Take a breath of fresh air out in the wild with Two Coyotes Wilderness School and experience the power of nature. The group is giving children ages 5 and 14 the opportunity to spend their summer days enjoying the outdoors.To sign up for Two Coyotes' summer programs, visit twocoyotes.org and click Summer Camp.

"Two Coyotes is about nature mentoring," said Executive Director Justin Pegnataro. "We believe that nature is a really important part in raising healthy kids. Our programs help kids understand who they are and also to grow up in a place where they feel like they belong and to fall in love with the Earth."

A variety of weekly camps will be offered through Two Coyotes this summer at Sticks and Stones Farm in Newtown, as well as at Holcomb Farm in Granby. The first camp will start June 19 and the last camp will run until August 18.

"We do a lot with wilderness survival and camping," said Mr Pegnataro.

Campers can experience a wide variety of nature-inspired activities like making edible dishes out of wild plants, creating clay bowls and arrows, learning how to make fire by rubbing sticks together, and learning about animals and their adaptations.

Not only that, but Two Coyotes also has a summer program where children can learn how to make leaf huts, construct the shelter themselves, then sleep outside - sometimes under a full moon with the owls calling.

"It's epic in a way," Mr Pegnataro said. "There's an incredible sense of accomplishment that comes from achieving these things."

One of Mr Pegnataro's favorite summer camps that Two Coyotes has is called Wildwood Rangers that he describes as a "Lord of the Rings, fantasy camp where the kids have padded swords and go on adventures and they battle the forces of evil to defend the kingdom."

Wildwood Rangers is a day camp from 9 am to 3 pm, August 14 to 18, for children ages 9 to 14. The Two Coyotes website says campers will learn self discipline, good sportsmanship, teamwork, courage, perseverance, and leadership/decision making skills.

Children are supervised throughout the programs by knowledgeable staff who are passionate about the lessons Two Coyotes teaches.

"We really love the work that we do and the Newtown community," Mr Pegnataro said.

Two Coyotes has been in Newtown for the last seven years, and also has an early childhood program for parents and young children to explore the outdoors together.

Mr Pegnataro said, "The kids are receiving a really high-quality experience, which is why we call it 'mentoring,' and often we work with kids and families for many years. The benefit of that is we get to play a positive role in their healthy development over time."

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