Always subject to change!!

June 19-21

Thursday

6pm  Campers may register and set up camp.

Friday

9:00am Registration begins

9:30am Opening Circle

10:00am to Noon First Workshop Block

Foraging Foray: How To ID Wild Edibles

Have you ever wandered the woodlands and wondered what you can eat and what you can’t eat? Join Storm on this foraging foray to learn what is a delicious treat and what is deadly poison. Bring your: questions, photos of plants you’re curious about, favorite plant ID book, and a sense of adventure!

Storm F. Songe has eternally been pulled towards the chorus proceeding the dawn. The birds, in their brilliant colors and intricate songs, drew Storm into their mystery and they have never left. In their spare hours and idle moments, they quiet their mind to fully indulge in the music of our feathered friends. 
Frequently, you will find Storm writing poetry, crocheting creatures of the woodlands, seeking the owners of the birdsong, traversing the forest on four limbs, preserving animals that have passed on, and singing to the plants in their garden. 
Storm has a Master’s in Conservation Biology and Biodiversity, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Prior to Two Coyotes, Storm worked as a park ranger, where they rehabilitated wildlife and worked with rescued wild animals. Today, Storm spends their days at, Two Coyotes Wilderness School, connecting the next generation to nature, each other, and themselves.

Gifts of the Pine: Harvesting and Crafting Pine Bark Baskets

Make your own hand basket from the bark of the mighty Eastern White Pine! Learn about the possibilities of white pine bark, which can be peeled and folded or sewn into any kind of basket form you can imagine. Participants will learn the basics of crafting with pine bark and have the opportunity to create their very own pine bark basket in one of two main styles. The possibilities are endless! Expect to get sticky and sappy…

Ben DiNoia is a Nature Mentor and the Program Coordinator at Two Coyotes Wilderness School. Always fascinated by nature, his love for the more-than-human world has brought him on travels across the country and now has landed him once again in southern CT where he continues his journey of life and nature connection. 

1:00 to 3:00 Second Workshop Block

Basics of Making a Bowstring

Learn to make a Flemish Twist bowstring! We will talk about some of the materials used both traditionally and in the modern setting, methods, and some of the different styles of strings and their purposes. Most of our time will be spent hands-on making an artificial sinew string and practicing the twist with different materials. If you have a bow, bring it or the measurement between the two string grooves, or practice by making a smaller version for a very snazzy Bowdrill string! This class is appropriate for ages 12+, younger if adult is present and you have decent focus.

Jia-Lin loves archery, and has been shooting since she was dexterous enough to tie strings to sticks. She has experience in making her own bows, arrows, strings, and quivers and is excited to share a little of her passion with you. She is currently a nurse and has been a mentor and community member of Two Coyotes Wilderness School for over a decade.

Nature Drawing and Journaling

Spend time in nature simply enjoying its beauty, and attempting to capture it in pictures and words. First we will go over basic drawing techniques used for botanical illustration. Next, while sketching our natural surroundings, we will sharpen our observational skills, and begin to build a personal record of the seasonal moment. We will discuss the techniques and benefits of continuing this practice throught the year.

Jon Schroth is an independent artist and a lifelong inhabitant of the lower CT River watershed. In his role as an Arts Fellow with the Gaian Way, he recently developed an Ecological Calendar for New England to connect with annual cycles from an ecocentric perspective. Jon Schroth received his degree from Ringling School of Art and Design in 2004 before beginning a career in animation with Blue Sky Studios. He worked on twelve feature films released by 20th Century Fox and Disney including the Rio and Ice Age movies. Now, based in Middletown, Jon works in a variety of visual creative mediums, often focusing on ecological themes.

3:00 to 5:00 Third Workshop Block

Blessing Pods & Natural Mandalas with Honey Sweet Harmony

Playing with dirt, water, stones, plants, and trees while tuning into our inner wisdom, this session offers the chance to dig deep into learning from and crafting with a variety of gifts from our natural relatives. Music nourishes the dance between earthskills and creativity as participants create Blessing Pods and Natural Mandalas, exploring the regenerative practices of Gratitude, The Honorable Harvest, and Mutualism Among All Beings.

