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How do I make reservations?
What is your Cancellation Policy?
Do women usually come on trips alone? How do we form our own
group?
What about the Self-Assessed Sliding Scale and Fees?
Am I in good enough shape to do this?
What does the retreat fee include?
Do you offer scholarships?
How do I make reservations?To reserve your space, send a non-refundable deposit of $100
along with your current contact information, including email address. The
balance due 45 days prior to trip start date. Non-refundable deposits of
$200 is required by mid-March for the Green River trip in April. Upon receipt of your
deposit, a confirmation packet will be mailed to you with detailed trip
information and a complete packing list. Your complete application must include a
medical form, trip survey, and signed waiver.
To speed and simplify the
registration process, please download and fill out the following forms:
Canoe trips:
medical form and
survey
Weekend retreats:
weekend
medical form and weekend
survey.
and mail them with your deposit. If you are unable to download these forms, we
will mail them to you upon receipt of your deposit. Early reservations are
recommended. Group size is small. However, you may check last minute for
space due to guest cancellation.
Note: All
information that you include in your medical and personal information forms
is private and never shared outside of Nurture Through Nature, to the full
extent of the law. Information requested is to provide us with a base of
knowledge to help guide you to the most appropriate program for your needs,
and to keep you safe and healthy within all of our programs.
Those returning to NTN will have first trip availability options
and receive a 5% discount. New
applicants will be admitted to retreats on a first come, first served,
based upon date of receipt of nonrefundable $100 deposit. To
make your reservation, send check or money order to:
Nurture Through Nature
Attention: Jen Deraspe
77 Warren Rd
Denmark, Maine 04022
For your convenience, you also may pay on line through a secure
electronic payment with
www.PayPal.com
with electronic check or credit card payments. However, if you able, consider making
a
direct payment to NTN via regular mail.
Do women usually come on trips alone? How do we form our own group?
Most women join trips listed on the calendar page, coming without knowing
anyone else -- some bring a friend or family member along. Others
design their own personalized retreat with their own circle of
friends, family or co-workers. To do this, the group of 4-12 may book one of the listed trips or select another date other than those
listed on the calendar page that works for staff. Whatever path led you to NTN, we
are confident you will depart as a close community of friends
connecting in a soulful, lasting way. Keep us in mind for
celebrations, reunions, family events, rites of passage, co-ed trips and more.
Am I good enough
shape to do this?
In case you are worried about the level of fitness needed or how intense the
paddling, hiking, or snow shoeing may be, we want to stress that our goal is to
get people out in nature, not to "conquer" it, but to connect with it's
gentle rhythm and pace. We want to expose people to the beauty and stillness
found in the quiet, less traveled places. We have attempted to rate the
level of activity we will be experiencing on each retreat that is necessary to
get to and from each destination. Do not hesitate to inquire in advance if this
general scale below still brings question or concern. Our pace will ALWAYS allow
ample time and consideration for each group member and provide the space
necessary to recognize all the beauty around us. All sizes, shapes, and ages of
women are welcome to NTN. Most trips do, however, require a basic level of
health and stability by the nature of transporting ourselves, gear and food by
boat or foot, and setting up and breaking down our camp sites. Team work comes
in handy here. Age is not a limiting factor and our eldest to date has
been 76, with most women in their 60's, 50's, 40's and some in their
30's and a few in their 20's. Each trip has shown an age range of guests
typically from 30 something to 50 something, giving a broad perspective on life
experiences and the passage of time. Regardless of age or experience, each woman
seems to become the other's teacher, which is a beautiful thing to witness.
FITNESS SCALE:
1=Short distance traveled, gentle terrain and overall climate, often staying in the same camp
site, an island when possible, for more than one night consecutively (or for
the entire trip) to
lessen the packing and handling of "stuff". Explore
landscape on appropriately-paced day trips. Includes team approach to loading and unloading
boats and setting up camp.
2=More distance to travel, although, appropriately paced,
sometimes spending
time in multiple campsites over course of retreat to reach final destination,
involves more wilderness
exploration. Includes team approach to
loading and unloading boats, & setting up camp.
3=Moderate fitness needed, regularly exercise program at home
recommended before coming, typically for backpacking trips only or a river trip
where we spend one night at each site. Neither of these retreats do we currently
offer.
About the Self-Assessed
Sliding Scale and Fees:
Compared to other guiding companies, our rates are extremely competitive
for what you get. Typical guided trips involve the adventure
alone with the guide(s) cooking for you, with no programming or specialty
services. On NTN retreats we offer so much more. Very few people in
the field are offering a holistic experience in nature, gently crafted
by and for women. Each day builds upon the last and every planned
experience is a part of the whole picture designed to nudge you along your
own path towards a peaceful mind and heart, carefully orchestrated with a
higher purpose always in mind.
