3rd-12th Grade
Why include nature in your students’ school experience? Nature connection is our best tool for social-emotional learning. Ravenwood participants build self-awareness skills by following their honest curiosity and interests, and build self-management skills by being still and quiet as they observe wildlife or sneak up on each other. Ravenwood groups learn social awareness and relationship skills by practicing teamwork, cooperation, and communication to achieve goals like fort building and firemaking. The natural environment and Ravenwood’s mentors train responsible decision-making because the natural world gives immediate impartial feedback, and experienced Ravenwood mentors help participants take that feedback safely and grow from it.
We provide 2-3 Ravenwood staff and take 10-30 students (about half a public school class) out into the field for a full day (9am-3pm) of learning on a regular basis throughout the fall and spring. Teachers and parent volunteers are encouraged to attend!
At the end of the spring when the weather is warm and summer is almost here, we can take three days and two nights to host each class in a big fun overnight camp-out with the whole class, parent volunteers and teachers all together. The school must provide food.
COST
SCHOOL NATURE DAYS IS A FREE PROGRAM TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
“Report after report … indicate shifts in perseverance, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, and resilience. … Nature may promote learning by improving learners’ attention, levels of stress, self-discipline, interest and enjoyment in learning, and physical activity and fitness. Nature also appears to provide a calmer, quieter, safer context for learning; a warmer, more cooperative context for learning. … It is time to take nature seriously as a resource for learning – particularly for students not effectively reached by traditional instruction.”