Honey Sweet Harmony is an interspecies creativity-catalyzing mentorship constellation. Kin* specialize in facilitating community-weaving gatherings with storytelling and storycatching, music, movement, eco-connective healing arts, natural cycle ceremonies, and grief / peace tending. McCadden holds a MA/ABD in cultural anthropology of theatre. Ki* is a graduate of the 1st cohort of Living Earth Adult Foundations, Cultural Emergence Effective Design by Applewood Permaculture Centre, and Littlebird Flight School for Community Songleaders. Ki offers private eco-healing/mentoring sessions. David Budd (The Artful Drummer) holds a BFA in Painting & Drawing, and studied with world-renowned frame drummer Layne Redmond, learning the rhythms of the Middle East and Brazil. He draws on his interest in wildlife, gardening, poetry, and shamanic practices as a facilitator in earth-based spiritual communities, and in performing music professionally in a variety of genres. https://linktr.ee/honeysweetharmony. *eco-kinship pronouns

Garlic Mustard naan workshop: rethinking invasive species.

Garlic Mustard has long been considered a harmful invasive species that negatively impacts our local ecosystems. However, it is also a plant with a rich story of flavor and migration. As we consider the dualities of Garlic Mustard, it invites us to reexamine the changing landscape we live in, the historical processes that brought us here, and the relationship to place we seek for our future. In this workshop, we’ll begin by asking a simple question, “what is the story of this plant?” Through some discussion and lecture, we will begin to map this story. Then, through harvesting, processing, and baking naan over the fire, we will seek new relationships with this plant.

Sage Liotta is a writer, historian, and musician with a passion for hidden stories and old things. He grew up wandering the Connecticut woodlands with the Two Coyotes Wilderness School, singing songs and building fires. He has since worked as a Nature mentor in Connecticut, Southern Vermont, and the Boston-area, studied indigenous philosophy and historical storytelling in the Hudson valley, and journeyed to Ireland and the Republic of Georgia in pursuit of ancient folk music traditions. 

Make a Ring from a Coin!

This class will consist of creating a wearable piece of jewelry from coins. Participants can bring their own coins or Bob will have several silver coin options available for purchase at spot prices. The class costs 10 dollars.

Bob Burg of Thunderbird Atlatl, the world’s for-most outfitter of atlatls, is a renaissance man in the truest sense. He has many decades of experience practicing and teaching primitive skills of all kinds, regularly hunts and fishes with his atlatls, speaks German as a second language, has made several violins just for fun and is a terrific raconteur.

7:30pm to 10:00pm Campfire, Stories and Music

Saturday

9:30am Opening Circle

10:00am to Noon First Workshop Block

Forest Gardening: Planting To Last

Learn to harvest and propagate ramps, grow pawpaw trees from seed, cultivate a wild strawberry groundcover, grow enough sunchokes to feed yourself through Winter and more.

We will focus on low maintenance perennials, plants that require some care and thought to get started and will keep feeding you and others for many years to come. The hope is to help you work towards low-energy food production, whether you have acres of fields and forests to cultivate or a few planters in partial shade.

Grant C. Norton has strived towards one single goal as a gardener, growing plants that will benefit from love and care, but can still thrive without human intervention. This is fueled by both a love for seeing the land they cultivate flourish and a sufficient level of unmeditated ADHD that they do not trust themselves to remember to weed or water anything on a consistent schedule.

Forest Prints: Pressing the Patterns of the Land

Monoprinting is a simple, ancient practice: ink an object, press it to paper, lift, and reveal. Each print is one of a kind, shaped by the leaf or stone or feather that made it.

We begin with a short walk through the field campus to gather materials. We will gather leaves, bark, and stones from the woods around us, then press them into nature-based ink and cotton paper to make prints that hold the textures of our home. Children often spot the best ones, the curled bark, the seed pod with deep ridges, the leaf with a spine like a fish bone. Back at the tables, we ink, press, and lift together. Parents and kids work side by side, each making their own prints to carry home. 

The workshop welcomes complete beginners and experienced printmakers alike. Come ready to play with texture, color, and the quiet intelligence of natural form.

Bring: clothes that can handle ink, and a slow eye for what the forest is offering.

Ages: All ages welcome. Children under 8 work alongside an adult.

Rache Brand has always been called by nature and the patterns that underlie our humanity. She began as an artist, carried that eye into commercial design across the globe, and went on to build global businesses. An anthropologist, storyteller, and builder, she works to replace extractive systems with regenerative ones, acting as a bridge between worlds. She now homeschools her children through a program she calls The Roam. Life is a labyrinth of discovery, and Rache believes the patterns of nature are a map: the way out, and the way home to energy, the collective, and oneness.

