Instructors

Aebhric O'Kelly

   As a naturalist and wilderness medic, Aebhric brings to Ireland a unique background in Military Medicine, Wilderness Survival and Native American philosophy.

He attended a two-year naturalist training programme at the Wilderness Awareness School founded by tracker and naturalist Jon Young. He continued his nature studies with Tom Brown Jr in New Jersey, and culminated this training with an internship at the Trackerschool. He recently returned to the school to certify the tracker instructors with the ten day Wilderness First Responder course.

   After serving as a police officer, Aebhric spent ten years in the US Army Special Forces where he trained in austere medicine, wilderness survival and special tactics as a Green Beret.

   Since he left the army he studied Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and completed a Master’s degree in wilderness psychology from Prescott College. He is currently working towards a Doctorate in Remote & Austere Medicine from the University of Wales, Lampeter.

   Aebhric continues to work in military medicine as a part time instructor for Deployment Medicine International.

Anna O'Kelly

     Having grown up in Germany with a keen awareness of environmental degradation, I gradually became aware of the limits of growth (and thus life-as-we-know-it).

     I am concerned with the mysteries of ‘living lightly’ on the earth.Most of my work is practical, and oriented around the principles of Permaculture.I love growing things and building things.I am also deeply interested in the psychological issues involved in humanities’ struggle to maintain balance with and connection to the earth’s ecosystems. 

     In 1996 I learned about Self-Sufficiency from John Seymour at his smallholding in Wexford. In 2002 I completed the Permaculture Design Course taught by Rob Hopkins.

 

 

John Hourigan

    John Hourigan is an Irish native who first developed his love of the land and mythology from the stories of ancient Ireland.  He has traveled the world seeking the common thread that is found in the mythology and spiritual practices of all cultures.  John has studied many different traditions including Buddism, Sufism, Hinduism, and Native American Spirituality.  Through teaching meditations and spiritual practices John guides individuals towards accessing a deeper level of consciousness and helps people interact with the world from a place of inner purity and personal power.

John learned his bushcraft skills through his extensive studies with Tom Brown at the Tracker School in New Jersey, and attended a 6 month primitive skills program in Montana.   Through teaching primitive skills, ecology, and nature awareness, John connects people back to the natural environment in a way that develops empathy for people and the land.

John believes in finding balance between the mind, body, and spirit and utilizes the avenue of martial arts to maintain a strong mind-body connection.  He is a certified instructor in the Russian Martial Art Systema, and lived in Canada for six months to train with Vladimir Vasiliev. 

John is also a qualified Vision Quest Protector, facilitates sweat lodges, and continues to enjoy his passion for music, poetry, Irish mythology, and life in general.

 

Kristy McFetridge

     Kristy joins us from north Kerry. She teaches bushcraft and the Vision Quest. Devoted to learning through experience, Kristy dedicated over a year of her life to practicing primitive survival skills and clarifying her personal vision. During this year long quest she lived in an earthen shelter and adopted the simple lifestyle of indigenous cultures. She worked for over five years as an instructor at Tom Brown’s Tracker School and co-founded PAST Skills Wilderness School. As Kristy continues on in her journey with Mountain Sky, she works constantly to refine her skills and seek new and exciting ways to share her knowledge and experience to help others feel at home in the wilderness

 

 

 

 

Pontus Dowchan

   As a child Pontus used to roam the countryside with his friends and cousins. Always knowing what apples, berries and cherries were ripening. Nature interest had always been there for Pontus and he always wandered and asked questions. But it was in Sweden where he lives that his formal bushcraft training begun with the Swedish Survival Guild. With the guild he has learned about the harsh winter of the northern parts of the country and the tasty plants of southern parts.   

   Although the Guild gave him an pragmatic approach he longed for something more in nature. This intuition made him seek training from Trackerschool and other schools from the Tom Brown Jr lineage. It is the calmness he was looking for, the calmness which comes from Summer 2009 Pontus lived for three months in semi-primitive shelter on IPNA deepening his earth relationships during the residential programme.

   Coming back to Sweden with ambition to learn more about selfreliance and the old ways he started searching for knowledge in his own country. This recent year he has been to Bäckedal Folkhighschool enrolled in the Ancient Skills Programme. Before the path of wilderness skills he sought for answers in an academic path, which started with studies in Human Ecology. There answers came to the many questions he had about why the world looks the way it does. To be better able to heal the environmnet he is finishing a Bachelors Degree in Conservation Biology from Mid Sweden University.

   Today I still love to wander like I once did looking for blackberries and apples . But on the way I now I see more beauty, calmness and a wide range of useful natural resources.

 

IPNA INTERN

Shondell Kelley

   Shondell comes to us from Washington State, USA and is a recent graduate from Wilderness Awareness Schools’ Anake program. She has a background in organic gardening, naturalist education and is certified in permacultural design. She is a writer, performed play write, theatre director, technical designer and actor. She is also a multi media artist and has a small stained glass business called Dragon Rising Studio. She is honored to be a member of the Duvall Inipi Society and actively celebrates both her Lakota and Irish ancestry. She is the Volunteer Coordinator for PRKC, a grass roots organization in her valley helping to bring about environmental restoration and wildlife preservation. She is also on the Steering Committee for Transition Snoqualmie Valley in an effort to help restore and preserve human habitation as well. In addition to her divers passions she is a collector of T-shirts with amusing sayings and is a connoisseur of ridiculous socks.

 

 

   The IPNA Intern is chosen for each summer where the intern helps with courses while continuing their own passions in the primitive skills, permaculture and outdoor events.