Art, Nature & Wellness Immersion
A Three-Week Invitation to Slow Down, Create, and Belong
March 9–27, 2026 | Midpines Park & Community Hall
There are moments in life when what we need most is not another screen, another solution, or another rush toward answers, but time. Time to slow down. Time to be outdoors. Time to create with our hands, listen inward, and remember what it feels like to belong to ourselves, to one another, and to the places that hold us.
The Art, Nature & Wellness Immersion, taking place March 9–27, 2026, is an invitation into exactly that kind of time.
Hosted by Balanced Rock at Midpines Park and Community Hall, this FREE three-week, in-person cohort experience is designed especially for young adults ages 18–25 and open to all. Rooted in the Sierra foothills, the Immersion weaves together art-making, nature connection, and practical wellness tools to support personal growth during any season of life that feels full of questions, transitions, and possibility.
What Is the Immersion?
At its heart, the Art, Nature & Wellness Immersion is about learning through experience.
Over three weeks, participants move through a carefully held arc of themes: belonging, wellness, creative expression, environmental stewardship, and purpose. Days are shaped by rhythm rather than rush, and by presence rather than performance. The cohort learns together in a small group, supported by artists, cultural educators, and wellness practitioners who bring both skill and care to the space.
This is not a retreat you disappear into, nor a class you passively attend. It is a lived experience, grounded in relationship, reflection, and creativity.
What Does a Typical Day Look Like?
While each day has its own texture, most follow a gentle and intentional flow.
Mornings begin with a full hour of guided movement, breath, and mindfulness to help participants arrive fully and settle into their bodies. This shared time supports nervous system regulation, builds consistency and trust, and creates a grounded foundation for the rest of the day.
From there, days open into creative and reflective work: nature journaling, writing, collaborative artmaking, facilitated dialogue, and site-based exploration that invites deeper relationship with the land and with one another.
Afternoons often include conversation, skill-building, and time to integrate what is emerging through discussion, quiet reflection, or hands-on practice. There is space for rest, laughter, and connection, alongside moments of depth and inquiry.
Rather than packing the schedule full, the Immersion is designed to leave room for insight, creativity, and the unexpected.
Special Focus Days
Interwoven throughout the Immersion are Special Focus Days, led by trusted collaborators whose work bridges wellness, creativity, and community care. These days offer participants the opportunity to go deeper into specific themes through focused exploration, dialogue, and hands-on practice.
Stress, Mental Health, and the Nervous System
A one-day exploration of how the body holds and releases stress, and how to respond in ways that build long-term resilience rather than burnout. Participants learn practical tools for regulation, awareness, and care that can be applied in everyday life.
Facilitated by Jenni Buczko
Grief, Loss, and Change
A gentle, creative day dedicated to acknowledging grief in its many forms, including loss, transition, and uncertainty. Through reflection and expressive process, participants are supported in cultivating compassion for themselves and others during times of change.
Facilitated by June McCrory
Nature Journaling and Attention
A full day of hands-on observation, drawing, and writing outdoors. Participants experience how close attention to the natural world can sharpen perception, deepen presence, and open new ways of thinking and seeing.
Facilitated by Theresa Ho
Creative Entrepreneurship and Design Tools
Three one-day sessions exploring branding, graphic design, small business foundations, and the realities of building sustainable creative livelihoods. These days offer practical tools alongside candid conversation about translating creative skills into viable work.
Facilitated by Anna Friedland
Community, Responsibility, and Resilience
A two-day experience using a council-based framework to explore belonging, identity, and what it means to show up responsibly in community. Through facilitated dialogue and shared inquiry, participants reflect on their roles within groups and the wider world.
Facilitated by Clay Muwin River
Living Philosophy and Creative Writing
Guided reflection on ethics, values, and how they translate into everyday choices. This offering includes powerful writing prompts and a group field experience in Yosemite, inviting participants to explore how thought, action, and creativity intersect.
Facilitated by Heather Sullivan
Why This Program, and Why Now?
Many people today are navigating a profound sense of uncertainty about work, belonging, mental health, and the future of the world itself. In rural communities especially, opportunities for meaningful connection and creative exploration can be limited.
The Art, Nature & Wellness Immersion responds to this moment by offering a supportive, substance-free, place-based environment where participants can explore who they are becoming, develop tools for resilience and self-regulation, and imagine next steps rooted in values rather than pressure.
Optional professional development pathways, including Yoga Teacher Training, are available for those who wish to explore future directions in wellness, education, or community-based work. Just as importantly, participants leave with something harder to quantify and deeply needed: a sense of belonging, confidence in their inner voice, and lived experience of being part of a caring community.
An Invitation
Space in the Immersion cohort is intentionally limited, allowing for depth, trust, and shared experience. Applications for March 2026 are currently open, and we encourage those who feel curious, even quietly so, to learn more. If you or a young adult in your life are longing for time to slow down, create, and reconnect, we invite you to join us.
“I learned so much! I found connecting movement and intention into an art practice to be particularly inspiring.”
Gratitude for Our Partners
This event was made possible through generous support from California State Parks, the California Arts Council, and Parks California, whose commitment to strengthening community connection through arts and nature programming continues to open doors for all.
Words by Balanced Rock • Photos courtesy of Emma Constable (@artisticfacade) and Fred Pompermayer