No Child Left Inside | Outdoor Instructor Training Course at Wilderness Awareness School

"I highly recommend this outdoor instructor course to people who care about children and the earth, and those looking for a meaningful and inspirational educational model."
-Stephanie Etley

How do you become a skilled outdoor instructor and mentor?

Are you a teacher, college student, current outdoor instructor, or other adult who would like to help young people build life-long relationships with the natural world?

Would you like to learn wilderness skills and pass them on to others? How can you help make sure that “No Child Left Inside” becomes a reality for kids today?

This summer outdoor instructor course offers foundational tools for becoming a meaningful mentor in the lives of children. College credit (6 credits in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Leadership) is available as an option to students in this course.

Outdoor instructors The Earth Mentor Program is an intensive, six-week outdoor instructor training course during the summer months.

The course provides participants with primary training in the unique outdoor educational method that Wilderness Awareness School has been practicing and refining for the past 24 years, as well as an introduction to the basic set of nature awareness, tracking, and wilderness survival skills.

Earth Mentor Program students will be part of a close-knit cohort of 8-16 students that directly support and learn from each other's experiences. Your team will meet with your personal advisor for group discussions, shared learning, and support.

Students also become part of a larger learning community that encompasses Wilderness Awareness School. Through this community, students develop friendships and are supported in their studies.

This larger community consists of a range of staff, both outdoor instructors and administrators, who visit and support the course in various capacities; a council of elders available to provide guidance; volunteers; students from other courses; as well as independent community groups.

Instructors for this outdoor training course include our most experienced Youth and Adult Courses staff (see instructor biographies section).

Earth Mentor Program Includes:

Participation in the weeklong Art of Mentoring Workshop to learn numerous activities, games and techniques for helping other people develop deep connections with nature
Participation in the NatureSkills Weeklong for a basic introduction to the wilderness skills sets of nature awareness, bird sounds interpretation, edible and medicinal plants, wildlife tracking, and wilderness survival
Participation in the weeklong Summer Wolf Tracking Expedition in Idaho for a more thorough introduction to tracking as an interpretive tool and model of inquiry into all aspects of the natural world
Two weeks as an Assistant Instructor at our Summer Youth Courses, to gain first-hand experience as a youth outdoor instructor and mentor alongside an experienced lead instructor from our staff, and to put your workshop learning into practice in the field
Kamana Naturalist Training Program, Levels 1 and 2, to enhance your naturalist knowledge and provide a solid wilderness skills foundation for continuing your naturalist studies after you complete the Earth Mentor Program
Our new 300-page curriculum guide-book, Coyote's Guide to Connecting Kids with Nature, with a foreward written by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, and a national leader in the “No Child Left Inside” movement
Weekly meetings with fellow Earth Mentor Program participants and your personal advisor for group discussions, shared learning, and support
Three-day Closing/Wrap-up, including group exercises for reflection and integration, as well as a personal rite-of-passage experience
The beautiful, temperate weather of summer in the Pacific Northwest!

Earth Mentor Program, 2008 Schedule

June 26-28:	Orientation
June 29-July 5:	Art of Mentoring Workshop
July 7-11:	Assistant Instructing at Summer Youth Courses, Week #1
July 13-19:	NatureSkills Weeklong
July 21-25:	Assistant Instructing at Summer Youth Courses, Week #2
July 27-Aug. 3:	Summer Wolf Tracking Expedition in Idaho
August 4-7:	Closing/Wrap-Up

Earth Mentor Program at a glance

Tuition

$4,250. Includes all instruction and course materials, participation in expeditions and workshops, all meals*, all course-related travel, and on-site shared apartment housing in beautiful Cedar Lodge (limited to the first 8 enrolled students; housing for additional students will be camping accommodations including bathroom and kitchen facilities).(*Some meals during off days may not be provided. Further details in acceptance packet.)

Scholarships are available; see application info. below. We are also now able to offer Financial Aid funding in the form of SLM Financial Career Training Loans!

Duration

Six weeks (June 26-August 6, 2008).

Location

The Pacific Northwest: Primarily on our campus in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains of Washington as well as scenic parks and other locations in the Puget Sound region, and a weeklong expedition to backcountry Idaho.

Enrollment

Limited to 16 participants.

Instructors

See instructor biographies section.

Applying to the Program

See application process.

Becoming a skilled mentor

Further Study

Graduates of the Earth Mentor Program can continue into a deeper study of Wilderness Awareness School's curriculum and educational method through participating in the Residential Program and/or our Instructor Training Apprenticeship.