Bamboo Atlatl Dart Making

The class on bamboo dart making will take several hours and can be spread out over the weekend. Participants will; 1. choose the bamboo and spend some time straightening it 2. hammer a conical copper point and 3. fletch the dart by hand. The result will be a quality dart usable in competition. Cost 10 dollars per dart

Bob Burg of Thunderbird Atlatl, the world’s for-most outfitter of atlatls, is a renaissance man in the truest sense. He has many decades of experience practicing and teaching primitive skills of all kinds, regularly hunts and fishes with his atlatls, speaks German as a second language, has made several violins just for fun and is a terrific raconteur.

1:00pm to 3:00 Second Workshop Block

Dancing Fingers – Twined Basketry

Come let your fingers dance as you express your heart in shape and form weaving a twined basket! 

Twining is an ancient basket weaving technique that dates back to 7000 BCE and is found all around the world. If we go back far enough, many of our ancestors wove baskets for many uses; such as gathering foods, herbal medicines, and flowers, fishing, carrying a baby, cooking, eating, shoes, hats, and more. A basket however, is so much more than a useful container. Stories, cultural events, beliefs, and lots of symbolism were often woven into the designs in baskets. Weaving a basket and the baskets themselves also hold many metaphors that can guide us in our lives.

In this workshop we will be weaving with sisal twine from the Agave sisalana plant, which holds a shape nicely and is great for learning the twinning technique. Once you learn the basics you can twine with many different materials, both prepared man made, your own cordage, or material gifts from the Earth herself such as leaves, stems, vines, and bark. Along with teaching how to weave a twined basket, I will offer some information about the variety of materials you can use for twining. There will be a small fee for covering the cost of basic materials.

Karianna L. Rosenberg has always been drawn to weavings, textiles and basketry all her life and was influenced by her grandmother who was a weaver and painter. Karianna fell in love with twining ever since she learned the technique in 2014. She continues to explore many other basket making methods and materials with which to weave. She feels a special magic when harvesting from the land and weaving a vessel of beauty and functionality. She sees it as a chance to personally express oneself and co-create something of beauty with Mother Nature.

Karianna is also a weaver of words, experiences, and woodland magic, who skillfully crafts journeys for her participants in her programs through Earth Song Transformations. She passionately continues as a nature mentor at Two Coyotes Wilderness School, which she helped re-start in 2007. Karianna is an earth wisdom guide, storyweaver/storyteller, healer, dancer, poet, naturalist, and fiddler to be. She holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching English and Spanish as Second Languages and is a certified Wildlife Tracker. Karianna is currently writing a multi-dimensional book about transformational healing and deep connection. Please feel free to reach out to her for information of her upcoming workshops and programs at earthsongtransformations@gmail.com

Kids Nature Games!

Fun games for kids (under 7 should be accompanied by and adult). One or more of our favorite games such as Run Rabbit Run!, Bear Salmon Mosquito, and/or Fire in the Forest will be facilitated in the nearby lawn area. Each game has a little lesson about the Natural world hidden in it. 

Gabby Dobos, is life long participant in Nature skills gatherings, and leader of our kids games for the last 6 (or maybe more) years. She is a singer, performer and gentle soul.

Garment Mending

Join Krista and Silas in an exploration of caring for your garments, where you may bring your clothing that needs a little love (holes, rips, stains) and learn the skills you need to not only mend that garment, but many more in the future! As long as there has been clothing, there have been rips to mend, and the ways in which we do so have changed very little since the first examples. A simple patch is an incredible, ancient tool that helps to get you feeling comfortable with interacting with your clothes in a way that sadly is not as common as it once was. The satisfaction that comes with repairing your belongings (and others’!) is a delicious feeling, and it really is fairly simple to get going with it. We will provide several combined decades of knowledge in different mends, as well as all of the needed supplies. We will have the things to mend woven (think jeans) as well as knit fabrics (think t-shirts as well as sweaters), so if you have some clothes that have an issue but you aren’t confident in what to do, now is the time to bring them! If you haven’t any clothes in need of mending, we will have a few garments for you to work on! If you have experience sewing and want to bring your own needles, thread, scissors, etc, please feel free to! 

Bring clothing that has rips, holes, stains, lost buttons, or pulled stitches.

