About Elizabeth and Lisa

Elizabeth West and Lisa Redman bring their experiential education backgrounds to life at Woodland Harvest! Elizabeth has been an outdoor environmental educator since the late 80’s, and has worked as an Outward Bound instructor and with adjudicated youth in the wilderness; she has taught middle school, high school, community college and university writing courses, each with a focus on social justice. Elizabeth purchased the land in 1999 and immediately began sharing the space with volunteers, family, students and friends to co-create the Woodland Harvest visions. She's spent many years putting methods into practice during her work in the global justice movement. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate as part of a barter and utilizes these skills at local, national and global actions and mobilizations, in urban settings, on the farmstead, and during travels. She received her BA in English from Appalachian State University and MAT in English Education from Boston University. She’s a passionate activist, teacher, mother and homesteader with deep love for social and environmental justice locally and globally.

Lisa, born and raised in the mountains of Appalachia, has been driven by her passion to steward the earth since she was a child. She's worked in the local non-profit realm as a grant writer and community advocate, co-founded an international non-profit in graduate school, mentored numerous student & community entrepreneurs with a focus on social & agricultural projects, and is a trained group facilitator. She received a BS in Community and Regional Planning, and a MA in Geography with a focus on human-environment interaction from Appalachian State University. She holds a Permaculture Design Certificate and enjoys living life through an "abundance" lens. After becoming a widow with two young children in 2010, the importance of healing found in nature was more clear to her than ever. Lisa and her sons joined Woodland Harvest in 2011 and found profound healing and purpose in the sacred native forests and through the unique and powerful work of the teaching and learning homestead. She jumped in feet first and found a beautiful new life together with Elizabeth at Woodland Harvest. Lisa is deeply connected to her spiritual self and loves to share her love and wisdom with others through connecting with nature, wildcrafting, culinary arts, tarot, earth-based rituals, and through her budding "light-work" including Reiki.

Elizabeth and Lisa bring together their diverse backgrounds to help groups and individuals organize, facilitate, support and manifest workshops, trainings, and multi-day programs focused around anything from direct-democracy and conflict resolution to do-it-yourself skillshares and writing workshops, spiritual ceremonies, homestead living skills, event planning, and more. We make every effort to provide groups a unique and holistic experience that is specially created to fulfill each group’s visions, needs, desires, and delight in sharing this sacred abundant land.

About Aydan:

Aydan, Lisa and Elizabeth's youngest son, is turning 16 years old in December. He is an adventurous, kind, and animal-loving spirit who has endless compassion in his heart for all living things. He loves to cook, skateboard with his brother Landrum, care for the animals on the farm, listen to music, unicycle, swim, and hopes to be a fisherman someday. Aydan is wise beyond his years and talented in a variety of areas. His latest interest is trapping and skinning small animals like squirrels and raccoons, and tanning their pelts.

What would a typical week look like?

FOOD: The farm accomodates for all diets, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and others. Meals will be cooked communal style in the main kitchen of the house; possibly, a schedule for who cooks on what day will be made so that everyone contributes equally.

PROJECTS/WORK: Students will have ample time to dedicate to their chosen projects each day. If you have nothing to do at any point, Lisa, Elizabeth, or Aydan may ask you for help on another farm-related project. This includes gardening, caring for animals, chopping wood, building shelters, organizing tools, etc.

DOWNTIME: We will be surrounded by a vast expanse of woodland, where there are beautiful hiking trails, horses in a nearby pasture, and streams and creeks to explore. The house is filled with art supplies, books on every subject imaginable, cookware, musical instruments, and sports equipment that everyone is welcome to use. Students will also be able to use one of their bikes to go into lovely West Jefferson town, which is just fifteen minutes away. There are also plenty of spots to start a bonfire and make some s'mores!

GROUP CHECK-INS: Every week, students will come together with the inhabitants of the farm as a group to meet and discuss the past week. What were some difficulties we faces? What went well? How can we work better together as a team? These check-ins will be essential to get to know each other better, gain a better understanding of the farm, and share our thoughts and feelings with our community.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES: The surrounding area is one of the most impoverished in the country, with about 20% of inhabitants living below the poverty line. Students can conduct independent volunteer projects at local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and safehouses for the residents of Ashe County, NC.