Four Seasons of Transformation

An ecological program guiding people through midlife transitions

“In out of the way places of the heart
where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.”

— John O’Donohue

Introducing a new program at Heartwood Farm in 2024

Each of us encounters transformational moments in our adult lives - they straddle who we were before, and who we will be from now on. These moments arise from loss, or gain, or some other significant change in our lives: retirement, career change, divorce, or even just a gnawing sense that we crave more meaning in life.

While these transitions hold out the possibility of a richer life on the other side, they can be uncomfortable when we’re in the midst of them - often bringing anxiety, uncertainty, and asking us to take risks. As a result, we often don’t find our way through these epic moments, instead falling back into a life that undercuts its potential.

“Four Seasons of Transformation” is a nature-based retreat in four parts that is intended to help people navigate these moments - helping to clearly name what is passing away, what wants to be born, and nurturing the creativity to move through transition toward the “one life that waits beyond all the others” (David Whyte).

Is this program right for you?

Midlife transitions can have downsides: a feeling of being “stuck”, or having been preparing for something in the first part of life, but being unsure of what it is. The downsides can create a sense of emptiness or dissatisfaction with life.

But underneath all of that lie the aspirations we bring - a desire to live more deeply, to offer our gifts back to the world, to live a life more connected to the world, and to each other.

Four Seasons of Transformation, as the name implies, follows life on the farm, as it unfolds across the seasons of a year - the dormancy of winter, the resplendent emergence of life in spring, the dramatic growth of summer, and reaping of harvest in the fall.

This seasonal cadence will serve as the backdrop for exploring personal transformation through:

  • Active, farm-based experiences

  • Learning “ecological parables” - the ways nature models healthy transformation

  • Facilitated exercises related to midlife transitions

  • Time to connect with landscape, plants & animals

  • Walks on the farm, in the orchard, and in the labyrinth

  • Discussion and reflection in small groups

What the program looks like

Four Seasons of Transformation has several parts:

Before the program begins, there will be an onboarding session over Zoom to orient you to the program and answer questions.

The core of the program consists of four daylong retreats at Heartwood Farm - in late winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

During these retreats, you’ll be immersed in the seasonal transformations of the farm. Through poetry, facilitated activities, learning, and getting your hands dirty, you’ll experience ecological transformation, and use that as a lens through which to view your own journey.

In between the on-farm retreats, there will be three opportunities to connect over Zoom with a small group. These guided touchpoints provide opportunity to reflect, and to prepare for the next retreat.

  • Brent Klassen

    has a background as a consultant and facilitator, and through the creative agencies he co-founded, has worked extensively with teams in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

    He left the agency world a few years ago to launch the cidery at Heartwood, and to lead on-farm retreats that use ecological “parables” to explore transformational development for individuals and organizations.

    Brent has a Computer Science degree, a music diploma, and is an award-winning cider maker.

  • Rebecca Sutherns

    is a facilitator at heart who loves helping groups of people tap into their collective imagination and wisdom.

    She’s also an insightful strategist and has been coaching the senior executives and Boards of mission-driven organizations for more than 25 years – primarily large nonprofits and philanthropic foundations interested in supporting the social determinants of health.

    Besides that, she’s written three books, has a PhD in Sustainable Communities and is increasingly turning her attention to helping adults grow into being imaginative rather than growing out of it.

  • Val Steinmann

    has been a regenerative farmer for almost two decades and has a passion for connecting people to land, animals, and food, and in so doing, creating community.

    She is an experienced animator who inspires farm visitors – from demonstrations of simple daily farm chores to explanations of the concrete ways in which ecological agriculture can mitigate climate change.

    Val has an M.A. in Adult Education and a keen interest in community-based methods of knowledge creation and sharing.

  • Since the program has already begun, we are offering each of the retreat days as a standalone, in order to accommodate those who might be interested, but cannot attend all four. The cost for each daylong retreat is $550 + HST.

  • There are four daylong retreats, which will be offered on the following dates:

    Winter: Mon. Mar. 25

    Spring: Thurs. May 23

    Summer: Tues. July 30

    Fall: Tues. Oct. 1

  • Although each daylong retreat fits into the yearlong program, it can also stand on its own. So if you can’t make all four dates but are still interested, let us know. Individual daylong retreats are being offered at a cost of $550+HST.

  • The Four Seasons of Transformation cohort will have a maximum of 16 people who will attend the daylong on-farm retreats together. The guided online sessions in between daylong retreats will be smaller groups of four.

  • Absolutely. The program doesn’t focus on specific kinds transitions; rather, it looks to ecology for experiences, models and parables that can be applied to our own moments of transition, whatever they are.

  • The on-farm retreats take place outdoors and involve modest amounts of physical activity (i.e. walking on uneven ground). If you have specific questions about this, please feel free to email us.

  • One of our favourite aspects of on-farm retreats is offering our guests delicious, locally-sourced, seasonal, farm-to-table lunches. You’ll be well-fed, and we accommodate most food preferences.

FAQs

If you want to learn more about this program, we’re offering two Zoom-based information sessions. Sign up below - we’d love to talk to you about Four Seasons of Transformation!