​At Brushwood Center, we are responding to the COVID-19 crisis by doing what we strive to do year round: build a community around nature and the arts. To help lift up the struggling arts community during this difficult time, we are highlighting a different nature-inspired artist each week and sharing their story with you. We encourage you to reflect on the impact of art in your life, and look for ways to support artists in our community.
This week, we are featuring one of our favorite nature artists, printmaker Carrie Carlson. Carrie has been a regular feature at our Holiday Art Markets and group shows over the past several years, and we adore her vibrant, modern style. In addition to being an accomplished artist, she is an educator and scientist, and a staunch advocate for nature and the environment.

​"As a scientific illustrator, art and science are tightly twined together in my life and I am inspired to celebrate this through landscapes, botanical studies and portraits of nature’s smallest objects and winged creatures. I hope to reveal a bit of the wonderment I find in simple subjects by drawing attention to something beautiful or unique about them that might normally be overlooked or taken for granted. I am especially interested in raising awareness about issues faced by threatened or exploited populations, be they human, bird or bumblebee.
Field sketching is a cornerstone of scientific illustration. I cannot imagine visiting a local zoo, much less traveling abroad, without a sketchbook. Travel and field sketching generate a deeper appreciation for humanity and the planet. The act of drawing forces us to slow down, to notice, reflect, cherish, and consider… What I gain from these experiences is a passionate environmentalism and driving responsibility to speak up for under-served populations. Through my artwork, I pray my steady, hopeful voice brings greater attention to how we can contribute to solutions and healing.
If field sketching sparks new awareness and intimacy with the natural world, then creating finished prints satisfies an eagerness for studio challenges. I greatly enjoy learning the age-old processes of traditional printmaking. Relief printing, linoleum block in particular, has been an especially satisfying outlet for my creative energies."

​
"I once heard a pastor say, "Ecology is Doxology," and that pretty much sums it up for me. My spirit finds hope and courage, learns patience and grit, experiences joy and community most clearly out in nature. I'm inspired to raise awareness and advocate for environmental causes."

​At Brushwood Center, we are responding to the COVID-19 crisis by doing what we strive to do year round: build a community around nature and the arts. This crisis is heavily affecting arts organizations and artists, as major art festivals, fairs, performances, and exhibitions that provide critical support and income are canceled or postponed. To help lift up the arts community during this difficult time, we will be highlighting a different nature-inspired artist each week and sharing their story with you. We encourage you to reflect on the impact of art in your life, and look for ways to support artists in our community.
For our first spotlight, we are featuring our internationally-renowned artist in residence, Heeyoung Kim. Heeyoung has been part of the Brushwood family since 2011. She began with her first solo show, and soon after started teaching her weekly classes at Brushwood Center.

Heeyoung has generously provided two free monarch butterfly coloring pages for Brushwood members to print out at home!  Simply follow the link to her online store and enter the code "BRUSHWOOD" at checkout to download.  You can also follow along with her step-by-step coloring tutorial on YouTube! ​

5th Annual: Enriching Life - Botanical Art Exhibition, Heeyoung Kim & Brushwood Botanical Artists. November 24, 2019 - January 12, 2020 at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, Riverwoods, IL.
Heeyoung Kim: New Works - Orchid Watercolor Paintings. July 25- September 7, 2019, Joel Oppenheimer Gallery, Chicago, IL.
Botanical Art Worldwide, America’s Flora: Linking People with Plants through Botanical Art. 2018 - 2019, 4 venues in the United States.
Transylvania Florilegium, The Prince of Wales’s Botanical Art Documentation of Transylvania, Romania: May 23 - July 31, 2018, Embassy of Romania, London. Kim’s three watercolor paintings are included in the royal collection.

