More about upcoming workshop.... 










                                             Check in the future for upcoming events
                      See past events below
                                                          Details below..........                                   







A Gathering for Summer:
knowledge, celebration, insight, discussion, poetry,
music, food, history, future, hearts, spirit, mindfulness, 
and Summer . Start your Summer out right.

Bring: happy hearts, inquiring minds, 
a musical instrument,
snacks to share, listening ears.

RSVP & to get directions or info: email Suzanne at intsim@idcnet.com
                    ***Watch for upcoming information about our  next workshop.

                           
 

Some Past Workshops 

International Day of Forests 






International Women's Day 






Healing Through Nature 






Aging As a Spiritual Path 






Celebrating Sagaalgan 








Done Made my Vow to the Lord Black Men's Gathering 
Video Showing 


Habitat for Humanity Workdays 
     We had fun working on the Historic Landmark Nelson Salisbury house.The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater chapter of Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit group that helps build and repair houses to benefit their community. College students donate their help to housing projects in the Whitewater neighborhood. The Nelson Salisbury House is located in the historic section of Whitewater and is registered as a national, state, and local historic landmark due to its representation of Italianate architecture of the 1870s in America. It was built by Nelson Salisbury, one of the original settlers of Whitewater who built many other houses in Whitewater. His nephew was the first chancellor of the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater. The house was used for decades as a sorority and fraternity house until 2009. After being vacant for over four years, our family is working to renovate and restore this proud old house. Come join our project and experience the personal transformation that can happen to people of all ages and backgrounds when they work together.









Ring in Ridvan with Music and Fun  




Death Makes Life Possible 






Spirit of Nature Photography 





Women's Day of Retreat 
(Some inspirational women...)





Education Under Fire Presentation 




 
Midnight in the Labyrinth Halloween Party            






Labor Day Weekend Camp-out & Ruhi Study Class 










Meditation: Using the Buryat Five Principles 










 Learn to Walk the Labyrinth 











        Memorial Day Discussion - Baha'i Activism: Following the Example of   Abdul-Baha, and Week-end Family Camp-out. 












Thanks to our friends from Whitewater, Milwaukee, & Madison who joined our Writer as Witness 
 Workshop. I think we all got ideas and encouragement on our writing projects 
 which included novels, blogs, poetry, articles, journals, and more. 
 We hope to have another writer's gathering to follow-up on how our 
 projects are going. 
                      (One of the writers arrives from Milwaukee.)


Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Halloween  workshop called Connections between 
 the World’s Oldest & Newest Religions: Native Religions and the Baha’i Faith. The weather got a 
 little too cold for the ger or the activity area in our traditional round-roof barn so by lunch we all 
 moved into the house. We examined the differences between the so-called types of traditional and 
 Abrahamic religions. The Baha'i Faith fit many of the criteria for both which suggested it was 
 functioning as a unifying force between the two types. Not surprising 
 for a faith that promotes unity and equality between different religions, 
 different races, the genders, different cultures, and spiritual and 
 scientific world views.       (Here are some of the people at our meeting.)


And thanks to everyone who attended our  workshop on 
 Sustainable Development for the Prosperity of Humankind.
 We had people from Minnesota and Wisconsin join us. 
 I think I learned the most. Here are some pictures from that meeting.
(Read IEF article below photos.)












  International Environmental Forum Article 

Workshop on Sustainable Development in Whitewater Wisconsin USA

        "Baha’is and people of other faiths gathered on a beautiful fall day at the Buryat Country Retreat 
 Center in Whitewater, WI to learn more about sustainable development. We consulted together to write 
 personal plans about how to increase sustainability principles in our lives and our faith communities.
Part of the meeting was held in a hand-made Mongolian roundhouse called a ger whose environment 
 encouraged sharing and support. We were the “grassroots” sitting right there on the grass. Participants’ 
 ages ranged from 11 yrs. to over 60 yrs.; some lived in urban areas, some on farms; some were families with 
 kids while others were college students or single retired persons; half of the group were male and half 
 were female.
        Although not everyone agreed on what were the most important ways to achieve energy efficiency or 
 land/water conservation, we did achieve unity of purpose in diversity and became closer as a faith group 
 by working together on our plans. We encouraged each other to look at the spiritual attitudes and behaviors 
 we each needed to change or improve. At the end of the day each person left to start working actively on 
 their plan. One couple went the next day to tour a local organic urban farm to learn principles of sustainable 
 land and water usage which they hope to emulate at their home. Another rural family learned about the 
 hazards  of burning plastics when they burned their garbage and immediately stopped the practice. 
 Another family learned ways to become better conservation educators of others around them. 
 Learning and supporting each others’ efforts will continue through action, followed by regular 
 reflection and consultation group meetings. Although when it gets cold this winter in Wisconsin, our group 
 meetings  will move from the ger to the barn. We hope to make these regular sustainable living meetings 
 part of the culture in our faith community."


Take a Tour (Always Under Construction)
of the Area around Buryat Fields 

Nestled among hundreds of acres of Wisconsin countryside, 
Buryat Fields is named in honor of our three sons 
who were born in the Siberian Republic of Buryatia.


 

The farm is adjacent to both the 
40-acre Univ. of Wis.-Whitewater Nature Preserve & 
70-acre Whitewater Creek Nature Area. These nature areas 
include woodlands, wetlands, & prairie with trails for hiking, 
cross-country skiing, biking, & areas for fishing. Deer (including 
an albino family protected from hunters), woodland creatures, 
various turtle species, water fowl, & wild turkeys frequent the area. 
All skunks and turtles have the right of way. 



























Hiking/bike paths from nature areas near Buryat Fields 
continue along the east side of campus to Starin Park. 
Founded in 1888, Starin Park is also one of the oldest  parks in 
Wisconsin. It has a children’s park area, 3 baseball fields, 
soccer field, horseshoe pits, picnic areas & 
community/senior center.  















Pathways continue along Whitewater Creek to 
Brewery Hill Park - original home of the 1859 Whitewater 
Brewery Co., now home to a modern skate park. 


 

Following the creek path takes you to Cravath Lake Park 
with paddle-boat rentals, fishing, wild geese, activity center 
& historic 1890 Whitewater Train Depot, part of the first train line 
to cross Wisconsin. It still runs trains through Whitewater daily. 
You can cross the lake to see the dam built in the 1800s to power 
Whitewater's sawmill. Trippe Lake was created by this dam & is 
popular with anglers with a free boat launch & fishing pier. 
Trippe Lake Park has a large sledding hill, activity center, & children's 
play area. Also located on Trippe Lake is Clay Street Nature Park. 
This park has a canoe launch/fishing pier & is home to a turtle nesting area. 


















A short ride or walk from Cravath Lake Park along 
the university’s south campus takes you past Flat Iron Park, 
home of the Whitewater Cultural Arts Center beautiful 1903 
Birge Fountain. Continuing you’ll find the Whitewater 
Effigy Mounds Preserve. This preserve has one of the largest 
collections of effigy mounds in the country, numbering around 15, 
built by Native Americans between 800 AD and 1200 AD. 











 


Your trip back to Buryat Fields will take you along the 
university’s west campus & past the Twin Oaks Airport,  
home of the Midwest's only full-time, full-service hang gliding 
school & flight park. Classes & tandem flights are offered daily, 
summer thru fall, but you never know where an air current might 
put a novice so some have been  known to land at Buryat Fields 
which really surprises our horses.































Return any time as our tour extends in the future......