Coyote Club was developed by John Pazdon and Mary Mazur in 2007 as a way to introduce children to nature-based studies, native crafts and environmental stewardship.  It is believed that today's children are suffering from what some call 'nature deficit disorder', and the creation of Coyote Club was driven by a passion to rid children of this deficit by getting them out of the house, into the woods and connected to their environment. Children involved in nature-based education programs often experience a deeper sense of self respect, self esteem and a strengthening of their connection to the natural world. We believe that each child has a gift, which is often revealed through wildlife observation, awareness exercises and primitive skills exploration. It is our hope that we will be able to recognize and nurture that gift, and encourage the child to further develop and honor those unique abilities, strengths and talents we all possess.

Much of what we do has been passed on to us by a long list of amazing mentors. It is our hope that through Coyote Club, the tradition of mentoring will be passed on to our students and the circle will be continued. Many of the concepts, activities and games we use in this program were passed down to us by Dan Gardoqui, the director of White Pine Programs, a nature-based educational facility in Cape Neddick, Maine. Dan is an incredible mentor, naturalist and tracker and we strongly encourage our students to check out the awesome programs he has to offer at White Pines. For more on White Pines, and other wonderful organizations, check out our "Links" section.

About The Instructors

John Pazdon has spent most of his life exploring the rivers, lakes, bays and beaches of the New Hampshire seacoast. He is currently finishing up his degree in Coastal Wildlife Ecology at Granite State College, and will be attending UNH to complete his graduate work. John is a level 2 Kamana student, an intensive naturalist program developed by Wilderness Awareness School in Washington state, and is Wilderness First Aid certified. He currently resides in Dover, NH where he spends his time fishing, hiking, playing guitar and doing homework (yuck!).

Mary Mazur grew up in Greybull Wyoming, a little town 1 hour east of Yellowstone National Park. Living in this area gave her the opportunity to learn about some of the most amazing creatures found in North America. She moved to New Hampshire in 1999 and has since got involved in ecological studies at Granite State College. Mary enjoys reading, tracking, traveling and goofing around. Mary is Wilderness First Aid certified.