Introducing Alyssa Nelson and Hearty Girls
March is Women’s Month! We thought, what better time than now to uplift some of the incredible women in our community.
Alyssa and I (Amanda) grew up in the same small town in southern Minnesota. Like me, a boreal wanderlust drew Alyssa north. We played basketball together and although we were a few years apart in age, we shared a kinship.
While Alyssa was working with huskies at Wintermoon Summersun, we reconnected. Alyssa didn’t have a shower (she used a sauna), but on her weekly day off she often drove down to Duluth. We’d hit up yoga classes and live music, and of course she could enjoy a nice, hot shower. Since then our friendship has continued to grow!
Alyssa has been an outdoor educator through countless programs- from Cornucopia, MN and Big Sky, MT to Homer, AK and Duluth, MN.
Last year Alyssa launched her own business, Hearty Girl.
What is Hearty Girl?
Hearty Girl is a year-round unstructured outdoor play program for girls ages 5-10 based in Duluth, MN.
Vision: To deepen and strengthen our services to the earth through education and creation. To be a catalyst for social change focused on gender.
Mission: Dedicated to support and strengthen the leadership, power, and voices of girls through unstructured nature play. To promote connections with nature. To foster free flow discussion of emotions, fears, and dreams. To ignite the belief in their ability to be unstoppable and for friendships to form. To create a space where we can transform into the present and turn on our hearts.
Core Values: Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Curiosity, Trust, Inclusion, Dignity
What is a typical day at Hearty Girl like?
A typical day at Hearty Girl is full of outdoor exploration at local Duluth parks. The chosen location remains the same for a month long. Once the Hearty Girls are dropped off we set off into the woods. We often will explore off trail to find our chosen play space for the four hour session. Some favorite things the girls and I look for in a play space are; something to climb on, to nestle/hide in, loose materials to play with (sticks, rocks, plants, pine cones), and seasonal mediums (snow, ice, mud, water). Once the girls settle in the imaginative play starts. It may start with being a wolf family and evolve to cooking up the finest meals out of snow and dried flowers. Conversations and introspection about the ecosystem, flora, and fauna are also daily occurrences. The play is unstructured and as the educator I am there to provide an intentional, curious, imaginative, and safe space to learn.
What is your favorite part about your work?
My favorite part about work is seeing the confidence, resiliency, creativity, and adaptability fostered and grown with girls in the nature play education model. Fostering deep connections to the earth and allowing a space for young women to fully explore, be imaginative, and be their true authentic selves.
What is Nature Play?
Nature play is play initiated and guided by children. The children initiate, guide, change, or abandon play. The best nature play comes from the child, not from the adult. Ideally, there are no formal objectives and few rules.
Do you currently have any openings?
Currently enrolling girls ages 5-10 who are currently Full Distance Learning for this Spring 2021.
Enrollment for summer 2021 June through August spots available: Mondays (three available spots), Tuesdays (currently full), Wednesdays (four available spots), Thursday (one spot available).
Hearty Girls=
One who is robust; capable of enduring harsh conditions. One who brings their voice forward in the face of adversity and spread exuberance towards all who meet them. She is a warrior for this earth.
Ways to Uplift Alyssa!
Follow her at @nelson4nature
Sign up for her summer outdoor education programs here! https://heartygirlflies.com/home-2/
Alyssa lives from the heart. She is a gentle and kind soul and can almost always be found wandering around the woods or waist deep in a river fly-fishing. She is also a skilled artist, talented in tying flies, writing poetry, and storytelling.
