Each week at the Two Coyotes Wilderness School has a different theme of wilderness and survival skills with different camps offered, according to Camp Director Karianna Rosenberg.

Tuesday, July 7, was day two of the Forts and Shelters camp.

The Two Coyotes Wilderness School is a camp that uses “wilderness survival, wildlife tracking, and naturalist skills as tools to help better understand yourself and your place in the world”, according to its website, twocoyotes.org.

Ms Rosenberg has been the camp director for about four years. Two Coyotes runs all year and offers a homeschool program, an after school program, and a summer camp program.

The campers were divided into four groups: the youngest campers were ages 5 to 6; there were two groups from ages 7 to 9; and the oldest group was ages 10 to 13.

“A simplified version of our camp mantra is; ‘Fostering a deep connection to nature, self, and community through naturalistic and survival skills,’” said Ms Rosenberg.

This camp may be focused on teaching the campers about nature, but the counselors do not teach in the usual way, according to Ms Rosenberg. Counselors use what they refer to as “coyote mentoring,” which Ms Rosenberg defines as “in the shadows” mentoring.

“We teach and discuss by using consensus,” said Ms Rosenberg. “Every voice should be heard and that way, we allow the kids to think about and discuss their ideas and decisions.”

This style of teaching allows the campers to come to conclusions on their own, according to Ms Rosenberg.

The four groups spent Tuesday hiking the area, located on Huntingtown Road, and looking for a location to build their shelters.

The older group members, led by instructor Oscar Gomez, found their location and were busy learning how to use flint and steel to start a fire.

“This is my first week,” said Mr Gomez. “My favorite part has been teaching the kids how to build the shelters.”

Jesse Hoffman, 12, was one of the campers in Mr Gomez’s group.

“Camp has been really fun,” said Jesse, as he sat in his shelter. “I liked learning how to build a strong shelter.”

Another camper, Westley Dick, 8, said that his favorite part of camp was looking for the perfect place for his group to build their shelter.

“I also like the trails,” said Westley. “And learning about the different plants, like, that water hemlock is very dangerous, and seeing Queen Anne’s lace, a plant with a furry stem.”

“We harness a child 's passions as one of our tools to make the learning irresistible,” said Ms Rosenberg. “The kids don’t even realize they’re learning because they're having so much fun.”