going to let nature slip under the rug in their classroom! 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. The common bond of connection to the land is nothing


new to many of us in this field; of course this is where our drive to mentor tomorrow’s environmental educators comes from! But is this enough? Can I just stop at inspiring my students to connect with nature? In some cases, it is enough and is the basis for lasting change and educating the next generations. Still, if we also want to work to create change within the educational structures that already exist, how can we do this effectively? We know of many people who are in their thirties, forties, fifties and sixties who are presently in administrative positions. They grew up in a world where the only rules they had to follow were to play outside and make sure to come home at dark! This is not the case today. Many kids that are addicted to technology are restricted in outdoor exploration by home-owner association rules, or have par- ents that have become afraid of the woods. How can Coyote help others in positions of authority remember the value of our essential connection to the earth? That there are many kids who have never been allowed to go out and ‘come back at dark’? Coyote would inspire us to dive even deeper and ask, “How and where does real change start?” Like many environmental educators worldwide, the


soul of what we want to implement-within the complexity of curriculum alignment standards, science comprehension and field trips- is simple; Go outside, be in nature, and form a connection to the earth, to your community and yourself. This will help cultivate a stewardship ethic that will save our species from extinction! Boy, no pressure here! Still, I would ask Coyote, “Isn’t your answer a bit simplistic in addressing a very complex issue? Just go outside and be in nature?”Coyote smiles at me wisely and says nothing. Step- by- step we face these challenges and little-by-little things are changing. There are times in every outdoor educator’s career where they wish to have more space, more freedom, more time, and more financial resources (!) to make pro- grams more powerful. Like the teachers in Manitoba, we write grants, collaborate, attend conferences, self educate and take classes. I always wonder what Coyote would say about all the work we do while asking ourselves, if this is really enough? In my more frustrated and cynical moments, I say things are not changing fast enough, and demand to know why this process is so slow? How can Coyote Mentor- ing, the mentoring I most value, possibly create enough great change in the world, open eyes and infuse us with aliveness and connection to nature? Finally, Coyote says,”shhhh...’” and takes me back to Elk Meadows and asks me to breathe... Coyote reminds me that real change comes from this


morning, sitting with myself, observing nature and my stu- dents who I dearly love. He says slow down and remember your connection. Remember that day in Michigan, age six, when the forests where imprinted on your soul. That mo-


CLEARING 2010 www.clearingmagazine.org/online Page 47


ment, and many after, led me to be here in this exact spot in Washington State at age 32, where I sit in this soggy, morn- ing meadow, smiling in drenched, muddy raingear, exhal- ing a foggy breathe. Coyote tells me I will get all of them to understand by being here myself and by bringing them here, in person. Let them see the world through our eyes, he says.


Let them know the sun on their face, the mud squishing between their toes and the awe of seeing a herd of elk one winter’s dawn. But please, whatever you do, for each and every student, parent, school board member, donor or government official you bring outside,-go out there at least ten times more for yourself. The seed of all the work we do started somewhere. We create that same opportunity for our students each and every single time we take them outside. Our personal connection and relationship with ourselves, our communities and the earth is the impetus for all the change we have seen in environmental education so far. This change will continue to grow from a humble yet powerful commitment to ourselves to simply go outside and be. It is time to go back to the vans and return to the land


where the parents await. We are all extremely muddy and, exhausted- and deeply content. I turn for one last look at the meadow and see Coyote running through the forest’s edge saying over his shoulder, “Gotcha last!” He trots into undergrowth, disappearing from sight. He knows I cannot resist hide and seek, and sees keenly as my mentor that I’ll be tempted to come back, another mist-filled morning, to play in the meadow.


Lindsay Letitia Huettman is Outreach Coordinator/Youth School Instructor for the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, Washington . Her primary passion is connecting humans to wilderness through the use of native plants. WAS is a nature awareness/sur-


vival skills school that teaches natural sensory awareness in the wilderness, bird language, tracking, plants and much more. Visit http://www. wildernessawareness.org/index.html


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