30 Tom Brown III on Human Life, Education, and Our Need for Nature

Tom Brown III is back. In this episode, we delve into the importance of nature to our well-being and into how to live and thrive as the human animal that we are.

Tom's bio: Tom, otherwise known as “T3”, has been a practitioner and teacher of primitive living skills, wilderness survival, tracking, and nature observation from an early age. Growing up in New Jersey at the Tracker School, he was raised with deep reverence and respect for wild places and the skills our ancestors used to live close to the land. After graduating high school, he spent a few years wandering the country, practicing the skills he learned as a child in both urban and wilderness environments. He eventually returned to Tracker School and after a few years became head instructor and director of operations. In 2009 he left Tracker School to start the Primitive Arts Collective, an outdoor education program that sought to teach people in small groups in many different states across the country. In 2016 Tom moved to Oregon and now works with Trackers Earth. Tom’s role at Tracker’s Earth involves being both the land steward and an adult educator. His unique insight and first-hand knowledge about how large groups of people interact with the landscape help him and the Tracker’s team ensure healthy land management practices. These pratices will benefit not only the students but also the wild things that are the centerpiece of these rural locations. Tom loves all things wild and free. During his downtime, you can find him on a river somewhere fly-fishing for steelhead with his Spey rod and exploring all the beautiful things the PNW has to offer. He is also the Foraging/Homesteading Coordinator and contributor for Anchored Outdoors.

Tom's bio on Trackers Earth: https://trackerspdx.com/staff.php
Tom's Instagram: Tom_brown3
Tom's Website: www.tombrown3.com

Contact Michael:
1. [e-mail]
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.facebook.com/EpistemeRx/
4. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/

External links to what we discussed and to further research:
1. Biophilia: our love for and connection to nature
a. "Humans have always been drawn to, dependent on, and fascinated by the natural world. Biophilia, which literally translates to “love of life,” is the idea that this fascination and communion with nature stem from an innate, biologically-driven need to interact with other forms of life such as animals and plants." (from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/biophilia)
b. "a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature " (from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biophilia)
c. the biophilia hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis
d. The book Biophilia by E.O. Wilson will give you more information if you want to dig deeper: https://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Biophilia-Diversity-Naturalist-Library/dp/1598536796/

2. Our need for nature
a. "What is Nature-Deficit Disorder?" by Richard Louv
http://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorde