Dr. Rich Blundell, Founder, The Origin School
The Origin School draws on Oika —a living philosophy grounded in the New Science that emerges from three decades of ecological fieldwork.
Through direct habitat encounters, participants reawaken innate intelligences that traditional schooling overlooks and fails to develop.
The core insight: you are not separate from nature. You are continuous with it. The Origin School creates conditions for this recognition to become lived experience and the basis for resilience and prosperity throughout life.
Application required for residential programs
We select for initiative, curiosity and willingness to learn.
Applications open January 2026
Need-based scholarships available

"I felt resistant at first. But as I sat with it, I started to feel inspired. The holistic view felt disorienting—then empowering." — Ava, 20

"It made me feel empowered—like my own creativity can actually be part of a bigger ecological story." — Sam, 20

"What really struck me was how interconnected everything is—how our personal choices, the health of the planet, and our relationships with each other are all tied together. " — Maya, 19

For young adults 17-25
Eight weeks on the water and in the field. Mornings sailing, rowing, and working with aquaculture. Afternoons exploring bogs, forests, and salt marshes. Evenings around the fire cooking what you caught and discussing ideas you haven't encountered before.
This isn't environmental education. It's identity formation thro
For young adults 17-25
Eight weeks on the water and in the field. Mornings sailing, rowing, and working with aquaculture. Afternoons exploring bogs, forests, and salt marshes. Evenings around the fire cooking what you caught and discussing ideas you haven't encountered before.
This isn't environmental education. It's identity formation through direct encounter with living systems.
8 Weeks | $4,000 | Application Required
Need-based scholarships available
Apply →

For mid-career seekers
Multi-day immersions for professionals seeking to integrate ecological intelligence into their work. Designed for therapists, educators, artists, business leaders, and anyone whose work would deepen through place-based grounding.
Offered in partnership with aligned organizations and available for custom cohorts.
2-4 We
For mid-career seekers
Multi-day immersions for professionals seeking to integrate ecological intelligence into their work. Designed for therapists, educators, artists, business leaders, and anyone whose work would deepen through place-based grounding.
Offered in partnership with aligned organizations and available for custom cohorts.
2-4 Weeks | $4,000 | Application Required
Need-based scholarships available

For teachers and youth workers
Training in place-based pedagogy for those who work with young people. Learn to teach from the land, not just about it. Develop curriculum grounded in your own local habitat.
Format in development for Summer 2026

For Earthlings
Farm tours, tidal walks, sensorial dinners, and seasonal gatherings offered throughout the summer. No application required—just show up ready to pay attention.
Offered in partnership with Island Creek Oysters, Duxbury Bay Maritime School, and other local organizations.
2-4 Hours | Pricing varies
Dr. Rich Blundell is a geologist and ecologist who spent thirty years in Earth's wildest habitats studying how nature shapes human consciousness. From this research he developed Oika—a living philosophy grounded in science that produces new creativity and an abiding sense of belonging.
Duxbury Bay is where it started for him. He learned to swim in these waters in 1972, worked as a commercial fisherman, then left to train across deserts, tundras, reefs, and forests worldwide. Now he returns with what he learned. Read his full story →
The Origin School draws on New Science and immersive natural history to cultivate an ecological identity continuous with the creative intelligence that has been evolving life for four billion years.
When you align with this intelligence, everything changes: work becomes meaningful, relationships deepen, and the anxious search for purpose gives way to the quiet confidence of belonging.
In this video, Rich shows participants how to feel forest fractals and participate in the deeper connections and entanglements with nature.





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