Connor Stedman

Connor Stedman

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Connor Stedman is a nature awareness and permaculture educator based in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts. His mission is to create healing and cultural renewal by mentoring people in deepening relationships with themselves, each other and the natural world.

Connor has apprenticed and instructed with wilderness mentoring schools across North America since 2004, including Wilderness Awareness School, Vermont Wilderness School (VWS), White Pine Programs, and the Regenerative Design Institute. He currently helps to facilitate Art of Mentoring workshops in Vermont and Ontario, serves on the board of directors of Vermont Wilderness School and works closely with VWS co-founder Mark Morey at the Institute for Natural Learning.

Prior to completing his BSc with Gaia University in 2009, Connor studied natural history, forest ecology and habitat management at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. From 2006 to 2009 he was trained in permaculture design through a series of apprenticeships with Dave Jacke, Jono Neiger, and Penny Livingston.

Connor's BSc capstone work with Gaia University revolved around a) developing skill and creativity as a wilderness mentor and permaculture teacher, and b) exploring economic and ecological models for broadacre agroforestry and tree crop farming in the Northeastern United States. Connor's Gaia University work propelled him into his current teaching and mentoring career, and led him to develop a series of talks on land history and agroforestry that he now delivers at conferences and courses around the Northeast.

Connor leads trainings in wilderness skills, bird language, and permaculture throughout the Northeast. His permaculture design work specializes in tree crops, agroforestry, habitat management, and reclaiming traditional land use practices. He’s designed and installed food forestry systems around the Northeast; co-managed an herb farm growing dozens of high-value medicinal crops; worked on prescribed burns for endangered species habitat in inland pine barrens; and consulted on larger-scale land use planning projects for schools and other institutions.

Connor recently began a masters program at the University of VT and has trained as a Gaia U advisor.  You can learn more about Connor's work at his website.