Silas Brassard has been working with textiles for their entire life.They have had a particular interest in mending and preserving the lives of garments for the past few years.They work mainly by hand and sew the majority of the clothing they wear. With a background in historical sewing and knitting, they have tried their hand at many different types of mending garments, from repairing shirts to shoes. An aspect of mending clothing that is especially appealing to them is environmental; they care about using the things that we have already instead of purchasing more clothing as soon as it breaks.

Krista Perks has been crafting with textiles mostly under the mentorship of their mother since early childhood and they are in awe of the variety of ways to craft natural materials. Their passion for mending specifically has grown later in life fueled by appreciation of the craft and creativity involved, stewardship for the land, and a passion for tailoring clothes to the wearer rather than the wearer to clothes. After having kids, mending has taken on new roles in their life as a way to maintain passed down clothes and as an opportunity to have small manageable mini projects that can slot into a busier day.

3:00pm to 5:00 Third Workshop Block

Nеlbinding: Weaving Like It’s 6500 BC.

Nеlbinding is an ancient fiber art that predates knitting, one so durable that the oldest known fragments of it are dated over 8,000 years old. While we can’t guarantee that all your nеlbinding will last quite that long, we can teach you this ancient form of pre-knitting that can be applied to make bags, hats, blankets, shoes, sweaters and just about anything else you can think of. In this class, we will teach the Oslo stitch, a quick, versatile and durable stitch that can be used for anything you feel like making. Unlike knitting, nеlbinding doesn’t unravel when cut or left partially finished, and it’s frankly both useful and just fun.
Maximum Participants: 6 per session. Age: 12+
Please sign up for a session at main tent.

Scott M. Baker was trained since birth (or slightly after) at Two Coyotes (and other places), Scott now enjoys such things as: Nature! Fire! Plants! Parkour! Being Awesome! Writing in third person! Mentoring people!  And, most importantly, helping folks BE AWESOME!

Grant Norton was raised by humans in their natural habitat of Tellus, Orion Arm, Milky Way.  At the age of 16, they learned nеlbinding at Roots Rendezvous.  Since then, they have trained at this ancient fiber art and its many applications to bring it to you today.

Rocket Stove workshop

In this workshop we will cover the basic principles of a rocket stove’s function, construction, and fuel. You will have the opportunity to build a miniature soup can rocket stove. And we will finish with a rocket stove challenge using multiple examples of rocket stoves and a traditional open fire. Supplies and tools provided.  If you want to participate and can bring tin snips or soup cans of any size that may be helpful.

Children are welcome if accompanied by an adult. There will be many sharp edges and fire involved in this workshop.

Justin Avery of The mcAvery 6 clan is a Suburban homesteader in Simsbury, CT. Amateur black smith, fisherman, and forager. Rocket stove and hot pepper enthusiast.

Friction Fire Demonstrations and Workshop

Practice bow drill and possibly other forms of fire by friction.

-Ian and Dylan Mackinnon, brothers with 40+ years of combined experience in outdoor/ survival/primitive living skills education.

7:30 to 10:00pm Campfire, Stories and Music

Sunday

9:35am Opening Circle

10:00am to 12:00 First Workshop Block

Wildlife Tracking

There are always clues created by wildlife for us to decipher, telling a story of their habits and lives. By learning the language of track and sign we gain insight into Nature’s mysteries. Who left this track? How did this feather get here? Why are the birds all calling from over there? Beginner students will learn a new way to look at the world and experienced trackers will be challenged toward a greater understanding of Nature.

Andy Dobos is an artist, naturalist and educator and is certified in Wildlife Track and Sign identification. He has been mentoring students of all ages in nature connection skills for 20 years.

Introduction to Forest Bathing


Forest bathing, or shinrin yoku, has become quite popular and is well integrated into Japanese healthcare to help improve mental and physical wellbeing. Time in nature has been shown repeatedly to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve immune response, and much more. This class will introduce a series of nature connection and mindfulness exercises that you can take home with you and practice while spending time in nature. We’ll focus on nature awareness and connection exercises, breath work, and some basic movements. All ages and fitness levels are welcome. 

Erik Assadourian is the Director of the Gaian Way (gaianway.org), an ecospiritual organization working to reconnect people to the living Earth they are part of and dependent on. He is also a sustainability researcher and writer, who focuses on how to transform consumer cultures to cultures of sustainability, and spent 17 years with the Worldwatch Institute, where he directed and contributed to well over a dozen books. Erik also leads a monthly forest bathing class in Middletown, Connecticut. 

