Building belonging through challenge, connection, and purpose.
We are dedicated to empowering individuals and building stronger, healthier communities. Through education, physical movement, and a deep commitment to emotional and mental well-being, we aim to create a supportive environment where everyone can grow.
My son has been learning from Kayan at Cypress River for over two years—starting with Kali and expanding into archery, blacksmithing, wood carving, and other earth-based skills. What makes this program stand out is Kayan himself. He teaches with deep knowledge, calm confidence, and a kind of quiet strength that draws kids in. My son genuinely looks up to him—not just as a skilled instructor, but as someone who shows up with integrity and intention. Week after week, I’ve watched my son grow more capable, more self-assured, and more connected—to the land, his body, and the kind of person he wants to become.
- Aubrie, mother of 3
ACTIVITIES
Explore our current offerings
Youth
Hands-on nature-based learning that builds confidence, skills, and connection through mentorship and earth-based crafts.
At Cypress River, we foster self-awareness, self-discipline, accountability, resilience, and self-esteem through challenge and accomplishment. We create third spaces—places beyond home and school—that nurture human connection.
We believe in learning soft skills through hard skills. By engaging in hands-on, practical experiences, young people gain emotional intelligence, social fluency, self-motivation, aspiration, and resilience—skills that are both transferable and transformative.
We advocate for mental and physical health through a blend of education, process, and play. Our mission is to give young people their childhoods back—to reintroduce wonder, exploration, and purpose into their lives.
We teach that the Earth is not some distant, disposable object—it is our only home. We seek to bridge human connection across political lines, resist technocratic and consumerist agendas, and help people recognize the value already within them: a sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what we all want—to feel like we truly belong.
