CBD 2026: Structured Learning, Unstructured Wonder: Quaker Mindfulness at Summer Camp with Adair Arbor and Sam Green

As the name suggests, The Clearing (a Farm & Wilderness summer camp in Vermont) is a clearing in every sense—of physical space, of time, of campers' perceptions of their own limits. Campers have opportunities to learn tangible wilderness competencies like fire-building, hide tanning, and basket weaving—but equally important are the slower moments, like pumping water by hand, or sitting still in one spot, noticing how the forest changes over time, or working patiently through frustration when the bow drill doesn't immediately produce an ember. This slower tempo created space for the kind of childhood play and exploration that's becoming scarce. Time away from screens and in-person connection show kids that the point is the learning itself—and the discovery that you can do hard things.

This keynote is part one of a two-part series with Adair Arbor and Sam Green in the Contemplation by Design Summit. You are welcome to attend one or both of Adair and Sam's sessions in the Summit.

To extend the knowledge and skills you develop during this keynote lecture, please consider attending Adair and Sam's iPause Guided practice titled The Clearing practice: Quaker-inspired contemplative stillness and silence for service, on Sunday, Oct. 18 from 8:00-8:45am.

Adair Arbor has been a camp director with Farm & Wilderness Foundation since 2023. She was the lead program designer of The Clearing and is also the president of Vermont Camp Association, where she gets to learn and grow from the experience of other camp directors around the state and across New England. When she’s not at camp, you can find her wandering the woods with her husband and their two young children.

Sam Green has been working at Farm & Wilderness since 2011, starting as a counselor at the Day Camp and currently as Enrollment Director. In addition to compiling information from camper families to inform staff as they care for children each summer, Sam appreciates all of the opportunities to be their full self at Farm & Wilderness, including serving as the hide tanning instructor at The Clearing's inaugural summer.

This session is part of the FREE Contemplation by Design Summit, Oct. 14-25, 2026.

The full summit schedule is posted at: https://med.stanford.edu/contemplation/summit.html.