“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder… he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”

-Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Meet The Team

Let's Explore!

Nature is the perfect classroom. Our curriculum focuses on discovery-based learning using the natural world as a catalyst for growth and development. As children spend time outdoors, they grow in understanding and connection to the earth, developing a sense of pride and protection for it.

2024-2025 Course Guide

Theme 2024-2025

Friends of the Forest

Whose home are we adventuring in each week? This year will be spent tracking, observing, and appreciating our critter friends, big and small.

Each year we focus on new concepts and ideas. We're always learning new and exciting things in Wilderness School!

Wilderness Courses

Sprouts Parent/Child

ages 2-5

Classes encourage students to connect within themselves and to the earth, their peers and their parent. Each class includes free play, yoga and sensory awareness games, music, beautiful literature, adventure hikes and nature journaling.

Saplings Nature Preschool

ages 3-4 (potty-trained)

Emphasizing imaginative free play, curiosity, and social awareness, we enjoy student-led learning in our beautiful outdoor classroom space. Quality literature and art is presented through beautiful, living books, and we love to sing and dance to open and close our days together!

Wildcrafting + Playgroup

connection for parents

kids welcome of all ages

Let’s enjoy time together in community, exploring the world of wildcrafting while our littles play. We’ll experiment with botanical drawing, field sketching and watercolor techniques, herbs, and natural fibers. Discovery will provide the materials, instruction, and space to get creative.

Redbud Class

ages 5-6

Imaginations blossom through forest play, and nature connection games expand our senses. Hikes, obstacle course, and fort-building develop gross motor skills. Students create useful objects from natural materials, and work together to solve real-world problems.

Willow Class

ages 7-8

Students spend their days in the forest - exploring and creating. Each week includes a themed nature study. As students hike uneven terrain, climb, and balance on stones, they develop gross motor skills. Sharing discoveries and learning from one another develops our sense of community.

Maple Class

ages 9-10

Students will learn to observe the natural world with all of their senses, developing a deep connection to the earth and their peers in our outdoor classroom. We adventure along the trails, into the swamp, or along the lake. Come adventure with us!

Cedar Class

ages 11-13

Welcome to the wild! Students will use scientific tools to investigate, learning through the process of discovery. With a focus on learning from one another, students develop their social skills and sense of belonging to a community of fellow nature enthusiasts.

Wilderness Field Study

ages 14-18

Wilderness Field Study combines modern scientific understanding with ancestral ways of connecting with the natural world. Learning is best supported through hands-on experiences as students are immersed in nature - where our classroom is the woods, lake, swamp, and field. As they connect with the earth, students develop a sense of pride and protection for it.

Nature Mentorship

ages 13-18

Adventure, community, and leadership are combined in the Nature Mentor Course. During our monthly adventures kayaking, rock climbing, zipline, etc., teens will learn from one another and develop a community of leaders. They will apply these leadership skills in the outdoor classroom by attending class as a nature mentor for students in one of our younger classes one day per week.

Ladies Rewilding

adults 18+

When was the last time you explored off-trail or got lost in a sunset? Who are YOU as a woman and how are you connected to the earth? We were created to live in relationship with the natural world and in community with one another. Let’s connect with our inner-wild.