with options of a single day workshop (Saturday) or two-day overnight retreat (Saturday and Sunday).
On Day 1, this program will focus on scientific ecological restoration frameworks that prioritize human power instead of conventional chemical interventions. On Day 2, we will integrate spiritual place-based ecological restoration practices that attune ourselves to the places we steward, aligning with our ancestral ways of healing broken land systems.
Whether you’re an experienced steward or beginning to navigate this growing practice, you’ll gain new perspectives and expertise that are in growing demand in today’s world. The skills you’ll explore can be applied at home or in a landscaping business, public conservation or restoration projects, regenerative agriculture projects, and more. To help build a resilient practice, you will be invited to participate in mindful movement and self-reflections throughout the course.
Participants should be comfortable standing for long periods of time and performing manual labor such as removing invasive species and planting trees. We will be working in teams so we can accommodate different mobility levels.
Two (Three) options are available for participants:
- 2-day overnight retreat from 9 am Saturday (3/28) to 3 pm Sunday (3/29). Lunch, dinner, breakfast, and lunch included.
- 2-day retreat off campus/commute retreat 9 am to 5 pm Saturday (3/28) and 9 am to 3 pm Sunday (3/29). Lunch included both days.
- 1-day workshop Saturday (3/28) 9 am to 5 pm. Lunch included.
Meet Your Host
Elyse is a community collaborator inspired by rebuilding ecological literacy and biodiversity with her team of ecological practitioners. Ample hikes and plant community observations in nature spark her imagination, bringing a rare blend of art and science into her practice. Her work deepens your connection to place, and empowers you to take meaningful action to maximize your land’s potential to support wildlife and enhance human well-being.
Elyse leads three adult certification programs- the Ecological Restoration Certificate and Ecological Gardener Training Program with the Horn Farm Center and Habitat Advocates with the Lancaster Conservancy, and also coordinates Lancaster Schoolyard Habitat to engage urban youth in building biodiversity in schoolyards. She also facilitates conservation landscaping training to guide existing landscaping crews to embrace more resilient practices.
She is certified as an Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP), Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP), Permaculture Designer, and earned an Ecological Gardening Certification from Mt. Cuba Center. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education, 7-12 Biology Teaching Certification, and participated in Cornell University’s Civic Ecology program. She has also earned a MovNat certification and is currently enrolled in a Qigong teaching certification program as a means to tend to our best restoration tools- our human bodies!
Elyse Jurgen, M.Ed, CBLP, CERP, owner of Waxwing EcoWorks Co.
Registration Information
Amethyst and the practitioner may cancel the event for any reason. If the event is cancelled you will be notified as soon as possible and issued a full refund, less any donation.
Cancellation Policy
Amethyst will issue a refund less any transaction fees and donations for cancellation requests up to four weeks before the event. Requested cancellations up to one week before the event will be refunded at 50%. Requested cancellations less than a week before the event will not be refunded.
Refund Policy
If you have questions about this event, please reach out to info@amethystretreatcenter.org