Wolf Tracking Expeditions: Summer 2010

Join Wilderness Awareness School for an experience you won’t soon forget.  Our Wolf Tracking Expedition offers participants an exciting opportunity to explore    remote and beautiful backcountry, while learning first-hand about the ways of the gray wolf and the rest of their ecosystem. Expedition participants learn through immersion in this diverse landscape, as we discover and follow the tracks and sign of wolves and other wildlife on the edge of the largest designated wilderness area in the continental United States.

Check out our website www.wildernessawareness.org for more details!

Coyote Mentoring: April 9th-11th & July 30th-August 1st

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.

Our 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.

2010 Dates

April 9-11th

July 30th-August 1st

$275.00 food and camping included

Continuing Education Credits Available for Teachers!

More details: http://www.wildernessawareness.org/adult/workshops_coyote_mentoring.html

Facing Nature Deficit Disorder: A Panel Discussion Feb.22nd 7-9pm

At Wilderness Awareness School, we believe our mission and classes are part of the “cure” for nature deficit disorder, and we have organized an evening roundtable discussion on the topic with a group of six national experts.

Join us to discuss this important issue with some of Seattle’s leading outdoor and environmental educators and organizations. Please bring your questions and concerns to this crucial conversation about Nature Deficit Disorder.

Our Panel of Experts include:

Martin Le Blanc: National Youth Education Director, Sierra Club; Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Children and Nature Network

John Chilkotowsky: Program and Marketing Director, Wilderness Awareness School; WA State Regional Coordinator for the Children and Nature Network

Gail Gatton: Center Director, Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center

Darcy Ottey: Excecutive Director, Rites of Passage Journeys

Erica Nixon Mack: Program Director, Passages Northwest

Jourdan Keith: Founder and Director, Urban Wilderness Project

Register Now for Snow Tracking & Winter Survival Course!

Snow Tracking and Winter Wilderness Survival Skills
February 5-7, 2010; 7:00 a.m. Fri. – 5:00 p.m. Sun.
Methow Valley, WA;

Instructors Dave Scott & Lindsay Huettman $375; Food and lodging at Skalitude Retreat Center included, Airport shuttle available.Details upon registration.

To Register, call 425-788-1301.

(NOTE: Last year this course filled early!)

or go online to www.wildernessawareness.org

New Website for Kamana Naturalist Training Program

Greetings Village People!

I’m excited to announce that Kamana.org is our new hub for Student Services for the Kamana Naturalist Training Program. There is much to help deepen the Kamana experience here-including video and audio lessons, articles about many angles of being a naturalist, weekly quizzes to keep you on your toes, and a community discussion forum specifically for Kamana students (note: the Kamana forum on the village will still be active, too!). It will empower community with Kamana students across the world and in their backyards.

I am also stoked to announce that Jon Young will be a regular contributor to the site! I’ve done a series of interviews with him and the footage is only available on Kamana.org. Jon is the primary author of Kamana and this will add a lot to any student’s experience.

Please visit the home page to get a sample of what Kamana.org is like. There are videos on the site as we speak. Including a sample video of Jon Young describing what a “Ka Mana” is in Hawaiian. We will also be posting some videos on the Village in the next few weeks.

If you are interested in hearing more about Kamana.org please sign up for the Kamana newsletter on the Kamana.org homepage. Also let me know if you have any questions about the Kamana program or Kamana.org.

We officially open for enrollment on Nov. 17th. Use the next few days to get a taste for what the site has to offer!

Sincerely,
Kamana Dan
Independent Studies Coordinator
Wilderness Awareness School

YOUTH PROGRAMS VISIT DAYS!

Come outside with us!

You and your children are invited to share a day with our staff, students and other families to see our enriching school
year youth programs in action!

Visit Days 2009-2010:

Roots & Wings (Ages 4-6) October 14 & 16; February 10 & 12

Foxes (Ages 7-9) October 29th; April 8th

Coyotes (Ages 10-12) October 22nd; April 8th

Community School (Ages 13-18) October 20th; April 6th

Please email Lindsay Huettman

at lindsayh@wildernessawareness.org

or call (425)788-1301 to sign up!

Tracking Club on the Skykomish River: Join us Monthly!

Instructor: David Moskowitz,

Location: Tracking club is held on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. along the Skykomish River (meet at the Sultan Park & Ride by 8:45 a.m.)

Dates: Saturdays: Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 21, Jan. 16, Feb. 20, Mar. 20, Apr. 17, and May 15. (NOTE: Tracking club is not held during the Summer, so May 16th is the last meeting until September).

Cost: $5 (free for Tracking Club members; see membership info. below)

What to bring? Dress for a morning outside and be sure to bring a pair of shoes that you don’t mind getting wet (knee high rubber boots are great!)

For a Detailed Description go to Tracking Club

Still Time to Apply for Anake Outdoor School!

We are still welcoming applications for our finest wilderness survival course and intensive naturalist training – the 2009-2010 Anake Outdoor School - a year-long outdoor wilderness school that provides in-depth training in a powerful set of nature awareness and wilderness survival skills. But be sure to apply soon–the applications are rolling in and we have limited space left!

Our highly experienced core instructors, guest instructors and staff specialists guide you in field studies ranging from wilderness survival skills to wildlife tracking techniques and wild edible plant preparations. Your outdoor school adventures are based out of our beautiful campus outside of Duvall, WA, in the Pacific Northwest, and range from the waters of Puget Sound, across the Cascade mountains to the high deserts of the eastside, and down the pacific coast to the sand dunes of Oregon and the redwoods of California.

Learn more and apply now for Wilderness Awareness School’s outdoor school Residential Program.

Tuition Assistance for Homeschoolers!

WOW! Join us in celebrating our partnership with Columbia Virtual Academy & Northport Homelink

Through this connection, your homeschooled child (age 5+) can receive up to $1,200 that can be applied toward costs at Wilderness Awareness School. Columbia Virtual Academy (CVA) & Northport Homelink offers a highly flexible and personalized program to meet diverse family learning needs.

Any student in Washington may enroll in CVA or Northport Homelink tuition-free. Your student does not need to be in a partnering district to enroll. Your curriculum resources are also provided free of charge. For access to on-line course work, a computer will be provided for families who need this additional assistance.

Each student fund may be applied to any instructional materials or services that directly support your personalized learning plan. You select your own curriculum and receive instructional support through weekly contact, monthly reviews and annual assessments. This parent-driven option offers a substantial list of screened and approved curricular options.

For further information, email…

Columbia Virtual Academy (currently has a waiting list) – Jennifer Payton jpayton@columbiavirtualacademy.org

Northport Homelink (Enrolling)-Amy Kelley homelink@northport.schools.org

Wilderness Awareness School – Lindsay Huettman lindsayh@wildernessawareness.org

We’re on CoyoteTV!

 

Check out our online web tv special on CoyoteTV, “The Art of Mentoring” featuring mentoring how-to’s and interviews with Warren Moon, Executive Director and John Chilkotowsky, Program Director, along with Ellen Haas, co-author of Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature.

Watch now: CoyoteTV