CM Sereda camp boy skips rock

Magic Moments… From Coyote to Camp

As you know, I went straight into teaching nature camp on Monday morning after your Coyote Mentoring workshop. I am more than happy to announce that it was the BEST two weeks of camp I have had so far, and it showed. By the second week, word had spread, and I was at full capacity almost every day. I had parents telling me that their child has never been so inquisitive, or artistic, or adventurous. Just from a few days in camp.

And above that, I feel more confident in my planning and teaching. I am noticing the small things that I missed last year, the things that are actually the big things. The kids LOVED it, parents loved it, and I loved it. People are knocking down my door to register for summer camp!

Today, when one of my girls was leaving, her mom said to me, “They look happy; you must be doing something right.” Her daughter turned around and said, “Rachelle, you’re doing a million things right!” It brought tears to my eyes. I feel like I’m on an amazing track, and I am so grateful to Coyote Mentoring for giving me the inspiration. I am so looking forward to having time to delve into Coyote’s Guide next week, and bring my planning up to the next level.

You guys are doing an amazing thing at that school, and I would love to learn more about what you do, and how I can incorporate and eventually expand my nature programs.

Rachelle Sereda, participant Coyote Mentoring workshop, One Mile Lake Nature Centre Camp Director, BC Canada

Join us for our week-long Art of Mentoring workshop this summer and bring these teachings and more back to any camp or group of kids/adults you are working with!

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Alumni in Action… Mind Matters

By Ruta Nanivadekar

As a junior at Western Washington University, I don’t hang out in the woods much these days. I’m pursuing degrees in Sociology and Political Science, and I spend my days discussing stereotypes and human rights, cooped up inside with my studies. Despite how “indoor” my life is, let me assure you that Wilderness Awareness School had an immensely powerful impact on my life, because it taught me how to have presence of mind.

Presence of mind occurs when my mind is free of distractions, my soul and my mind are firmly grounded in my physical body, and I can clearly feel who I am. This feeling enables me to tap into my genuine self, so that I can recognize what truly makes me happy and make decisions that lead my life in the right direction. The activities we did at Wilderness Awareness School introduced me to what presence of mind feels like – and, over time, I came to understand how crucial it is, and I learned how to acquire it on my own.

It’s presence of mind that you feel during sit-spot. You feel the damp ground underneath you, you feel every frog’s croak enter your ears, and though the desire to fidget builds up within you, you are able to quell it because you are aware of yourself. It’s presence of mind that allows you to maneuver your way around a fire, addressing its needs while avoiding getting smoke in your eyes.

Presence of mind is so important for me because, the way my life is structured, there’s always more that I should be doing, and it’s really easy to just go through the motions without even being invested in them. It’s easy to feel lost.

But I know how to remedy that because Wilderness Awareness School showed me that my genuine self is always present, and it gave me the tools to sweep away the distractions and regain that presence of mind. I turn off the news and cook dinner in silence; I step outside for a minute, close my eyes and feel the breeze on my face; I decide to set an intention for my day, or I take the time to feel the sensations in my body, from my head down to my toes. No matter where I go and what I do, these little habits that Wilderness Awareness School inspired in me help me stay true to myself.

Ruta Nanivadekar, Community School graduate, Western Washington University student (in photo, far left)

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YOU gaveBIG and lifted kids’ lives!

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YOU gaveBIG and lifted kids’ lives!

Thanks to you, with the donations beginning to arrive in our mailbox and a huge boost from Wednesday’s online giveBIG appeal, through our friends at The Seattle Foundation, together we have raised $21,242 of our $45,000 goal – almost half way there! We appreciate your support in connecting kids of all ages with nature – and training the trainers to reach even more.

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New Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants Class

Learn how to use native wild plants for food & medicine! In this course you will learn a full range of uses, from quick survival foods to using wild plants in gourmet cooking, a how-to of making herbal salves, tinctures, and infusions, as well as using wild plants for first aid.

You will also learn wild plant identification, safe and ethical harvesting methods, and cooking and preserving wild edibles. You will create a salve and tincture to take home. You will leave the weekend with hands-on knowledge of wild edible & medicinal plants that can be made a part of your everyday life!

Please click here to find out more and register online now!

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Give Big Today!

Today’s the day!