Earth Mentor Program graduates will have completed Level I of the Kamana Naturalist Training Program, and are encouraged to continue their study in Level II. Graduates of the Four-Level Kamana Program are confident naturalists who possess a deep understanding and knowledge of the natural world in their region and beyond.

To apply or for more information:

For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you have additional questions or would like a new DVD about the program and color brochure, and/or an application sent to you via postal mail, please use our Info. Request Form

To apply, complete the Earth Mentor Program Application on-line. Or download the Application in PDF file format, complete it, and mail it in.

We are currently welcoming applications for the several remaining spaces in the 2008 Earth Mentor Program until the program fills, or the program start date in late June, whichever is sooner. See application and payment schedule.

NOTE: If you plan to apply for a scholarship, please submit a scholarship application along with your application for the Earth Mentor Program (download a Scholarship Application in PDF file format and mail it in to us).

NEW - Financial Aid funding available to Earth Mentor Program students in the form of SLM Financial Career Training Loans!

Instructor Biographies

Mike Prince Mike Prince: Mike coordinates the Earth Mentor Program, and serves as a lead mentor for participants. He also serves as a Youth Programs Coordinator at Wilderness Awareness School, Assistant Summer Camp Director, and Facility Manager for the school. Mike graduated from the Wilderness Awareness Residential Program in 2004, and followed that with a second year as a Apprentice Instructor with Community School. Mike's previous experience as an educator includes teaching High School, directing a Boy Scout Camp, and working for the YMCA.

Chris Laliberte Chris Laliberte: Chris shares his knowledge and expertise with nature-based mentoring and wilderness survival crafts. He has worked in the field of outdoor education since 1992, designing and leading courses that incorporate wilderness adventure and natural history. In 1996 he founded Wilderness Awareness School's Community School for teens. He has a Master's Degree in Environmental Education from the Audubon Expedition Institute and is currently working towards his Ph.D. in Mythological Studies.

Sol Marie Doran Sol Marie Doran: Sol shares her passion and experience with youth mentoring and native plants. She is a Lead Instructor at Youth School and Roots and Wings at Wilderness Awareness School. Sol came to the School from southern California, where she worked with Wilderness Youth Project, ran an early childhood outdoor course, and earned a B.S. in Ecology. She currently studies herbalist skills at Ravencroft Garden.

John Chilkotowsky John Chilkotowsky: John offers his wisdom in youth instruction and program development. He has been an educator and outdoor instructor since 1995, teaching and designing wilderness courses in public schools, environmental education centers, and at primitive skills camps. John has a Bachelor of Science degree, is a Kamana Naturalist Training Program graduate, and serves as the Program Director at Wilderness Awareness School. See video with John from a local “No Child Left Inside” panel discussion at Seattle REI

David Moskowitz David Moskowitz: David shares his knowledge and expertise in wildlife tracking, experiential/outdoor education and outdoor instructor training. He serves as Adult and Special Programs Coordinator, and a Tracking Courses Instructor at Wilderness Awareness School. David holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Adventure Education from Prescott College, and joined Wilderness Awareness School in 2005, bringing with him over a decade of experience teaching outdoor and environmental education throughout the United States including at Outward Bound, Rites of Passage Journeys, and the Northwest Outdoors Science School.

Alexia Stevens Alexia Stevens: Alexia shares her passion and expertise in bird language and ornithology. She has worked as a bird biologist in the North Cascades and Olympic National Parks, and has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a concentration on bird behavior and communication. Alexia is also an instructor for the Kamana Naturalist Training Program, is staff specialist with Wilderness Awareness School's adult courses and the Residential Program, and is currently recording an audio guide to bird behavior.

John Gallagher John Gallagher: John shares his knowledge and experience with native plants. He has worked for Wilderness Awareness School since 1991 and is a Community Centered Herbalist, a Five-element acupuncturist, and runs LearningHerbs with his wife Kimberly. John was the director of the Kamana Naturalist Training Program for 11 years, and he currently manages Wilderness Awareness School's new content websites, NatureSkills.com and NatureTalk.net.

Dan Corcoran Dan Corcoran: Dan shares his passion and experience with wilderness survival skills and naturalist studies. He serves as the Director of the Kamana Naturalist Training Program, and as an instructor with Youth and Adult Courses at Wilderness Awareness School. Dan received his B.S. in Biology from Indiana University, is a 2003 graduate of the Wilderness Awareness Residential Program, is a Kamana graduate, and a Wilderness First Responder.