Local nature school promotes connection with the natural world while teaching perseverance, collaboration, and practical skills

Oakan Oyafuso and Izzy Pritchard tend to the horses at Coyote Nature School.

By Alex Hunt

From children to parents, Coyote Nature School shows families the value of learning among the trees and animals.

After Kendra Martin retired from her 25-year teaching career, she made her next move to open a nature school with a twist. Operating for four years and thriving, Coyote Nature School allows children and their parents to learn about a variety of outdoor concepts, ranging from the anatomy of chicken-egg membranes to learning about butterfly chrysalides.

Located on her farm on the outskirts of St. Marys, Martin offers a variety of programs catering to children from 18 months to high-school age. Selected programs also offer parents a chance to join in on the learning and observe how their children interact in an outdoor environment and with the rescue animals that live on the property.

“For the Homesteaders program, we want to grow capable kids, and we take a new focus on teaching children to learn a variety of skills,” said Martin, founder and director. “They can build a duck house, make a quilt and even make soap from scratch. We have people from the community that also come to provide valuable life lessons.”

Martin said kids struggling with anxiety who have enrolled in the program are now thriving and she hopes those challenges will lessen in regular school and home settings. She added children are placed in situations that allow them to utilize their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that build their confidence and perseverance, preparing them for outside-world scenarios.

All programs offered at Coyote Nature School are built with their own unique education curriculum identities that provide different learning opportunities for enrolled students. The Homesteaders program runs every Thursday with a focus on children interacting with farm animals, doing property chores, building shelters and using tools to solve problems.

Ten-year-old Ben Edwards loves to learn outside, feed the animals and cuddle with the puppies, while nine-year-old Izzy Pritchard enjoys learning survival skills like building campfires and shelters.

“It’s better than normal school because you get to run around all the time and be outside. I love doing the chores because we get to see the animals,” said 10-year-old Oakan Oyafuso. “My favorite animal is the horse named Gus, and I love petting the guinea pigs.”

Children explore and learn about real-time environmental changes that occur on Martin’s farm property. The nature school operates alongside another outdoor education property that is run by Martin in Harrington.

Coyote Nature School certified teacher Jacob Steinmann plans to adopt nature-school fundamentals within his own teaching career.

Erin McArthur, parent volunteer, helps to facilitate the education dynamics alongside Martin and her staff. McArthur said her son, Jack, who is enrolled in the Homesteaders program, has started to feel more grounded and attuned with himself since attending the nature school four years ago.

McArthur says not only has she noticed positive benefits for her son, but also for herself.

“People can step outside, but are they really taking it in?” asked McArthur. “For me, connecting with the outdoors means listening to the birds, looking at all the beautiful colours, feeling your feet on the ground, watching the water flow and really taking it. Are you being fully present?”

Martin says it’s a child’s right to be outside every day and connect with nature. She said some parents struggle with the cost of tuition to enrol their child. To remove the cost barrier, Martin is seeking community sponsors to build an education fund to allow parents to send their children to nature school tuition-free.