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Nature-based Models of Education:
Our Mentoring and Teaching Courses

"The Coyote Mentoring Weekend inspired me to open my senses and to discover over again my own joy and awe and respect of the wilderness...and it gave me tools to creatively bring this enthusiasm home to share with my daughter and other kids."
-Amy Wolff

Native societies did not send their children to formalized schools to acquire nature education. Instead, they surrounded their young people with a powerful mentoring culture. Our co-founder Jon Young often calls this education system an "Invisible School." Invisible Schools used everyone in the village and all the elements of the landscape to draw out their student’s curiosity and inspire hands on learning. (View our Mentoring and Teaching Courses)

Wilderness Awareness School's unique nature education model and mentoring techniques create an Invisible School that combines the best of native wisdom and modern science. Using universal children’s interests and passions to engage them in practicing Core Routines of Nature Awareness, mentors improvise with Storytelling, the Art of Questioning, and a limitless bundle of games, activities, and challenges. Our "Coyote Mentoring" tools inspire children to connect deeply with nature and send them home with a sparkle in the eye.

Check out one of our Nature Education Courses to learn more...

Our Nature Education and Mentoring Courses

Coyote Mentoring - April 17-19 and July 10-12, 2009
Get hands-on training in the basic principles behind Coyote's Guide through this through this fun filled weekend workshop. Designed for parents, educators, and mentors who want an introduction to how we teach and why Coyote Mentoring works for nature education.

Art of Mentoring - June 28-July 4, 2009
Dive deeply into the principles of our unique nature-based educational approach during this week long residential course. Live within a vibrant mentoring culture as you explore a powerful way to learn. The Art of Mentoring will open your senses to a new way of teaching that taps into natural rhythms embedded deep within each of us. This experiential course is based on our new book, Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature.

Wilderness Course - Residential Program - Sept. 2009-June 2010
During this year-long intensive study you will live within our nature-based mentoring culture while exploring all aspects of Wilderness Awareness School's curriculum and deepening your connection to the natural world. The Residential Program incorporates the Art of Mentoring principles throughout the entire course.

Instructor Training Apprenticeships - Sept. 2009-June 2010
Get hands-on experience in nature education and mentoring by serving as an apprentice with our school year youth or adult courses. Apprentices are involved with all aspects of our courses and benefit from personal mentoring by the Wilderness Awareness School coordinators and instructors. Most apprentices are graduates of our Residential Program or have similar experience.

Some articles of interest from our NatureSkills.com site:
The Art of Questioning - by Paul Houghtaling
Storytelling for Inspiration - by Evan McGown
The Natural Learning Cycle - by Warren Moon

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