COVID-19 Response Plan

So many families are looking for a safe place for their children to connect socially in a structured outdoor environment. Discovery Wilderness School hopes to meet these needs by providing a safe place (physically, socially, and emotionally) for students to connect to nature and one another. As an outdoor program, students are able to naturally spread out and breathe in fresh air. As in all things, there are inherent risks in gathering together in community. We have created a plan to minimize this risk while maximizing student emotional and educational outcomes.

 

This plan was developed in partnership between several local Nature-Based Outdoor Programs from across West Michigan and includes increased sanitation practices, small cohorts of students that do not intermingle, lessons and activities that naturally space children out more than group them up, staying outside as much as possible, and temporary shut-down in case of a positive COVID patient within our community. Masks are not required while we are exploring in our outdoor classrooms. Nature Guides pull up a mask while in close proximity to students, but do not wear a mask for the majority of the class. We will stay outside at all times for this school year except for restroom use and severe weather (in which case we will end the program early and call home for students to be picked up quickly.) In case of an emergency and students need to retreat indoors for a short time, they are asked to wear masks (with medical exceptions) until picked up by a parent. We have emergency access to large indoor spaces, where students can be distanced and each class will be in a separate building, so that less students would be sharing indoor space. 

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If you have questions or concerns about our COVID Policy, please reach out. Thank you!