Many local healthcare providers face a serious shortage of protective face masks in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. As an organization dedicated to wellness that partners with multiple health care organizations throughout Lake and Cook Counties, Brushwood Center is mobilizing its community to meet this need.
Through online coordination of local artists, volunteers, and community partners, and with the material supplies from their very own BASE (Brushwood Art Supply Exchange) Brushwood is assisting in supplying much needed face masks. To date, kits to assemble well over 1,400 face masks have been distributed, and more than one thousand finished face masks have been delivered to healthcare workers in need. Mask fabrics represent the vitality and community spirit of the Chicago area, ranging from sports team patterns to cheerful spring flowers. Mask donation recipients include Vista Medical Center in Waukegan, Fenix Family Health Center in Highwood, Lake Forest Northwestern Hospital, Cedar Lake Assisted Living in Lake Zurich, Advocate Lutheran General, and the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. 
“The need for protective equipment is urgent, and Brushwood Center’s community of artists and volunteers have really stepped up to the challenge. People are excited to help. Volunteers do the sewing, and we make sure the masks are delivered to the places that truly need them.” Catherine Game, Executive Director, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods."

​For those who would like to contribute to support our healthcare heroes, all you need is basic sewing knowledge and instructions for mask sewing which are available on the Brushwood Center website www.brushwoodcenter.org. The materials needed are simple cotton fabric, elastic/fabric ties, and sewing equipment.
Donate your sewn masks to Brushwood Center’s front porch in the donation bin. Their mighty team of volunteers will handle the donation pick-ups and delivery to healthcare centers. Please email us at info@brushwoodcenter.org or message us via Facebook when you have dropped off your masks so we can track quantity.
Drop off between sunrise and dusk on the Brushwood Center front porch: 21850 North Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods, IL.
It’s okay if there are small differences between masks. There are many instructional videos available online as well that you can reference.
Throughout our area there are other organizations with similar mask drives. Wherever you choose to put your energy, just know that it is appreciated.

​Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods is excited to announce our membership in the Green Wedding Alliance!
Green Wedding Alliance is a growing list of resources that connects various environmentally and socially conscious businesses with consumers who wish to be conscious of the impact of their event. GWA, which began in 2010, is the brainchild of co-founders Lynn Fosbender, owner of Pollen Floral Design, and Amanda Eich and Tony Vassallo, who own Spilled Ink Press. Both businesses are invested in sustainable and eco-friendly operating methods - as are the 50+ businesses affiliated with the Alliance.
At Brushwood Center, we are dedicated to nurturing personal and community wellbeing through nature. Through programming and events, we aim to teach the importance of creativity and community-centered environmental stewardship. One of the ways that we do this is by providing a gathering space in nature for events and retreats - always keeping sustainability at the forefront.
Catherine Game, Brushwood Center’s executive director, had a few words to say about our involvement with GWA.
“We are so excited to be able to create a space where people can hold celebratory events, like weddings, parties, and retreats in a beautiful setting like Ryerson Woods. It is also extremely important that we are good stewards to the area we are occupying. This partnership will allow us to provide new resources for people who want to be mindful of their footprint on their special day.”
Through our membership in the Green Wedding Alliance, we hope to reach more people who are interested in hosting sustainable, mindful events in a serene, natural environment. We can’t wait to see how much more we’ll be able to accomplish with GWA and the other like-minded businesses involved in the alliance!
For more information on rentals, click here.

​On Saturday, December 21st, Brushwood Center partnered with Nuestro Center and Audubon Great Lakes' Wild Indigo program to participate in a Christmas Bird count at Ryerson Woods. Forty families from Nuestro Center's program came out to Brushwood Center to conduct the count, and celebrate afterwards with crafts, hot cocoa and pan dulce.
With clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid-forties, it was a perfect day for a hike. Staff from Audubon went through some common species in English and Spanish with participants, and instructed students on how to properly use binoculars. The fifth grade students had done bird identification activities with Wild Indigo the week before, and were eager to put their newfound knowledge to the test.

