“An inner-transformation happens when one steps out of the mundane and embraces Nature.” ― Pacific Domes
Located on 60-acres at the Triangle Lake Conference Center, 45-minutes northwest of Eugene, Oregon, the Circle of Children community has hosted workshops, conferences and events in a 20-foot festival dome with forward-thinking people who are committed to changing the world. An Oregon-based nonprofit organization, Circle of Children is listed with Great Non-profits, a leading platform for community-based stories submitted by people who have been impacted by their mission and purpose.
Mission and Purpose
Circle of Children’s mission is to create enriching environments which empower youth through Nature connection, self-discovery, community building, and collaborative service-learning projects that promote a healthy and thriving planet. Their purpose is to restore balance between the natural and human ecosystems by providing the next generation with opportunities to learn and grow in environments that foster deep connection, respect and reverence for ourselves, our community and the earth.
They offer all of their programs and services as a free resource, in alignment with their values of building community ties through a culture of gift-giving. Some of their projects have included a permaculture garden, natural building methods, wildlife walks, herbal identification and wild-crafting workshops. Additionally, the community provides education for kids and families about holistic health, organic living, and how to become good Earth Stewards.
The community offers many activities for guests to get involved, and volunteers are always welcome. They have elegant lodgings for guests and serve organic, vegan food from a large commercial kitchen.
Outdoor School
Another project which has far-reaching potential is the pilot program for the Outdoor School Movement for the State of Oregon. Offering an opportunity to show what outdoor school can look like, Circle of Children provides a model of top-notch class education and environmental consciousness for our youth – while helping them understand the value of our natural resources. A generation actively involved in bringing more peace into the world and balance to the environment is exactly what we all need, and the Outdoor School is an ideal way to enroll the next generation at an early age.
Portable Geodesic Dome Shelters are currently being used as outdoor classrooms in locations around the world. Providing a comfortable outdoor setting while maintaining an intimate connection with Nature, the dome learning environment affords students practical hands-on experience in understanding the sentient life of plants; thereby, deepening their appreciation and inter-connectedness with the natural world and creating an amazing Outdoor Playhouse for Kids.
Circle of Children Festival Dome Tour
Pacific Domes donated a 20-foot Festival Dome to Circle of Children to support their active role in youth empowerment and conscious stewardship of the earth. Circle of Children took their Festival Dome on tour with them to serve as the hub of the Children’s Village at events such as the North American Permaculture Convergence, The One Love Experience, The Beloved Festival, and Symbiosis.
The Geodesic Event Tent was filled with workshops and activities including a central rope swing, crystal yoga, and youth empowerment circles. The beautiful sacred geometric structure attracted many festival goers into the Children’s Village and created community around supporting children, families, and caring for the earth.
Interactive and educational experiences were available for children all around the Festival Dome Tent which served as the central point of the Activity Center. The Kid’s Village was the perfect example of a community focused on children’s empowerment – with opportunities for kids to make smoothies, paint on an intergenerational community art mural, make wildflower seedballs, and spin the Play it Forward Wheel, learning and service became a fun and engaging experience for children of all ages.
Making Smoothies
Kids helped make organic smoothies for each other and themselves while learning about healthy eating choices they can make every day, all while being nourished and rejuvenated after a long day in the sun! Coming together to make super-powered smoothies, the kids played with their food, and put a lot of love into their creative, and delicious art projects.
Community art mural
At this collective art mural, children and adults were invited to paint on a large canvas with all the colors of the rainbow. Paint, paint brushes, and a design were provided, offering a wonderful opportunity for children to express themselves creatively!
Creating wildflower seed balls
Creating wildflower seed balls with Circle of Children is a fun, interactive, and educational experience for children of all ages! Children will be invited to come together in a circle and get their hands in the earth as they roll up marble-sized seed balls made of wildflower seeds, compost, clay and water. This activity encourages children to be good stewards of the earth and instills in the hearts and minds of many that we are empowered to change the world through creative and collective action. Just think, together we could reestablish a healthy population of honeybees throughout the west coast, by engaging thousands of children in a movement to plant native wildflowers!
Play it Forward
Play it Forward is an interactive game that generates simple acts of kindness. Players spin the wheel and receive a token with a simple act of kindness that can be done for oneself, the environment, or for another. Once a player has successfully performed their act, they pass their token onward and invite the next person to “play it forward!” Just imagine, one spin of the wheel could ripple out to create thousands of acts of kindness! This game is sure to ignite the playful spirit of the child, while connecting hearts and engaging community.
The Youth empowerment workshop invited young people to explore their inherent gifts and how they can develop them to become active leaders for positive change within themselves, their community, and the world at large. It provided an opportunity for youth to come together with open hearts in circle, while encouraging deep listening, heartfelt communication, and sharing of our inner wisdom.
Teamwork
Circle of Children teamed up with Natural Leaders Foundation to provide world-class opportunities for children and families to learn, grow, play, and build community together. Founded by Jon Nash and Sabrina Vedette, Natural Leaders works to mentor children and their communities to love, trust, respect and connect with themselves, their peers and the earth through a unique Edu-Cultural Unity Program that includes the following: teamwork and leadership training, sustainability and permaculture education, health, wellness and fitness coaching and rites of passage as a sacred sillymony.
Clearly, with these two dynamic, youth-focused organizations coming together under one geodesic dome, the Children’s Villages was well equipped to offer incredible growth and empowerment opportunities for the children and families within the community!
GEM Network
After their fall tour, Circle of Children packed up their Festival Dome and returned home to the Triangle Lake Center, and began to focus on their other projects, such as The Global Empowerment Mandala (GEM). GEM is a movement designed to meet youth right where they are and inspire them to take action in the world. The GEM Network is a free web-based social media and crowdfunding platform that empowers young people (ages 12-24) by providing them with the tools, guidance and resources needed to take their innovative solutions for global change and manifest them in reality. This action-based global network brings together youth, schools, organizations and green businesses to support each other in creating a sustainable and thriving planet, one youth-led project at a time!
Working Locally, Effecting Change Globally
Building community around this process, through getting children engaged and involved by providing interactive, experiential education, Circle of Children is inspiring young people to think about the world, identify some of the challenges we’re facing, and look at what we can do as individuals, groups, and as a collective consciousness to make global shifts. With a foundation in this awareness, they explore tools and actionable steps they can take to more fully actualize those ideas.
Circle of Children recognizes we are all children and invites us to come together to nurture the spirit of the child which lives inside each one of us. To awaken to that creativity and playfulness, and to remember the dream which lives in each of our hearts and helps it come to life.
Pacific Domes is grateful to have been an ally of Circle of Children in supporting their clear focus on consciously caring for the earth and nurturing the future generations of humankind. Everyone contributes to creating this beautiful story whether in the setting of an Outdoor Classroom, at a Triangle Lake Center event or at a weekend festival.
Pacific Domes of Oregon builds the world’s best geodesic structures for use as Festival Domes, Dome Shelters, and Outdoor Classrooms. Our Eco Domes and Playground Structures are well-loved by children and families around. To learn more about us, visit with one of our Customer Support Representatives, today!