Invest in Kids! Join us today, MAY 15, online at The Seattle Foundation for giveBIG, a 24-HOUR community sharing event. giveBIG sponsors will stretch your gift. The Seattle Foundation will match a portion of every donation; plus a chance to boost your gift by $1000! Make a donation, rally friends, be part of our biggest day of giving this year!

We are grateful for the many ways you support deeper connection to nature, community and self. Today brings a unique opportunity to take your energy and amplify it, connecting thousands of kids and adults with nature, with help from our friends at The Seattle Foundation.

Welcome to giveBIG!
    Extraordinary, online community-wide day of sharing, hosted by The Seattle Foundation
    24 HOURS ONLY – online, TODAY, midnight to midnight (Pacific Time)
Stretch your gift! The more money we raise online today, the more of their proportionate Stretch Match we earn
Donations must be online – Contribute with your credit or debit card on our profile page on The Seattle Foundation’s website, to qualify for their Match
Chance to boost your donation an additional $1000! – Donors will be chosen at random today by The Seattle Foundation to receive a Golden Ticket, worth $1000 extra for Wilderness Awareness School – allowing a donation of any size to giveBIGGER

Invest in kids. Your support can bring connection and love of the natural world to the children who need it most. Our spring Invest in Kids goal is to raise $45,000 to increase the number of kids reached by our summer programs by 16 percent – serving over 1800 children – and continue to develop additional public school partnerships. Please give generously to connect even more kids with nature!

Remember the magic of your first camp fire, or the sheer joy of rolling down a grassy hill? When surveyed before beginning Northwest Recess 360, our pilot program with two inner-city Seattle Elementary schools, fifty-two percent of these students reported spending less than an hour per week playing outside when not in school. This program – designed to bring back active, connected play, reduce bullying, increase academic performance, and improve overall health and wellbeing – has had a transformational impact. Matt DeJong, one of our lead instructors, describes the depth of the need:

“At first, we encountered substantial fear around getting wet and dirty  – they were
afraid to even to touch a stick, or go up a steep hill. One student went from being
barely able to go down paths, to now happily pushing his way through bushes, to
explore off-trail.”

Your contribution today will really go the distance to connect kids with nature. Please give generously to help get more kids outside – Today!

 

P.S. Grow your Gift! All gifts given online TODAY will be Stretch Matched at www.SeattleFoundation.org/npos/Pages/WildernessAwarenessSchool.aspx

P.P.S. Then, please spread the word, “like” our giveBIG post on Facebook, and rally support for kids in nature!

Questions about giveBIG and contributing to Wilderness Awareness School? We are happy to hear from you at our office (425.788.1301) or query our Development Director, Kylie Loynd (425.244.5623, KylieL [at] WildernessAwareness [dot] org). Wilderness Awareness School is a 501c3 educational nonprofit, Tax ID # 22-3190778.

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Skunk Tracks & Sign

Who hasn’t had a skunk experience? Either catching a whiff outside, or coming up on one and narrowly escaping being sprayed. Find out if those tracks you see in your yard or favorite nature place are from a skunk – and keep yourself and your pets “away from the spray.”

Click here to find out more about Skunk Tracks & Sign


Video

Veterans speak out about our Anake Outdoor School

The Anake Outdoor School is a powerful and supportive training for many military veterans. Listen to Anake Graduates share about their experiences moving from service to civilian life and how Anake Outdoor School is a great way to use the benefits of the GI Bill for further training.

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give Big

Save the Date — MAY 15!

Invest in Kids! Join us MAY 15 online at The Seattle Foundation for giveBIG, a 24-HOUR community sharing event. giveBIG sponsors will stretch your gift. The Seattle Foundation will match a portion of every donation; plus a chance to boost your gift by $1000! Make a donation, rally friends, be part of our biggest day of giving this year!

Invest in kids. Your support can bring connection and love of the natural world to the children who need it most. Our spring Invest in Kids campaign goal is to raise $45,000 to increase the number of kids reached by our summer programs by 16 percent — serving over 1800 children — and continue to develop additional public school partnerships. Please give generously to help get even more kids outside!

Remember the magic of your first camp fire, or the sheer joy of rolling down a grassy hill? When surveyed before beginning Northwest Recess 360, our pilot program with two inner-city Seattle Elementary schools, fifty-two percent of these students reported spending less than an hour per week playing outside when not in school. This program — designed to bring back active, connected play, reduce bullying, increase academic performance, and improve overall health and wellbeing — has had a transformational impact. Matt DeJong, one of our lead instructors, describes the depth of the need:

“At first, we encountered substantial fear around getting wet and dirty —they were afraid to even to touch a stick, or go up a steep hill. One student went from being barely able to go down paths, to now happily pushing his way through bushes, to explore off-trail.”

