a teacher. But he felt something was missing, so he dropped out for a year and moved to the forest for four months. Pegnataro took some wilderness classes and returned to Southern, taking a botany course with Noble
Justin Pegnataro, ’05, the executive director of Two Coyotes Wilderness School, offers tips on finding your inner wild child.
Proctor, ’70, M.S. ’72, professor emeritus of biology, who would become his mentor. “He changed my life,” says Pegnataro, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Schedule it in: “Scheduling is a way of making time for what we value. Pick a time — once a day or a couple times a week — to spend a short time in nature.”
degree in biology and anthropology. Among the most important lessons he learned from the professor? “My life, my water, my fire . . . it was all a gift from nature,” he says. It was a revelation — or, perhaps, a reawakening.
Limit screen time: “Screen time, including TV, web browsing, and video games, accounts for quite a few hours of our day. Children ages 8-18 average 7.5 hours of screen time a day. Ask someone in their 60s and they’ll tell you that their parents would kick them out of the house and not let them home till dinner. I suggest you do the same for your kids.”
Pegnataro says he wasn’t particularly wrapped up in nature as a child. But his mom, a teacher at Beecher Road School in Woodbridge, recalls that he would lie on the ground with bird feed in his hand. Today, he’s passing on his desire to connect with nature to the next generation. “This is my life’s work,” he says.
Find a sit spot: “If you are interested in connecting
In 2000, Two Coyotes was founded by Scott Eldridge, who remains president of the organization’s Board of Directors. He signed the directorship over to Pegnataro in 2007.
deeply with nature, the best thing I have found is to sit in one natural spot regularly over the course of the year. I sit outside for 30 minutes every day. . . . The most amazing things happen when we just sit and observe. One time when I was at my spot, three baby chipmunks ran across my lap. Don’t think that you need to be in some remote wilderness area. Urban and suburban areas are filled with nature to watch.”
Hello, Big Apple! Southern graduates who live or work in the Big Apple are invited to join the New York City Alumni Network by calling (203) 392-6500 or e-mailing johnstonm2@SouthernCT.edu. Stay tuned! Other regional alumni networks will be forming soon.
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