​Everyone split up into three different groups for the hike, each led by an Audubon staff armed with identification guides and binoculars for students to share. Almost immediately, it became clear that the students were taking this mission very seriously. Pausing often, students slowly raised their binoculars up as they squinted at the tree tops. Every few seconds, silence broke as they excitedly reported their discoveries:
"American Robin!"
"Blue Jay!"
"Mallard!"
After some double-checking with staff and the ID guides, the species was recorded. Students got more and more excited as they discovered rarer birds, and even other animals they had never seen before. One group caught a rare glimpse of a double-crested cormorant soaring overhead. Another group walking along the Des Plaines River was lucky enough to spot a beaver slipping back into its den.

The students were excited as they explored these new dimensions of nature, and very determined to count every bird they could. They shushed one another when conversations got too loud, worried that birds might be scared away. They cooperated on identifications, and eagerly showed their parents their findings. After about an hour on the trails, everyone headed back inside Brushwood Center for hot cocoa and conchas, and a craft activity making paper Cardinal ornaments.
In total, we recorded 18 species and 98 birds during our hike (detailed in table below). Students were emphatic as they identified species they had never seen before, and parents enjoyed the quality time outdoors with their kids. Topped off with delicious snacks and a fun craft, it was the perfect way to end 2019 programming!

Brushwood Center's At Ease Program is an innovative approach to empower military veterans’ wellbeing through a series of nature-based art and photography workshops.
Over the past few months, the program has been picked up by several local new stations. Click below to explore the different coverage and learn more about At Ease!
Fox 32: 'At Ease' program uses Mother Nature to heal the wounds of war
ABC 7 Chicago: Riverwoods program helps veterans heal through nature photography
NBC 5 Chicago: Group Offers 'At Ease' Photography Workshop to Help Veterans

​

“I was born in the 40’s, grew up in the 50’s and DIED in the 60’s.” These are the words of a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. The trauma he experienced and the moral injury he suffered have been his daily companions for almost 50 years. In the following pages I will delve into the issues that both trauma and moral injury create, including suicide, and the methods being employed to help heal those who are suffering the effects of these injuries, often decades later. ​

​The War fought in Vietnam from late 1955 to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 was a long, costly armed conflict pitting the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The divisive war, increasingly unpopular at home, ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist government control just two years later. More than 3 million people, including 58,000 American soldiers, were killed in the conflict over the course of those 20 years.
In 1968 the US Troop strength peaked at 543,482 as a result of President Johnson’s troop escalation. The number of soldiers and the degree to which they suffered PTS and moral injury is a subject that has been studied for decades. Many of these soldiers returned to the US and got on with their families and careers. It wasn’t until they started to retire in the last decade that many long-buried issues arose and the scars they created on their psyche became evident. Of the reported suicides within these last 10 years among veterans almost 70% are within the age of having served in the Vietnam War. This is not to say that the wars since have been less damaging, just that the full effects can take decades to surface. The author Penny Coleman addresses this in her book Flashback: 

Silence and especially shame will be issues I will address a little later but I believe it’s important to look a little more deeply at PTSD and its relation to suicide. Bob, an Army combat veteran, wrote: “My PTSD is a vicious, terminal parasite...Its darkness began to advance, ravaging me, especially emotionally, robbing me of any ability to exist. Hopelessness, helplessness, and utter defeat of all that was human inside of me followed….PTSD took away the only life I knew. All that remained was my excruciating, inescapable mental agony and an insatiable search for any means to arrest it.” (Beder, p.157) Just after writing this he attempted to take his life but thankfully was not successful.
It is no wonder that those who have been to war, seen death and destruction and been a part of 3 that would see that the only way out of those horrific memories was through their own violent end. The depression, anger, sleeplessness and anxiety the trauma creates can lead a strong-willed sane person to suicide - a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But by addressing the trauma we can work towards a meaningful and lasting solution. 

