Forge the Future:
Wilderness Leadership Program for Boys Ages 12–16

October 2025 – June 2026 | Monthly Sessions + 5-Day Campout
Location: Port Townsend area and surrounding wilderness



Unplug. Step outside. Discover the strength within.

 
 

Starting in October 2025, boys will meet one Sunday of each month for a transformative, hands-on experience in the wilderness. This program is designed to assist boys on the threshold of a great transition into young men.  We will foster self-reliance, wilderness survival skills, interdependence and leadership. With sessions based in the Port Townsend area and nearby locations (within an hour's drive), participants will engage in outdoor challenges that promote growth and self-discovery.

 
 

Guided by experienced mentors and rooted in community partnerships, the program helps young men develop confidence, resilience, and purpose. Each monthly session will be filled with valuable mentorship and practical outdoor skills, all leading up to the culminating 5-day campout in June 2026.  After this pivotal experience, we will work with parents/caretakers to re-incorporate into their community with their discovered talents and vision.

 
 

Program Details

 
 

Monthly Session Dates:

  • October 5th, 2025–mandatory 2 hr meeting with parents/caregivers

  • October 19, 2025

  • November 23, 2025

  • December 21, 2025

  • January 18, 2026

  • February 22, 2026

  • March 22, 2026

  • April 26, 2026

  • May 24, 2026

Culminating 5-Day Campout and Follow-Up

  • June 26–30, 2026(Location: Olympic Mountains)

  • One follow up weekend campout fall 2026

Location:
Port Townsend area and surrounding wilderness

Instructors:
Ryen Helzer
Scott Brinton
Ramzy Berbawy
Matt Mahan

Tuition:
$2945+$300 material fee (to register, click here)
CedarRoot is committed to making our programs accessible to all students by offering tuition on a sliding scale.

 
 

Meet the Instructors

 

Ryen Helzer

Ryen is a nature-based rites of passage guide rooted in the practices of council, deep listening, and earth-centered initiation. He facilitated horticultural therapy for adolescents aged 12–18 on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. There, he witnessed firsthand how tending both land and soul could open profound avenues for growth. Through mirroring and intentional counsel, he learned how to help others deepen their experience of themselves and the world around them.

Ryen is trained in The Way of Council through the Ojai Foundation and the Rites of Passage framework taught by Meredith Little and Steven Foster, founders of the School of Lost Borders. His work draws from these lineages to support meaningful life transitions with authenticity, humility, and reverence for the Earth.

While completing his degree in Environmental Studies in Hawai‘i, Ryen worked the summers in Washington to lead multi-week wilderness expeditions in the Olympic National Park backcountry. These 2–3 week immersions supported youth aged 12–15 in navigating the threshold between childhood and adolescence.

Ryen now resides in Chimacum and serves as the Forest Manager for Chimacum Ridge Community Forest. His vision is to help restore a reciprocal relationship between humans and the more-than-human world.

 

Scott Brinton

Scott has over two decades of nature education experience. He has mentored hundreds of students in practical wilderness skills and nature awareness. He co-founded the Riekes Nature Studies Department in California (launching a gap year expedition based program for teenagers), obtained a Masters in Natural History and Education, has taught Environmental Science for Peninsula College, mentored Islandwood’s graduate students in the Natural History and Ecology program, and became an instructor for the Wilderness Awareness School. From 2005-2010 he worked seasonally on a citizen science project collaborating with the Nez Perce tribe in Idaho using track and sign to monitor wolf populations. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder medic and has led dozens of backcountry expeditions with teenagers.

Scott believes the best way to honor our life is to learn as much about the natural world where we reside. He founded CedarRoot to facilitate deep and meaningful relationships with the amazing world that sustains life.

 

Ramzy Berbawy

Ramzy’s naturalist journey began stargazing on a football field, sparking a deep passion for the outdoors. He’s since worked on small farms across the Olympic Peninsula and Methow Valley, where he deepened his connection to the land. Ramzy has completed the Wildlife Tracking Intensive with the Wilderness Awareness School and is currently continuing his studies through CedarRoot’s Wildlife Tracking Immersion.  Ramzy is now in his fourth year as a youth nature studies instructor with CedarRoot and is also involved in adult programming. This year, he will co-lead CedarRoot’s new multi-month Wilderness Skills Immersion, sharing his extensive knowledge and mastery with those eager to dive deeper into learning these ancient and essential practices.

Ramzy’s hands-on approach and passion for nature inspire his students, equipping them with practical skills and a lasting connection to the wild world around them.

 

Matt Mahan

Matt currently works for the Olympic Cougar project (the largest mountain lion study in the world), instructs CedarRoots tracking immersion program, and instructs CedarRoots yearly expeditions with tribal teenagers.  His past lives gave him the title of commercial fisherman and structural integration body worker.  Matt is passionate about helping young adults find passions that match their inherent gifts.  He currently stewards a self reliant homestead with his wife and two young boys in Chimacum.