Creatures Of
The Field
Step back, think clearly, and connect with yourself and the people around you.
Most programs keep people busy. This one slows them down. We walk, cook, sit quietly, and talk around a fire about things that matter: what we notice, what we're grateful for, what kind of work and life we want. Small group. Real conversations. A facilitator who makes sure it goes somewhere.
The Program
01
Prepare
Three monthly virtual sessions, plus a half-day warm-up hike. We get to know each other, practice the fire circle, and prepare for the trip. Everyone gets a Creatures Of Field Journal to use along the way.
02
Adventure
A small group heads into the Catskills. We set up camp, sit quietly, hike to a summit or explore near camp, teach each other skills, and gather around the fire each night with a reading and a question worth sitting with.
03
Reflect
The trip ends, but the reflection doesn't. A few weeks later, the circle meets one more time to look back: what stuck, what faded, and what you want to carry into the rest of your life.
“Creating a space that allows someone to feel safe enough to talk.”
THE DETAILS
THE EXCURSION
Creatures Of the Field is a small-group program built around one idea: some conversations only happen around a fire. It gives people time to step back, think clearly, and connect with themselves and with each other.
How it works
Prepare. Three virtual circle sessions get the group comfortable with each other and with the practice. We cover what to pack, what to expect, and how a fire circle works. A scheduled half-day test hike together before the trip.
Go. Two nights camping in the Catskills. Mornings are slow. Afternoons are for hiking, exploring, or staying somewhere quiet. Everyone has a job on the crew and teaches something at the skill-share. Each evening, we read something short, everyone picks a line that stays with them, and we talk. The three themes are Attention, Land and Gift, and Work and the Future.
Come back. A few weeks after the trip, the circle meets once more to look at what changed, what didn't, and what each person wants to carry forward.
ADULT CIRCLE
For adults in a transition, a busy season, or a stretch of life moving too fast to think about. It follows the same arc as the teen circle, with more time alone and longer conversations.
If you already spend weekends up here, it's a way to know the place, and the people, differently. You leave with a clearer head, a few new friends nearby, and a practice you can keep.
Adults of All Ages
TEEN CIRCLE
For teens who'd get more out of a fire circle than another after-school activity. Clear structure, predictable rhythms, and real roles make it a good fit for neurodivergent learners, first-time campers, and kids who don't love big groups.
Teens camp alongside mentors a few steps ahead of them, including recent grads. They come home a little more confident in their own voice, and parents stay in the loop the whole way.
Grades 9 - 12
OUT THERE
EVENINGS ARE FOR THE FIRE
Mornings are slow. Afternoons are for hiking, exploring, or just being somewhere quiet. Then the sun goes down and the circle forms.
NIGHT ONE
ATTENTION
What kind of work, and what kind of life, we actually want.
NIGHT TWO
LAND & GIFT
What we've been given, what we're grateful for, and what we give back.
LAST MORNING
THE FUTURE
What we notice when we finally slow down enough to look.
EVERYONE HAS A JOB
Everyone has a role on the crew, and everyone teaches something at the skill-share.
A small-group reflection program in the Catskills. Participants meet online a few times to get ready, head out for two nights of camping, and come back together afterward to talk about what stuck. Days are for hiking, quiet, and shared work. Evenings are for the fire, with a short reading and a real conversation. Offered as a Teen Circle and an Adult Circle, capped at 10 people each.
Samir Abukhodair
Program Director and Founder
Creatures Of
Samir Abukhodair is an educator, builder, and the founder of Creatures Of. With a background in engineering, design, and education, he brings a systems-minded approach to teaching that connects structure with creativity and learning with purpose.
Samir has worked across classrooms, startups, and community programs, helping students discover confidence through curiosity and connection. Leading excursions over the years, he has learned that some of the most meaningful learning happens outside, in small groups, around a fire.
Through Creatures Of, he is building a space where people slow down, think deeply, and connect with themselves and each other.