​Growing up we learn certain values, ethics and standards that help to form our morality. When a soldier goes to war those morals are challenged by the acts he is asked to commit and witness. The difference between PTSD and Moral Injury (MI) is “...sorrow, remorse, … bitterness, and moral confusion---What is right?---signal moral injury, while flashbacks, loss of memory, fear, and a startle complex seem to characterize PTSD” (Wood, p.17). I like to think of it as similar to the difference between shame and guilt. Guilt as PTS is something “I did or experienced” whereas shame and MI are “I am”. Not that both don’t haunt the body and soul, it’s just that MI seems to dig deeper into the sufferer and require different approaches to treat. Timothy Wilson in his book, Redirect: Changing the Stories We Live By, writes about the father of positive psychology Martin Seligman who with his “colleagues developed a program to increase resilience among soldiers using the principles of positive psychology, which attempts to increase human strengths and flourishing, rather than waiting for mental health problems to develop and then treating them” (p.244). These programs work for both PTS and MI but are better utilized as preventative measures before the symptoms set in. David Wood describes in the beginning of his book What Have We Done the story of a chaplain that utilized a baptismal font to do a symbolic warrior cleansing before the soldiers in his unit returned home to Pennsylvania from Iraq. They wrote on a piece of paper what they wanted to leave behind - “Things you have done and left undone...things you have seen.” Then their papers were set aflame. This was his adapted ceremony of healing and forgiveness so they could leave behind the moral wounds they had suffered. (Wood, p.5)
When soldiers returned from Vietnam they were met by a public largely against the war that they had been drafted to go to. Very few volunteered and so I believe the moral injury was not only doubled but buried deeper. Recently at a screening of a documentary called “Almost Sunrise”, which documents two Iraqi veterans’ healing trek from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, one of the veterans told a story to the Marine I quoted at the beginning of this paper, about the great encouragement the two of them had received from Vietnam vets during their journey of healing. The Vietnam vets understood how important it was to unearth the issues as soon as possible so that the younger vets wouldn’t have to suffer, as they had, through decades with the PTS and moral injuries. This was a touching moment and a cross-generational healing moment I was honored to be witness to.
But along with peer to peer support I believe we need to do more than just a “thank you for your service” token appreciation. I agree with Brene Brown who writes in Daring Greatly: “What I am advocating is a kinder, gentler public, one willing to embrace, support and reach out to the men and women we pay to be invulnerable on our behalf.”(p.156) Yes, war is inherently a divisive issue but respecting and honoring those who have served with methods to heal their wounds, I believe, is crucial to creating peace. While this quote references a child’s trauma, I believe it speaks too much of what Vietnam veterans experienced. Bessel van der Kolk writes in The Body Keeps the Score, “It is one thing to process memories of trauma, but it is entirely an different matter to confront the inner void---the holes in the soul that result from not having been wanted, not having been seen, and not having been allowed to speak the truth.” (p.298) We have done a great deal of the work necessary towards helping veterans speak their truth, for as Shakespeare writes in Macbeth, “Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak knits up the o’er wrought heart and bids it break.” Too many Vietnam veterans have had their hearts broken and worse. The years they have suffered like the Marine I quoted at the start have many roots, but resolving moral injury issues is crucial.
What of shame and its relation to finding forgiveness to heal the Moral Injury buried deep. Thelma Bryant-Davis writes in her book Thriving in the Wake of Trauma that “shame is the feeling of internalized ‘badness’ and general negative self-concept that the survivor has. It is not simply guilt over doing something wrong. Instead, it is the belief and feeling that at the survivor’s core that something is wrong. Shame creates feelings of embarrassment and causes the survivor to feel the need to hide.”(p.61) This is yet another aspect of how MI gets repressed, over decades, and requires years of effort to resolve. Shira Maguen, a therapist in San Francisco, has a program she calls “impact of killing” therapy. In it she explores with her “patients the emotional and physiological impacts of killing, then deals directly with self-forgiveness. Many veterans are resistant, believing that to forgive is dishonorable, dismissing a wrong they had committed.” She states that an important “part of self-forgiveness is understanding the context in which this happened, usually a situation where you are constantly making life-and-death decisions quickly without having all the information.” (Wood, p.253) In coming out of the shadows and finding their freedom from the shame and buried MI that they have lived with for decades, they are able to find their peace in self-forgiveness.
Finally, there are a number of additional therapies being utilized with veterans in the search for healing and wholeness. Every week I attend an outpatient PTS “Expressions Group” where veterans read poetry, tell jokes, play musical instruments, talk about their healing journeys, sing or paint beautiful pictures. Many also find healing in just attending the group and being of service to those in the group. There is also an inpatient unit in the same building and they have a recreation therapist who utilizes art and equine therapy to help clients find healing. I do a weekly “garden group” where we practice horticulture therapy in the service of finding their soul in the soil. Additionally, I offer them information about education and careers in agriculture because it has been demonstrated that veterans are a great fit for farming. It can become their new mission to work towards greater food security in our country while also discovering the healing they find in the act of planting, caring for and harvesting locally grown food.
Our war in Vietnam is over 5 decades old and has left us many wounds in need of healing. Issues of PTS and Moral Injury are crucial to address not only for those who acquired them in that Southeast Asian country but for the more recent veterans who have the opportunity to find health and healing now. Michael Castellana, a therapist at Camp Pendleton, says of veterans: 

