“Our societies are increasingly focused on the intangible and the technological; centered around points of urban concentration, and further distanced from the unpredictable and the wild. At Freeflow Institute, we believe that all writers and artists benefit from time spent outside - we believe in the essential re-wilding of the creative spirit. We want to help our leaders, communicators, and innovators make space for their craft; build community through experience; and challenge modern conventions of productivity, predictability, and accountability.”

-Chandra Brown, Founder & Director of Freeflow Institute

Freeflow Institute was founded in 2018 by former Camas editor Chandra Brown. Born and raised in Alaska, Chandra unearthed her love of whitewater on a family trip to Montana where they rowed The Middle Fork of the Flathead River.

Her life since then has flowed with, in, and around rivers. Each summer, she paddles big boats down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. A Fulbright scholarship took her to a rural town in the Ecuadorian Andes where she helped establish Jondachi Fest, a river festival celebrating whitewater culture and river conservation. Last fall, she traveled to Uganda to kayak and collect stories about the communities affected by a dam under construction on the White Nile River.

Chandra feels most at home at confluences. Her house happens to sit where two iconic Montana rivers collide: The Blackfoot and Clark Fork. Freeflow is a confluence of her most impassioned works: education, rivers and conservation.

In 2018, Camas’s blog editor, Stephanie Maltarich, was fortunate to enroll in one of Freeflow’s inaugural trips on the Main Salmon River in Idaho. The following piece, “How I found my rhythm with Freeflow Institute,” is a reflection of her experience. It was originally published in the October/November 2019 issue of Outdoors Unlimited, a publication of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

Stephanie Maltarich writes on the Salmon River Writing Workshop Photo: Nicholas Triolo — Stephanie Maltarich writes on the Salmon River Writing Workshop *Photo: Nicholas Triolo*

In fourth grade, my elementary school offered a program called "Readers Writers Workshop." I spent many afternoons freewriting and filling the pages of my journals. I took a love for writing and storytelling away from these workshops.

Two years ago, after a meandering path and career exploring wild places like Colorado's Rocky Mountains and Ecuador's Galapagos Islands—leading groups into the wild—I returned to academia to explore writing as a career. I didn't know much about how or why I wrote, I just did it. So, I enrolled at the University of Montana's Environmental Writing program.

On a visit to campus, I methodically scanned the colorful posters lining the window for useful information; I wanted to know more about the happenings in the place I would soon call home. My eyes paused on a photo of a meandering river in the wilderness set against a glowing sunset. Bright pink writing asked:

Do you like to write? Do you dream of creative adventure through wild spaces? Are you interested in experiencing the nexus of human and wild experiences?

I looked closer at the fine print: The Main Salmon. Pulitzer Prize Finalist writing instructor. University of Montana graduate credit. Freeflow Institute.

Within days, I signed up for this free-flowing river writing workshop on the Main Salmon River in Idaho to float alongside instructor, William deBuys, Pulitzer Prize finalist famed for his writing on conservation and climate change.

For six days, I floated the Main Salmon on a raft through rapids and eddies. In 1980, the river was designated Wild and Scenic for its rich ecological and human history. Along the way, between rapids, I learned about the significance of confluences, the threat of upstream dams, and the history of prolific wildfires. Each morning the rich scent of coffee woke me from my tent.

Coffee in hand, I sat quietly on the beach writing in my journal as the river’s waves lapped against the shore. deBuys began each morning with a mini-lesson, and the small group of 15 spent the day processing his lecture on the boats.

We learned about the tools and craft of writing: the value of verbs, telling details and showing instead of telling. Everyone read their pieces out loud, and the group provided praise and critique. We grew close as a cohort of writers from all backgrounds–teachers, university professors, outdoor adventure writers and soon-to-be novelists.

That week on the river helped me get back into the rhythm of writing. I stepped outside my comfort zone by sharing stories out loud with a shaky voice to strangers who later became friends.

I returned home after a week on the Main Salmon feeling inspired and confident. With the time and space to write coupled with professional instruction from a seasoned writer; I was prepared to start my master's program. The wild river and open-air helped me find my rhythm and ow in writing, which is exactly what I needed. I learned there is a structured and methodical way to approach my writing instead of a rambling freeflow moment.

Do you like to write? Do you dream of creative adventure through wild spaces? Are you interested in experiencing the nexus of human and wild experiences?

Freeflow is offering three weekend-long workshops for its Winter Workshop Series. The first workshop kicks off this weekend February 29-March 1, in Gardiner, Montana. The courses, based in Montana and led by Montana writers, begin this weekend and run through April. Facilitators include Chris La Tray, Ben Stookesberry and Alexis Bonogofsky and Ronan Donavan. Summer programs include workshops on The Green, The Yampa and Main Salmon rivers with prolific writers William deBuys, Brendan Leonard and David James Duncan.

Visit www.freeflowinstitute.com, IG/FB: @freeflowinsitute to learn more.