Coyote’s Path Youth Program

Coyote’s Path is a monthly wilderness youth program for ages 6-16 in Putney, VT.

Your children will learn through:

- Tracking
- Fire making
- Wandering with awareness
- Stalking and the art of camouflage
- Storytelling
- Discovering natural mysteries
- Shelter building
- Making natural cordage
- Natural basket making
- Being outdoors through different seasons and weather
- Games and Play

Why is it important to have our children connect to nature?

Nature immersion is an opportunity for youth to experience the inner ­stillness of the wilderness mind, the core routines of native awareness, and fun challenges throughout the seasons.  Children discover their unique strengths and come to feel their inner power.  They come to know that they can care for themselves, successfully face difficult challenges, and set their sights on solving seemingly impossible problems.  Nature is the ultimate teacher of holding a positive attitude, gratitude, pursuing mysteries, problem solving, and inventive play.  For more information, see Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.

Important tangible and intangible skills are woven invisibly into each day.  Children might learn inner stillness through the need to observe a songbird singing its morning song. They might learn teamwork and communication through talking circles or the need to quickly build a group shelter. We help children build skills that will serve them for a lifetime, like teamwork, thankfulness, patience, common sense, self confidence, and respect for self, each other and nature.

Personalized attention insures that experienced students are fully engaged. They have the opportunity to learn more advanced bushcraft skills; take responsibility for group decisions and projects; participate in their own advanced challenges; and assist the staff in teaching the skills they have practiced with new students.

2010-2011 Times and Dates

All program dates are Saturdays and include an optional overnight for ages 10+.

Day program: 9am – 3pm Saturday.

Overnight program: 9am Saturday – 11am Sunday.

• October 2
• November 6
• December 4
• January 15
• February 5
• March 5
• April 2*
• April 30*
• June 4*

* – On these dates, overnight is open to all ages.

Cost

The cost for the Coyote’s Path program runs on a sliding scale of $400-550 for the 9 day sessions, with an additional sliding scale of $45-60 added for each overnight (overnights include food provided by IFNL).