VISIONS invites you to embark on a transformative journey learning anti-oppression tools in the outdoors. We will be conducting a full VISIONS' PACE I workshop, which will teach you powerful skills for cultivating authentic relationships across differences, doing anti-oppression work, and engaging in generative inner work. By doing this work in nature, you will be part of a powerful experience of transformation, healing, and connection in the outdoors.
Nestled in the heart of Hill Country, Mississippi, Foxfire Ranch is a historic black sovereignty space that has been owned by the same family for over a century. In addition to a full VISIONS PACE I workshop, you will have the opportunity to engage in a wide range of activities, including horseback riding, canoeing, learning African dance, attending a Hill Country Blues concert, and even taking an optional historic sightseeing tour in Oxford, Mississippi.
Join us in the great outdoors at Foxfire Ranch and discover the transformative power of nature in fostering authentic connections and personal growth! Register below!
Register Today!
Once registered for the event, please be on the lookout for a series of emails that will include a waiver, packing list, driving instructions, and more information as we move closer to the event date.
Notes about physical participation:
Group activities will include canoeing, hiking, and riding. Participants should be able to stand or sit comfortably in outdoor or camping settings, and be comfortable hiking for 30–60 minutes on uneven terrain. If you have questions or concerns, please contact programs@visions-inc.org to discuss possible options.
NOTE: There are a limited number of partial scholarships available for youth 18-25. Please email programs@visions-inc.org to indicate that you would like to be considered for this.
Accommodations
Participants are invited to camp on the grounds of Foxfire Ranch at no charge. There are shared bathroom facilities and a covered area for people to sleep in case of inclement weather.
Accommodations are also available at the Tru Hilton in Oxford, Mississippi ($139/night + tax for an approximate total of $160, or $640 for four nights).
To book hotel accommodations at this reserved rate, please call the hotel at (662) 380-5888 before February 20, 2023 and mention the VISIONS block. You can also book directly via this online booking link.
About the Facilitators
Jabari Brown
Jabari Carmichael Brown is an explorer, storyteller and creator. Not much of an inside kid, he found solace in the great Mississippi outdoors. In 2011 Jabari co-founded Grow Dat Youth Farm, an urban farm in New Orleans that nurtures young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food and where, among other things. He was responsible for maintaining an eco-campus, and 4 acres of lawns, bio swells, swamps, old growth hardwoods and understory, riparian areas and his engagement was crucial in designing the early phases of the birding corridor in City Park.
Jabari is a dynamite speaker and has even stronger listening skills. He often teaches from his personal experiences, which builds connections with participants. He is fulfilling the dreams of his ancestors by fighting to preserve humanity for each person. He has been engaged with VISIONS since 2013.
Jeanne Firth, PhD
Dr. Jeanne Firth has been working with the VISIONS model since 2013, first as a client on the founding staff team of Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Firth holds a PhD in Human Geography and the Environment and an MSc in Gender, Development and Globalization, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science. A white, working-class woman who grew up in Kansas City, Jeanne comes from a family with farming roots on the prairie. She holds a lifelong dedication to place-based food justice and food sovereignty work. As a social scientist, teacher and organizational leader, she believes in the importance of upholding both process and content: that how we learn is of equal importance to what we learn.
About Foxfire Ranch
Foxfire Resources
Getting to Foxfire
Foxfire Ranch is located 40 miles south of Memphis International Airport. For those who are driving, Foxfire is located approximately four hours from Nashville, five hours from New Orleans and Atlanta, and three hours from Birmingham.
(We recommend arriving during daylight hours if possible.)
Source: short film by Southern Foodways Alliance Summer Film Intern, Susie Penman and sourced from https://www.foxfireranch.com/
Continuing Education Information
CE Credits Offered: 17
Learning Objectives
As a result of attending PACE I workshop, participants will:
- Learn VISIONS' Three Dimensions of Change model.
- Identify their historically included and historically excluded group memberships.
- Summarize and explain the Multicultural Process of Change model.
- Demonstrate awareness of how social and hierarchical power dynamics can operate in personal and group interactions.
- Apply VISIONS' Feelings as Messengers emotional literacy model.
- Utilize VISIONS’ Feedback as an Antidote to Oppression framework to analyze and mitigate the impacts of negative conditional and unconditional feedback in interpersonal and group settings.
- Practice VISIONS' Skills for Effective Communication Across Difference.
- Describe and apply VISIONS' Modern Oppression and Survival Behavior/Internalized Oppression framework to an analysis of dysfunctional interpersonal encounters.
Vigorous Interventions in Ongoing Natural Settings, Inc. (VISIONS, Inc.) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7400. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Vigorous Interventions in Ongoing Natural Settings, Inc. (VISIONS, Inc.) is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