It is crucial that we as individuals find ways to accompany them in their quest for healing, not only to stem the tide of trauma and violence already inflicted, but as acts of prevention so that the wounds suffered don’t beget new ones. With compassion and understanding, we can work to unravel both the PTS and Moral injury that many veterans have known for far too long, and in turn learn how to better address these issues in the future. ​

Beder, Joan ed. Caring for the Military: A Guide for Helping Professions. New York: Routledge, 2017.
Brown, Brene. Daring Greatly. New York: Avery, 2012.
Bryant-Davis, Thelma. Thriving in the Wake of Trauma: A Multicultural Guide. Westport, CT.: Praeger Publishers, 2005.
Coleman, Penny. Flashback: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide & the Lessons of War. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006.
Levine, Peter A. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma & Restores Goodness. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2010.
Meagher, Ilona. Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & America’s Returning Troops. Brooklyn, NY: Ig Publishing, 2007.
Van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York: Viking, 2014.
Wilson, Timothy D. Redirect: Changing the Stories We Live By. New York: Back Bay Books, 2011.
Wood, David. What Have We Done: The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars. New York: Little Brown, 2017.

​

It is no secret that the world's pollinators are currently in trouble. From fruit bats to the rusty-patched bumblebee, many of our vital fuzzy friends are endangered due to habitat loss and human development. At Brushwood Center, we believe that creative thinking and collaborative community efforts have the power to help.
This summer, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods launched the Forest of Health or Bosque de Salud youth program.  Forest of Health aimed to educate youth and families about the importance of pollinators and forests through community partnerships with Cool Learning Experience, Foss Park District, Nuestro Center, Roberti Community House, and the Round Lake Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee.

​Forest of Health kicked off with a Project Learning Tree workshop.  Project Learning Tree (PLT) uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase students’ understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. This workshop certified staff and volunteers from the five partner organizations in PLT’s curriculum, and provided tools to incorporate environmental education into formal and informal classroom settings.
In June, Brushwood Center followed up this training with site visits to each community partner. This was done in partnership with the innovative Filament Theatre group, a Chicago-based organization specializing in interactive performances for young audiences.  These site visits had two components: an exciting theater workshop led by Filament, and a visual arts activity led by Brushwood Center.  Teaching artists from Filament helped students embody native pollinators through music and movement-based exercises. As they explored the history of prairies in our state, students were challenged to think of solutions to declining pollinator populations. They broke up into teams to write small skits demonstrating an environmental issue, and their solution. The creativity and knowledge of the students was impossible to miss, as they intertwined sustainable concepts with goofy interpretive performances, bringing some much needed lightness to heavy topics.

