Nathan Schultz, Wild Programs & Guide

Brief Bio: I grew up in the vast landscapes of Alaska, where mountains and wild places instilled in me a deep reverence for the natural world and the stories it carries. That early grounding has shaped my life as a contemplative, facilitator, coach, and Wild Guide based in Philadelphia. My path has moved through roles as a social worker, youth pastor, nonprofit leader, consultant, and spiritual guide, always centered on helping people navigate change and rediscover connection. Today, in addition to my work at the Center for Wild Spirituality, I work one-on-one with individuals, and guide groups on the Camino de Santiago, creating spaces for transformation through walking, ritual, and shared reflection.

After two years in the Center for Wild Spirituality programs in the Coyote Cohort and as a Wild Guide trainee, I joined the program team to care for both the flow of the Center’s work and the experience of those who take part. In late 2025, I am launching Wild Pilgrims, a practice devoted to exploring the way of the pilgrim in modern life and in deep conversation with the earth. My work is rooted in the conviction that we live most fully when we restore our relationships—with land, with each other, and with the wider mystery shaping our lives. You can learn more about my work at www.path-wise-ventures.com.

Tell us a bit about who you are and how you came to this work.

I’m first and foremost a father to two sons, and a husband. My life has been oriented to serve the relationships in my life and in recent years that orientation has included the way in which I work. I’ve been doing the work of listening and connecting with the world all my life but only had words for it in recent years. My most natural way of connection has always been outside, being in the natural world (that I am a part of). The world has always been a true home, a deep comfort, and a place that longed for me. I fully realized this while on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago when the holy and the wild broke through to me in undeniable ways. When I returned from the life-changing trip, I felt a call to begin connecting others with the world in reverence and relationship. The call led me to step away from a career that wasn’t suited to my soul and begin to take a path that was unclear and ill-defined. From then until now I have learned (over and over and over) the art of trusting and knowing that when the path is unclear, it is often the one to which I am called. 

Share a bit about the lands who raised you, and how your own connection with the natural world has influenced your path? 

I was raised by several lands. The first was the mountains of southern Alaska, in the Matanuska Valley. My earliest childhood experiences and memories are on Lazy Mountain, surrounded by scenery that left me with deep reverence and a feeling of being seen. I spent many hours roaming the hill, meadows, and woods around my home, and always feeling such a deep sense of grounding outside. My family moved to Western North Carolina in my teen years, and this land also raised me, but in a very different way. I struggled to find a connection with this place, and it was here that I started to face a significant separation from the land, partially out of fear, and partially out of the worldview I had internalized. Today, I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia and have a connection with local places that have called to me to be in relationship. The natural world, from Alaska to Philly, has always been present and alluring. Looking at the throughlines in my life I don’t see it as a coincidence that I have been called into this work – I have always seen the world as an interconnected web of life and felt part of that web. Learning to transform this me-centered approach into a reciprocal relationship with the world around me, has grounded me more firmly in place and created a new way of living.  

Why do you believe a practice of spiritual connection with the earth is important for our time?

Our profound sense of loneliness, isolation, and cynicism, has roots in our history and philosophy of disconnection from the earth. We have profoundly meaningful religions and liturgy in our western world, and yet these haven’t transformed our relationship with the world and in many instances have alienated us. At the same time, we have incredible earth-based therapeutic practices that seek to heal humanity through time in nature. Neither of these ways of being fully bridge the gap that lies at the heart of disconnection. That gap is spiritual. When we recognize our bond with the earth is not just therapeutic, religious, or ecological, but is deeply spiritual, we will begin to move differently in the world. It will call us into reciprocity where we will find profound connection. We will move from cynicism and isolation to something greater when we recognize our interconnectedness and our deep spiritual longing to return to relationship with the more-than-human world.

In your experience, what are some of the barriers or challenges individuals or communities face in developing a deeper connection with nature?

Nearly everyone I talk with tells me that they “love” being outside in the natural world and how grounding they find it to be. This way of being feeling so natural to us that the barriers to connection could be very low if we wished them to be. The worldview of our culture feels like the largest stumbling block to helping people move from a love of nature to a relationship of reciprocity. We are taught that the sacred no longer fits in our world and I challenge this idea. If we can begin to see ourselves, others, and all that is around us as sacred, we can begin the shift to a deeper connection with nature. The work starts with the belief that everything is sacred and belongs. If we as humans could understand that our “love” of nature is something so much deeper, we could easily turn that into a deeper connection. 

What practices (big or small) can help heal our disconnection from the natural world?

My way of doing this work is through the act of pilgrimage and walking. Pilgrimage is for me the act of encountering others, the Sacred, and the natural world as I move through it. Pilgrimage as a spiritual act on great routes of the world is one that I do this. Walking as a spiritual practice where I live is another. The small act of walking is a surprising entryway into repairing disconnection. When you begin walking through a place, you start forming a relationship it. You begin to know the lay of the land, where the water moves, how the trees react, where the animals live, and the rhythms of the year. I’ve found that then you long to sit and be present, and you start to shift out of disconnection. Our spiritual traditions have known for centuries about the power of walking and the power of pilgrimage. They are my ways of repairing disconnection and practices that any of us can engage with.  

What are you looking forward to offering as a team member here?

I look forward to nurturing the programs at the Center for Wild Spirituality and watching them impact the lives of the people who come through them. It’s such a gift to be able to share my gifts with a community that desires to foster deeper spiritual connection in such a pivotal time in the history of our civilization. I can’t wait to offer support on a day-to-day level, and to walk alongside those who feel called to this work and enroll in the programs. For those whom I have a chance to Guide, I look forward to offering them a space to be witnessed in their work. My gifting and joy is working from the heart, helping others listen deeply to themselves, and aligning themselves around what they hear. It’s an incredible gift to be with others on this journey and I look forward to building, holding, and guiding the container. 

Can you share a story of a meaningful encounter with the Holy Wild personally?

There have been so many! Several years ago, I was wandering in the winter near my home. Winter has become my favorite time of year to be outside. I love the crisp air, the potential for snow, and the quiet in the forest. On this wander, I was on a trail when a threshold appeared – a pair of trees that formed a doorway for me. On the other side was a beautiful and gnarled tree that beckoned me onward. After crossing the threshold and greeting the grandmother tree, I was invited to step further into the grove of trees. It had been a period of mourning over the feeling of being disconnected from my ancestors. As I sat and listened, I was adopted by the grove of trees who asked if they could share themselves with me as the Ancestors. It was a very humbling moment to be invited into relationship with this grove. It’s been several years, and I return to that grove regularly to commune and listen – sometimes when I am nearby the wind rushes out of the grove invites me in. There are a million more details to this story, but the honor of being adopted and looked after by this place has led me to also look after it and care for it.