Merilee Wilmore, another lead instructor at our inner-city program, shared a story about demonstrating primitive fire that moved her tears:

“They’d never actually seen a real flame. They expressed both their complete disbelief that it could be possible, and their incredible joy that it actually was real. It’s a powerful journey, one that we share in all of our work with youth, and now have the privilege to extend to public school campuses…. Hopefully, one day, we’ll have the opportunity to take them beyond our concrete playgrounds, where they can gather around a real campfire, cook food, tell stories, perhaps having helped start that fire themselves, and opening their lives to a whole new journey.”

This year, we are continuing to pilot programs. Our goal is to find the optimal mix of programs and partnerships that will reach the most kids, and engage and inspire their home communities to continue outdoor play.

Ingwe, our co-founder, had a dream that kids of all ages would have the opportunity to develop a strong connection to the natural world. In his honor, half of your donation will go to the Ingwe Memorial Scholarship Fund.

We need your generous support to reach 1800 children this summer, and continue building public school and other partnerships to serve kids who have great need of nature connection — to help bring Ingwe’s dream to life.

With gratitude,

Warren Moon

Executive Director

 

P.P.S. Grow your Gift? Join us on May 15th for giveBIG! The Seattle Foundation is

hosting a ONE-day event — all gifts given online that day will be Stretch Matched.

Please donate to Wilderness Awareness School for giveBIG, online, on May 15 at www.seattleFoundation.org/npos/Pages/WildernessAwarenessSchool.aspx

 

 

Bow drill fire

Teens in the Wild…Trial by fire

The Pacific Northwest is a great place for survivalists. As one of the wettest places in the United States, finding water is never a problem. Edible plants and animals thrive in the damp environment. And an abundance of sticks, leaves, fallen logs and large rocks makes it easy to find shelter in a pinch. However, the rainy climate is not without its dangers. Being wet increases your chance of hypothermia, and without access to warmth and shelter even a well-equipped hiker can quickly become incapacitated by the cold. As a result, having access to fire is a basic prerequisite to survival in the Pacific Northwest.

Unfortunately, the ability to make primitive fire is no easy task. Even using the most reliable method, a bowdrill kit, there are a multitude of factors that can easily prevent even the most skilled survivalist from successfully building a fire. Mastering the art of creating fire takes years of practice. This is true even in extremely dry climates where sparks caused by falling rocks have been known to start wildfires; the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest compounds every difficulty.

I’ve been a student at the Wilderness Awareness School since I was six years old. Even then, nearly twelve years ago, the School focused heavily on teaching its students to create fire. In weekly programs such as the Foxes, the Coyotes (both for elementary and middle-school students) and Community School (high school), students build their own fire kits to practice with over the course of the year. Some students have a natural talent for squeezing a coal out of pieces of seemingly inert wood. I was never one of those students. I got my first coal when I was thirteen years old, and it was only after much hard work.

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Evan Mark smiling[1]

Creating Nature-Based Community: Notes from “The Front”

by Evan McGown, Anake graduate, former Wilderness Awareness School staff, co-author of Coyote’s Guide

Ten years ago, propelled by an old station wagon running on French-fry-smelling biodiesel, I showed up on the doorstep of Wilderness Awareness School’s then-small office, ready to learn. Through the Anake program, an internship, wearing an ever-varying half-dozen or so hats as staff, then co-authoring Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature, learn I did. A lot. My time in Duvall was a giant apprenticeship into life, into mentoring, into the real possibility of creating a different world than the one I inherited. Four years ago, I decided to bring it back home, put it onto the dance-floor of my hometown — Athens, Georgia, the deep south — and see what would happen.

I’ve learned so much in this practicum — putting what I learned at Wilderness Awareness School into play in a very different context than the mountain-and-sea-encased Pacific Northwest. It’s been a trip, a real journey. It is my hope that someone a lot like I was five years ago may be inspired to find their own path to grow this Nature Connection movement — take the “coyote mentoring bundle” to a new area and spark the fire. Here are some of the important ideas that I feel were essential in opening my own school:

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