Foxfire Wilderness LLC is a Licensed Training Company of Wilderness Medical Associates, a leading provider of wilderness and remote medical training. Foxfire Wilderness offers Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Advanced First Aid, and Wilderness First Aid courses in various places throughout the USA and internationally.
Foxfire Wilderness is committed to providing positive educational experiences to all who seek them. We strive to create positive learning environments and commit to welcoming people of all races, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, religions, and socioeconomic statuses. Our instructors are selected for their ability to support all of their students with humility and professionalism.
Owens Strawinski
W-EMT, Owner & Lead Instructor
My goal is to teach high quality courses that prioritize my students' needs above all else. I work to create welcoming spaces in which students can feel safely challenged, find confidence in their skills, develop accurate self-assessment, and realize how they can help others.
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Owens (she/they) has worked in the outdoor industry for almost 10 years in a variety of roles. Most prominently as a commercial sea kayaking guide from Maine to Chilean Patagonia, and an instructor for Outward Bound in Washington teaching mountaineering, rock climbing, alpine backpacking, and sea kayaking. She has a background working in a clinical setting as a nursing assistant, but has gained much of her experience through hundreds of days in the field caring for others in a variety of conditions. Owens has worked in all types of conditions and environments - from the sandy beaches of Baja to the icy crevasses of Tahoma (Mount Rainier).
Owens is based in Colorado, but travels to provide instruction, adventures, and wilderness medical training nationally and internationally.
Certifications and past trainings:
AEGIS Crisis Prevention and De-escalation, Mental Health First Aid for Youth , Justice, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Trainings (Avarna Group, Justice Outside, and more), Restorative Justice Training, and more...
EMT-B, WFR, Avalanche Pro 1, BCU Sea Leader / 4-Star, Rock Rescue and Glacier Mountaineering Training, and more...
April, 2022
Baja Sea Kayak Training Trip
A 5-day sea kayaking adventure in partnership with Jen Kleck of Aqua Adventures and the Northwest Outward Bound School. Outward Bound staff got on the water for a fun 5-days of surf, rock gardening, and community building.
May, 2022
Sea Kayak Staff Trainings
In May the instructors of the Northwest Outward Bound School need to prepare for their season of leading students across the waters of the San Juan Islands in Washington.
June, 2022
Sea Kayaking & Mountaineering
This 22-day course for the Northwest Outward Bound School is a whirlwind of skills learning and character development through the mountains and sea. Students sea kayak in the San Juan Islands and climb in the North Cascades.
July, 2022
Alpine Backpacking & Rock Climbing for Youth
August, 2022
Tahoma (Mount Rainier) Course
As an instructor for the Northwest Outward Bound School Owens will work with a group of students on the technical and leadership skills required to summit the highly glaciated Tahoma (Mount Rainier), and attempt to summit the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States.
August - October, 2022
Outdoor Educator Semester
In the fall, a group of students will develop the skills to become the next great outdoor educators during the Northwest Outward Bound School's 55-day Outdoor Educator Course. The course will cover sea kayaking, mountaineering, rock climbing, wilderness medicine, and educational skills.