We want these trips to be accessible, regardless of your financial
place in the world. In the same breath, we are trying to run a business, be
fair to ourselves, recognize our inherent worth, and also keep our equipment
new and top quality for your comfort and safety, and deal with the rising
cost of fuel, insurances, licenses, professional development, marketing expenses,
printing, publishing, postage fees, camping, land use permit fees and
shuttle services that we
face in the field.
AND.......about the meals, we go all out here,
and that is an added expense. We offer only organic food whenever possible.
We prepare gourmet meals over an open fire to warm and please your belly and
your senses, ranging anywhere from Thai, Indian, and Mexican, to a variety
of traditional meals. We support local organic farmers and local natural
food stores as well as offer specialty Equal Exchange coffees and
organic teas,
local cheeses, and other unique Made in Maine foods that all cost us
quite a bit more than commercially, generically, genetically altered foods
that you will find in most ost other places, unless you go organic. Because of
so many requests for our recipes, we offer a cookbook that is in encouraging
demand, a statement of support for what we are sharing around the table.
Back to the sliding scale... It is up
to you to decide what you can afford and what you think the value of the
retreat is worth. It will be impossible for you to know how you will feel
and see the world after joining us, but based upon most of the guests that
have experienced a retreat with NTN, results have been life-changing and
enriching and well worth their expense. For many, if is the first time they
have spent any money on themselves, much less taken a time-out from their
busy lives just to rest, regroup and have fun with other women.
If you are in financial need,
please call ahead and we can talk about possibilities and how to make a trip
feasible for you. When possible, we offer a discounted rate to those in
need. That will depend upon the number of participants per trip and the
amount that others choose to pay based upon the sliding scale. Work
exchanges are also available. There is always plenty of work to do on the
land and at the retreat center on Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, Maine. We
need many hands to get all the work done. All that is needed is a
willingness to work and a general fitness level. Request an application for
Fair Work Exchange and we will follow up with you once it is received.
What does the retreat fee
include?
Base
(commuter) fee: $195
Included in base fee:
Programming, use of facilities, access to
private hiking trails, 2 lunches, Saturday dinner, snacks & refreshments
throughout weekend.
Full package getaway options:
Option 1: Two nights camping & all meals (shared tent for 2 & camp
site): $230-$330. Take off $10 if you have your own 2 person tent.
Option 2: Shared bunk house and all meals:
$246-$346
If you want more privacy and amenities with your overnight
accommodations, consider Option 3 or 4:
Option 3: Noble House B&B stay in Bridgton and all meals: $195-$295.
Noble house located 11 miles from NTN. Breakfast provided by Noble House.
Mention NTN when registering with them and take 10% off inn rate.
www.noblehousebb.com
Option
4: Red Shed Cottage, in Denmark and all meals: located 7 miles from NTN. $45pp per night for up to 4
people. Breakfast in rental cottage on your own or join us for an additional
$5 per breakfast.
http://www.geocities.com/picketthillfarm/
Round trip airport shuttle available by request from the nearest 2
airports: Portland Jetport ($30) or Conway, NH bus ($20) via
Manchester, NH airport. For more details about easy ground and air access to
NTN, go to
http://www.ntnretreats.com/location.html.
Inquire about our Fair Work Exchange program for retreat fee reductions.
We also offer mid-week custom group discount packages.
On occasion, there are additional materials/lab fees where noted on schedule. (ie:
paddle making, snow shoe lacing, pack basket making).
Customer Payment Terms/Cancellation Policy:
To reserve your space, send a $100 non-refundable check or money order deposit
along with your current contact information, including email address.
Balance due 45 days prior to trip start date. Upon receipt of your deposit,
you will receive a confirmation packet to assist you in your planning.
Cancellations greater than 30 days prior to trip start date are refundable
minus the paid deposit. If you cancel your reservation between 14 to 30 days
of trip start date, you will receive a full credit for any retreat within 1
year of that retreat date. If you cancel within 14 days of trip start date, nocredit or refund will be given. Nurture Through Nature reserves the right to
cancel or postpone retreats due to low enrollment or other unforeseen
circumstances. For all retreats cancelled by NTN, any payments received will
be credited or refunded to you, whichever you prefer. We recommend that you
obtain travel insurance. All trips are confirmed 30 days prior and we
recommend making flight arrangements only after your trip has been confirmed.
Inquire about our Fair Work Exchange Program for a trip fee reduction.
Do you offer scholarships?
Nurture Through Nature is a small business with limited
financial resources trying to support the needs of many, but we want those
who truly want to participate to have the opportunity to come.
Therefore, we have developed a Fair Work Exchange program. Please
contact us for the application. All returning participants may take 5% off
the retreat fee they would like.
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