Category: Blog

Continuing to focus on our Board of Directors, the following is Jodi Clark’s story.  We will be posting one story every week for the next few weeks!  If you can’t wait and want to read all of our Director’s stories, head over to “The People” page.

I had the distinct privilege of meeting wolves when Adam brought them to Vermont via Mission Wolf. I sat as part of a small select circle who were invited to to be greeters for this group of ambassador wolves. Nothing could truly prepare me for the beauty of their wildness, their playfulness, curiosity and strength. I felt transformed. In a moment, as they first greeted me with their sniffs, licks, and held gazes, I had a glimmer of understanding how we are in fact kindred. Something wild in me stirred, was called and answered, even briefly. I want to continue walking this Earth with our wolf kindred playing their critical role in our ecosystem and as part of our natural family.”

Jodi, a recent graduate of the Marlboro College Graduate & Professional Studies masters program in Management for Mission Driven Organizations, has over 15 years of nonprofit management and program directing experience. Her passion is for working with community-based collaborative initiatives. Currently she serves with the United Way of Windham County on the Education Impact team and on the Champions Advisory Committee for Healthy Monadnock 2020 based in Keene, NH. Jodi also holds an MA in Theater Education and directed the ActingOut youth improvisation program in Keene, NH. She is currently the Project Manager for the Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies based in Brattleboro. She is also an apprentice nature-based leadership guide for the Center for Nature and Leadership.

Come visit Wolfgard Northeast at our first table* this coming Sunday, May 3rd!

Herricks Cove looks to be an excellent event with programs from 10AM to 4PM.  You can download a schedule here and see the diversity of activities, workshops, crafts, and vendors throughout the day.  It’s incredibly affordable to come — suggested donation of $2 per individual or $5 for a family.  Directions are on the website above.

Come visit the Wolfgard Northeast table to visit some of our Board of Directors, and find out about our mission!  We’ll be there all day to talk about Wolfgard, it’s vision and trajectory, and share our own stories.  We’d love to see you there!

*In all honesty, it’s not our very first table, but it’s the first since incorporating earlier this year.  The first time Wolfgard made an appearance was at the Hogback Wildlife Festival (hosted by the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum — check them out!).  We’ll likely be there again this year!

Our Board of Directors brings diverse expertise to Wolfgard Northeast.  The following is Donovan Arthen’s story, and there will be more to come in the following weeks.  If you can’t wait and want to read them all now, head on over to our stories at “The People” page.

Wolves are a part of me. I was raised in a community that thrives on its closeness to the Earth and a belief that our lives are intrinsically intertwined with the rest of the natural world. Because of this life I see many things about the world in a slightly different light than most people. Wolves are teachers of what pinnacle community can look like. Their strength, stability, and joy come from togetherness. They demonstrate what it is to be interdependent and completely devoted to collaboration and trust. They challenge each other, and keep each other in check, but are fiercely protective of those that are dear to them. They take no more than they need to survive, and even as peak predators are embedded there is an inherent respect for the cycles for which they are a part. These are qualities that I strive to embody in my life.”

Donovan is a graduate of Wesleyan University and current MA student at Marlboro Graduate and Professional School in their MSM of Mission-Driven Organizations. He has spent his life involved in the nonprofit world as a volunteer, program director, and Board Member for several organizations such as The EarthSpirit Community, Ritual Arts Collective, Pioneer Valley performing Arts Charter Public School, Friends of PVPA, Janus Arts Project, Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School, and for the last three years as the executive director of PeaceJam New England.

It’s easy to say the wolf has been vilified in literature and myth, and to some degree, it is true.  We can point to the Big Bad Wolf or King Lycaon or Fenrir; countless tales of vicious wolves stalking humans throughout the pages of history.  But not every story paints this dire image of the wolf  – and in many cases, it’s not nearly as simple as “good” or “evil.”