​Emily Dickinson's poem about prairies and reverie advocates for the power of daydreaming to create something beautiful. There is immense power in giving yourself the space to think creatively and imagine a better world without limitations. This empowerment is what we aimed to do through our programming this summer. During these various trips and activities, these students not only became more familiar with the natural world; they became its caretakers. They took on roles of investigative problem-solvers and community leaders, working together to dream up creative and equitable ways to help all creatures in need.
Through the Forest of Health/Bosque de Salud program, Brushwood Center has reached over 400 students so far from Highwood, North Chicago, Round Lake, and Waukegan communities. The outreach and relationship building will continue with the program's culminating event, the Forest of Health Family Festival, on September 14th from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm for the students and families from these participating organizations. The collaborative streets and creative pollinators made by students will be displayed as a testament to the intelligence, power, and creativity of Lake County’s young minds. As long as these kids have a say, our future will be bright.

​Multiple studies have found that spending time recreating in nature not only improves physical fitness, but can also have numerous positive impacts on mental health and development.  In children, these impacts can include: decreased feelings of stress and aggression, increased focus, and improved relationship skills.  Time in nature can also help stimulate creativity, and artistic outlets can have similar beneficial effects on mental health. But access to nature and the arts is not universal, and is often restricted by income and class.  Here at Brushwood, we have been working to increase access to nature and the arts for children through its new program, It’s A W.I.N. (Art and Wellness In Nature).

It’s A W.I.N. aims not only to impact individual children’s access to the health benefits of nature, but their surrounding ecosystem of care as well, including parents and teachers. Brushwood had the honor of running a pilot of the program this summer with Nuestro Center in Highwood.  After a training with staff and volunteers in June, Brushwood hosted over 60 summer campers from Nuestro Center on July 14th.  These campers spent a day learning all about monarch butterflies, their life cycles, and their migration pathways.  Students returned the following Saturday with their families to show them what they had learned, and look for monarch eggs and caterpillars along the trail.
In early October, Brushwood staff made a trip to Nuestro Center to partake in the Symbolic Migration Program through Journey North.  Each student decorated their own paper monarch to send to a classroom in Michoacán, Mexico, the region that the monarchs migrate to in the fall.  Students were told that their monarch should serve as an ambassador of their town and themselves.  One student chose to draw their favorite athlete’s jersey, while others decorated their butterfly’s wings with hearts, or flowers, or in one case, a pepperoni pizza.  Two wrote a special message in Spanish for their new friends: nunca se rinde—never give up.  In the spring, the students will receive a different packed of butterflies from their friends in Michoacán, and the migration cycle will be complete.

​Brushwood is thrilled to have expanded the It’s A WIN program to two new community partners, Foss Park District and the Round Lake Bilingual Parent Advisory Council.   Children from Foss Park's after school program, Latchkey Kid, spent a day learning about migratory birds and adaptations.  After an introduction to using binoculars, our young friends hit the trails and saw a red-tailed hawk, a red-headed woodpecker, and a pair of bluebirds.  Not bad for a first birding!

​This past Friday, Round Lake Bilingual Parent Advisory Council brought their students to brushwood for an evening to celebrate nature, and cultural connections.  Dia de muertos, or Day of the Dead is an important Mexican holiday that celebrates lives of family and friends who have passed on, and supports their spirits' journeys to the next life.  It is believed that monarch butterflies, that migrate to Mexico around this holiday, are the souls of departed loved ones, returning to visit.  Students from Round Lake made paper monarchs, marigolds, and calaveras (sugar skulls), and together we created our own ofrenda (Day of the Dead altar), to honor those who came before us and the land that sustained them, and continues to sustain us today.  If you are interested in learning more about It’s A WIN and our other youth programs, contact Dani Abboud at dabboud@brushwoodcenter.org.