"May your work become central in awakening this sleeping and confused species we are part of.
I so admire anyone who has dedicated himself the way you have."
Brian Swimme, PhD ~ Cosmologist & Author "The Universe Story" and "The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos"

U of Earth founder, Rich Silver, is a national award-winning educator who has spent over forty years investigating the mysteries of nature and human potential. Living in the Northern Sierra Nevada, he is currently directing the development of the multiple aspects of the school while practicing as an EcoTherapist, EcoSpiritual Life Coach, and PsychoSpiritual Counselor. During his twenty-eight-year career as a California State Park Ranger, he developed many educational programs, both within and outside of State Parks.

Rich sitting at the base of Lady MiTrea, the ancient Sierra Juniper that inspired the creation of
University of Earth

"You seem like an Ancient Mariner,
a wise one who has come to teach."
Domnie DeCappadonna, PhD
Transpersonal Psychologist

Emphasizing his lifelong dedication to healing the human-nature relationship and promoting the rights of nature, he co-founded The Endangered Species Faire with his wife Janet in 1979, currently one of the longest-running environmental education events in the world. His The Many Voices of the American River (1996), an EcoEducation training program for guides and school teachers, gained national recognition and was the cover story for the publication, Legacy.

Many of his other field programs, Nature as Healer & Teacher, The Secrets of Trees: A Peak Experience, and The Essentials of EcoTherapy have been highly praised.

His most recent program, Heliotropic BreathWork Facilitator Training: The Sun Within ~ Becoming Our Higher Selves, has students insisting that this information needs to reach a wider audience.

“The man with the biggest heart…a rare combination of appreciation of and comfort in the upperworld, the underworld [soul] and the wild.”
~ Bill Plotkin, PhD, - Depth Psychologist, Wilderness Guide
AuthorSoulcraft and Nature and the Human Soul

Rich holds a Bachelor's degree in a special major, Mind and Nature, blending psychology and the natural sciences. Has a Master’s degree in Counseling and Educational Psychology (Marriage & Family Therapy) and is ABD, having completed all coursework for a PhD in Applied Ecopsychology.

Described as a "rogue scholar," with a vow to stay out of the ivory tower (conventional academia) and be in nature, Rich is the great-grandson of the legendary abolitionist John Brown, and like Brown, is a passionate defender of life. His greatest pleasures arise from solitude in nature, whitewater river running and soulful conversations.

Rich’s academic interests are in the fields of human development and human potential. His early studies evaluated the human development models that mapped the more advanced stages, stages that indicated the exciting possibility for humans contributing to positive global transformation.

His current research is in investigating the efficacy of spiritual practices known as "subtle activism" as a means for personal and planetary healing and transformation. In addition, Rich is researching and teaching about our individual archetypal nature as it relates to an individual's unique "Higher Self" and soul purpose as a way to fulfill Thomas Berry's call, “The historical mission of our times is to reinvent the human at the species level...." His greatest passion is assisting others in discovering their higher potentials and soul purpose and in helping others find a source of endless inspiration through deep intimacy with Nature and the "Divine Realms." 

Reclaiming Our EcoSpiritual Roots

Co-Founder Janet Silver

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