Noon Lunch Break

1:00 to 3:00pm Final Workshop Block

Fiber Fest: A Weaving Extravaganza

In the steps of Cattail’s famous Friction Fire Frenzy, we bring you the certainly equal (if not eclipsing) energy of the Fiber Fest. Anyone and everyone skilled in a fiber art (except those who are not at Cattail… or said no) are joining us to pass on their skills.

Grant and Scott are still teaching Nеlbinding (see Nеlbinding: Weaving Like It’s 6500 BC. above). However, many more experts (and hobbyists) in weaving will be instructing all who attend (see below).

Chainmail Mania 

We will be learning how to make different chainmail crafts such any where from entire chain shirt to little chain fidgets or just a giant chainmail blanket. Bring your own pliers if you can but we should have some amount to lend people if needed. There will be plenty of chain links to work with as well.

Fennec has been a part of Two Coyote’s wilderness school for about six years and an instructor for one. They use any pronouns.

Beekeeping Symposium

The beekeeping symposium will focus on beginning beekeeping. Bob would love it if other experienced beekeepers participated so those new to the craft could also learn from them. Beekeeping is a complicated skill that can be quite rewarding. He will bring equipment (sans bees) so participants can get a feel for what one needs to begin an apiary.


Bob Burg of Thunderbird Atlatl, the world’s for-most outfitter of atlatls, is a renaissance man in the truest sense. He has many decades of experience practicing and teaching primitive skills of all kinds, regularly hunts and fishes with his atlatls, speaks German as a second language, has made several violins just for fun and is a terrific raconteur.


 

3:15 to 3:40 Closing Circle

3:45- Trade Blanket

Stick around for a facilitated trading session. Nature related items, including gear, materials, hand made crafts, artwork etc. No guns, booze (tinctures are fine), cannabis, or illegal substances please.

 

Please Note!

Edible Plants For Sale: Let’s Forest-Garden!

Grant C. Norton will be selling a variety of permaculture and forest gardening friendly plants, with a focus on species native to Northern America. All species are low-maintenance and grow in zones 5-7 (allowing them to grow anywhere in CT).

Available plants include:

Ramp Plants (Allium tricoccum): Known as wild leeks or wild garlic, ramps are a native allium that thrives in the understory of deciduous forests in zone 3 to 8. Priced for their mild and slightly sweet flavor, mature ramps divide annually to form a dense patch. You can harvest 10% of an established ramp patch each year without reducing the population. Plants will be sold for $5 each.

Second-year Pawpaw Saplings (Asimina triloba): A native fruit tree that thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 8. In full sun with sufficient moisture, the saplings should fruit within 5-6 years. The saplings are seed grown, so their fruit will be unique to the individual. Pawpaws are not self-fertile, requiring multiple individuals to make fruit. Saplings will be sold in sets of 3 for $20.

Second-year Trifoliate Orange Saplings (Citrus trifoliata): Well known for the Flying Dragon Orange cultivar, trifoliate orange is the most cold hardy species of citrus and the only true citrus that can be grown down to USDA Hardiness Zones 5, although it does best in zones 6 to 10. It is a deciduous fruit tree prized for its golfball sized edible fruit and fragrant white flowers. It has been used historically as a hedge, but can reach 15 ft. in height. Trifoliate Oranges are not native to the Americas. Saplings will be sold for $20 each.

Stampede Sunchoke Plants (Helianthus tuberosus): One of the most popular cultivars of sunchoke (aka. Jerusalem artichoke), Stampede forms numerous large white tubers with a nutty flavor and attractive yellow flowers. This native plant can be placed in recently disturbed soil, requires full sun and can grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9. The tubers can be dug up once the stocks die back for winter, or left in the ground and harvested when needed. Plants will be sold for $1 each.

Mayapple Seedlings (Podophyllum peltatum): A native groundcover that spreads through both seeds and runners, mayapples will establish patches in the understory. Also known as American mandrake, the fruit ripens in late Summer, and is not edible until fully ripe. Mayapples grow best in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8. Seedlings will be sold for $5 each.

Woodland Strawberry Plants (Fragaria vesca): A groundcover that grows best in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9, woodland strawberries produce a small sweet fruit in late Spring. It thrives in both partial shade and sunlight, but can survive in the understory. Plants will be sold for $5 each.