Davis Forest School

We wrapped up our second year of Little Coyotes Forest Kinder last week with closing ceremonies for both our Davis and Sacramento cohorts.

At our Sacramento location, we held a river gratitude offering. Each child and adult brought a dried strawflower to the water, closed their eyes, remembered a moment they loved from their time at the river, and sent their flower downstream — “back to the wide ocean.”

This was also the first year we had parent participants on the ground with us, supporting our classes and becoming part of the learning community. As one parent participant shared:

“I had been moving through the motions of life without appreciating all of the beauty around me. Life can be chaotic and hectic, but forest school taught me that it doesn’t have to be.

This community has helped me heal my inner child. I’m incredibly grateful to have experienced this year as a parent participant. My inner child is finally awake and seen. This year has been such a gift.”

Watching children (and adults!) deepen their relationship with the natural world is one of the greatest gifts of this work. We look forward to starting again in September and welcome a new Folsom Lake cohort into the Little Coyotes community. ❤️

Here are some pages from Forest Mentor Becky’s nature journal. She only started nature journaling a few months ago and never considered herself an artist before this. Becky has been such an inspiration to both staff and children — a reminder that we can all start where we are, stay curious, and surprise ourselves along the way.

“Nature journaling has become one of my favorite nature connection routines because it helps me tune in to all the tiny details of the space around me and to tap in to the endless curiosities I have. I feel so much more connected to myself, the land, and the relationship between us when I have spent some time journaling.

I just want to validate that it can feel scary to start, but how powerful this routine can be!” — Becky