Episode 6 - Healing in Nature: Warriors & Quiet Waters

Colonel Eric Hastings is a veteran who spent much of his life turning to the outdoors for healing, during and after many years in active military service. He especially likes to fly fish. On the Quiet Waters Ranch in Bozeman, Montana, Hastings and his team help veterans find peace and reintegrate into daily life. They expose “wounded warriors” to nature-centered experiences and teach critical backcountry skills, giving the returning soldiers space to pursue healing, meaning, and new life directions. It was on this ranch where, on a foggy September morning, Colonel Hastings and the Kendeda Fund’s founder, Diana Blank, spent time together, walking in the woods, sharing stories about their pasts, and talking about their own relationships with nature and healing. 

• Stories from The Kendeda Fund is an audio storytelling project documenting the origins, impact and legacy of The Kendeda Fund. Each episode highlights an element of The Kendeda Fund’s philanthropic journey, revealing useful lessons for nonprofit veterans and emerging donors alike. Learn more at www.kendedafund.org.  
• Warriors & Quiet Waters https://warriorsandquietwaters.org/ 
• “The Effect of Time Outdoors on Veterans Receiving Treatment for PTSD” (Bettman, et.al., 2021) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405544 
• This episode was produced by Wonder Media Network. Our Executive Producers are Dena Kimball and David Brotherton.