What knowledge do students acquire?
• Individual local wildlife species: learn names of mammals, insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles and herbaceous plants, how to identify them, locate, and in some cases preserve them. • The local landscape as a whole: getting to know the land intimately through map-making, wandering, place-naming, and exciting, fun, meaningful encounters with nature. How do we teach? Students gain their skills and knowledge through playing games, practicing routines, choosing projects, and through unplanned nature-encounters. The most memorable experience or valuable teaching of the day can come in the form of encountering a bizarre insect, discovering a salamander, or glimpsing a rare bird. Stories and songs also spice the day. Community building is an integral technology in our wilderness curriculum, creating emotional safety and a sense of the power that can be accessed by working with one another. Demonstrating their understanding of this teaching, five and six year olds carry tarps full of leaves
