Spotlight: Nature's Classroom

It soon becomes apparent to the students that no part of this trip is devoid of educational opportunity. Carsickness, as some students learned the hard way, is soothed by the chemical properties of peppermint and ginger candies; duffel bags are unloaded from the bus in an assembly line fashion to ensure productivity; students are even intellectually challenged to waste as little as possible at mealtimes, with every bit of leftover food weighed to the ounce, recorded and tracked throughout their stay.

Students eagerly awaken before breakfast for the chance to play soccer or enjoy the playground equipment—waitrons (students in charge of their table for a given meal), however, are required to get to the cafeteria early for set up to ensure everything is in working fashion for the rush of hungry mouths. Throughout the day, the children attend various workshops and events to learn about wildlife education that city life may not afford them. A crowd favorite is river romping—students pull on their rubber boots to splash around in the creek learning about the various ecosystem relations and catching (and releasing) marine wildlife for gentle study.

Each day of the adventure concludes with some type of activity related to the vast darkness of rural Connecticut, followed by a group sing-along to the Rainbow Connection; eagerly awoken days to basketball and soccer are calmly commenced with the soothing lyrics of Paul Williams and Kevin Ascher.

The experience is a cathartic one for most; new friendships and interests are formed as old fears are conquered. Jack Phelan, Experiential Education teacher and longtime veteran of the trip, sees it as one of the most exciting trips he supervises: “Oh, it’s the best! The students are at such a fun and open-minded age that all of the activities and educational components are optimized.”

Deanna Yurchuck, also an Experiential Educator, is a big fan of the trip as well. “It’s just so fun,” she says. “The activities are a good mix of educational and challenging, the students really enjoy learning here.”

What’s also apparent is many of the kid’s newly found affinities for nature. Free time was often spent building forts in the woods, collecting acorns, or simply just enjoying the stars in the sky.