Coyote’s Teachings (continued)


notes I take on all of my students. Coyote illuminates signs of aliveness, health, vitality, enthusiasm as well as edges, grief, challenges and insecurities. The kids return at our beckoning and share about what


they experienced this morning during their Sit. We listen for what they see and Coyote helps us note what they don’t see. Afterwards, some of us spend the day getting down on our hands and knees smelling elk lays; others explore a grove of old-growth Spruce trees on the meadow edge. During lunch, we have an epic mud fight, then an introduction to mycol- ogy with some polypores found on a rotting log. We spend unstructured time letting nature be our guide. Just being to- gether in nature, as a community, creates the glue that makes this amazing day stick to the fabric of our souls. During the year, we share inspiring journeys with our


students, all the while asking questions for which we instructors might not necessar- ily have the answers. This can be an edge for some new to the art of questioning. Coyote reminds us to be curi- ous with our students; we don’t always have to have the answers! We can show them how to be life-long learners by our openness at being curious, humble, awe- struck and alive! Many times though, we are asked questions that we do have answers for. We get the inevitable nature queries, “What kind of animal left that track?”, “What kind of bird was that?”, and “What family is that plant in?” Sometimes we will answer, but most of the time we don’t. Coyote tells us to stop, let our students become alive in their own learn- ing. Ask them questions from behind, and this will encour- age them to step up and be the guides of their own learning journey, leading themselves to the answers. Let them look, taste, touch, feel, smell, listen and ask. Coyote says by giv- ing answers ourselves we may take away the very thing we are trying to cultivate: an independent curiosity and deep, personal connection to the natural world. At Wilderness Awareness school we practice what we


Coyote is often a trickster and can see what is unseen, and uses this to do what needs to be done-alone or with a pack. He is playful, wise, sneaky and deeply caring. Coyote is the mentor’s mentor, and encourages us to use tools unseen by our students. These tools will help inspire, challenge and cultivate love for themselves, their communities and nature. There are so many gifts and lessons we learn from Coyote! How else can I use these wonderful tools to cultivate the change I see in my students in everyone else? I have won- dered if this wily mentor could also help us to impress the importance of bringing humans closer to nature within our school districts, governments and greater communities. A great example of this possibility came to me as I travelled this fall to Manitoba, Canada for the provinces first ever Nature Action Collaborative for Children. We arrived at Camp Manitou and felt instantly at home


One thing Coyote noticed with this group was their many stories of deep personal connection with the land and how this was the root of their passion for teaching about nature.


with the rustic cabins, and the fire pits, the easy laughter, and wonderful food that marks almost all of the more outdoor-centered confer- ences I have attended. Ellen Haass (co- author of Coyote’s Guide to Con- necting with Nature) and I were asked to keynote and to run Coyote Mentor- ing sessions at this three day conference. On the flat, beautiful, Manitoban deciduous forests, we came to know and love this small group of pri- mary school educators and the challenges they face in bringing students out- doors. There are numerous logistical and access issues that are difficult to this,


and many groups of educators. Many of the schools do not have green spaces within


call Coyote Mentoring. From our teachers, we interpret Coyote as one who walks the edge; living in both worlds, the wilderness and the city. Walking this edge asks him to stay alert and to constantly redefine himself as he travels-bring- ing the wisdom of the forests back to the city and vise versa.


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their facilities and cannot get funding for field trips. Safety regulations do not allow the kids to be in a non-contained space, requiring fences instead of trees. We were told by one teacher that much of the community, although rich in farm- ing and hunting culture, does not recognize a problem with the fact that a majority of their children spend most of their time indoors, connected to electronics. Still, these teachers were here, trying to learn more about how to connect their students with nature-stretching themselves, and often find- ing themselves at their edges, as they learned new Coyote Mentoring skills. They are asking big questions, trying to communicate with government and administrators about the importance of child health and its links to time spent out- doors. They are starting school gardens, coming together as individuals and committees to trade skills and stories with each other. This was a solid group of educators that were not


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