I love to read Aesop’s Fables because there are an abundance of wolves who roam it’s stories.* For the most part, Canis lupus’ reputation doesn’t fare well in the fables.  Let’s not forget the ungrateful wolf who dupes a crane into helping him out with no reward (The Wolf and the Crane) or the sheep that gets wise to an injured wolf’s schemes (The Wolf and the Sheep).

But it’s not all black and white.  One story in particular illustrates this: The Wolf and the Boy.  A playful wolf comes across a boy who is hiding.  “Aha, I’ve found you…” the wolf says, “…but if you can say three things to me, the truth of which cannot be disputed, I will spare your life.”  The boy thinks, and responds, “First, it is a pity you saw me; secondly, I was a fool to let myself be seen; and thirdly, we all hate wolves because they are always making unprovoked attacks upon our flocks.”  The wolf replies, “Well, what you say is true enough from your point of view; so you may go.”

At first, I didn’t think much of the story.  But I found myself coming back to it and reading it again and again.  The wolf can’t be called dishonest; he sticks to his word.  And, it puts truth in a different perspective, unlike many of the other fables.  The wolf’s reply asks, “Is a human truth a wolf truth”?

Perhaps this fable shows us the wisdom of the wolf.  He thinks beyond himself – accepting the boy’s biased truths.  It’s obvious the wolf doesn’t agree that his kind is “always making unprovoked attacks” on the humans’ flocks of sheep, yet he lets the boy go.  Can we really call the wolf an antagonist in this story?

This fable doesn’t portray wolves in a positive light; but it’s not black and white.

It’s time to take a closer look at the wolf stories and myths that populate human history.  It is another path towards understanding and coexisting with wolves.  We can’t simply denounce stories that portray the wolf as vicious and devious – we have to tell them, explore them, and sometimes, reinterpret them.  Storytelling is not a static art.  Stories change.

*If you don’t have a copy and would like to read the fables, they are all available at Project Gutenburg.

Like so many good things that come to be, Wolfgard’s name came as a suggestion from a friend.

But what does it mean?

The intended meaning comes from Old Saxon. “Gard” literally means “an enclosed space.”  Our vision is to become a wolf refuge, and for this, the name is particularly apt (perhaps even too literal).  But gard also means “dwelling,” and evokes thoughts of hospitality and family. Further still, gard can mean “region” or “land” which sets a more hopeful tone –  we envision Wolfgard as a regional precursor for the wild wolf in the gard of the Northeast. A dream, to be sure.

Why an Old Saxon name?  The regions where Germanic languages were spoken (Old Saxon as well as Old Norse, Icelandic, etc.) evoke stories of the wolf. Let’s not forget Geri and Freki, the wolves who sit by the god Odin’s side in Asgard, or of the heroes Sigmund and Sinfjötli who don wolf skins in the Volsunga saga. Yet still, these cultures also bring us the controversial Fenrir, who devours Odin at Ragnarok, and his sons Skoll and Hati who devour the sun and the moon.

We love names that tell a story or evoke an image.  Wolfgard does this, and it’s an appropriate beginning for a project that blends storytelling and mythology into the greater vision of advocating for the wolf in our modern time.

Image: Odin, Manual of Mythology 1874

Greetings, and welcome to the new online home of Wolfgard Northeast!

If you’re not familiar with Wolfgard, please check out the “About” section, which has information about our mission and vision, as well as the origins of our awesome name.  Also, please take a look at the “Development” page, which tells about the steps we’ll be taking to fully bring Wolfgard into the world.  It’s a long and complex process to develop a non-profit, and we’re happy to share our journey with you as we grow.

Please pardon any glitches as we work out the bugs and bring the site to full functionality over the upcoming weeks.  We intend to improve this site as Wolfgard develops – so keep an eye out for changes.

In the meantime, it’s easy to get in touch via the “Contact” page.  If you’re interested in supporting Wolfgard in any fashion, please send us a note.

Thanks for reading, and join us in howlin’ in the new year!   Awwwwwwoooooooooo!