Great Mountain Forest (GMF) will host writers at its historic 6,200-acre woodland for a retreat centered on craft, reflection, and connection to nature.
The event features six nationally recognized authors. Interest is high, and spots are filling quickly. Registration is intentionally limited to encourage strong engagement between participants and instructors. Interest is high and slots are filling quickly.
Held at Yale Camp in Falls Village, Connecticut, the First Annual Nature Writing Retreat is open to writers of all experience levels. Activities will include campfire conversations, guided nature walks, and workshop panels discussing ecological literacy, journaling techniques, and the evocative and ephemeral in nature writing. Attendees may also submit work created during the retreat for a post-event online anthology.
Inspired by the legacy of Hal Borland, the American author, outdoorsman, and longtime New York Times nature columnist, the retreat is designed to help writers sharpen their perception, strengthen their voice, and write with greater clarity, authority, and imagination. Borland believed that writing about nature is a way of learning how to live more fully within it.
According to GMF Executive Director Michael Zafros, the retreat reflects a broader vision for the role forests can play in public life: “There are few uses of a forest more sustainable than serving as inspiration. This new program demonstrates how Great Mountain Forest can be an antidote to the challenges facing our world. The retreat brings people together, builds community in the forest, gets participants outside and off their screens, and uses nature sustainably to heal and inspire minds and souls.”
Curated by Tom Shachtman and supported in part by H. Bruce McEver, Roshy and Dalton Dwyer, and Housatonic Heritage, the Nature Writing Retreat is the first of what GMF hopes will become a signature annual program celebrating the connection between people, forests, and the written word.
Event Details
Dates: August 7–9, 2026
Location: Yale Camp, 177 Canaan Mountain Road, Falls Village, CT
Registration Fees: $435 (General), $335 (Students)
Optional Lodging: $70 (two nights)
Registration Deadline: July 24, 2026
For full details or to register, visit For full details or to register, visit greatmountainforest.org/writing-retreat-2026
About Great Mountain Forest
Great Mountain Forest is a nonprofit leader in sustainable forest stewardship, encompassing more than 6,000 acres in Norfolk and Falls Village, Connecticut. Through education, research, and hands-on management, GMF demonstrates how forests can support biodiversity, strengthen communities, and provide lasting environmental and human benefits.
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