In early June, kindergarten through fourth grade students from Norfolk’s Botelle Elementary School left their desks and headed outdoors to Great Mountain Forest. Younger students, who had been studying ecology, took to the woods to flip logs in search of insects. The older group visited the forest’s weather station for a lesson on the impact of rain, snow, heat and cold on the environment.

“Anytime kids get to spend time outside, explore nature and then connect that experience with what they’re learning in the classroom is a win-win,” said Botelle Principal Lauren Valentino.

For the past two years, Great Mountain Forest Program Coordinator Vicki Nelson, a former science teacher, has been developing a field-based curriculum designed to complement and deepen the instruction students receive at school. Nelson, along with the educators who have brought their classes to Great Mountain Forest in the past, contend that experiential learning in the natural world brings students social, emotional and skill-building benefits that are harder to cultivate in the classroom. Plus, they say, outdoor learning is essential for student well-being in an increasingly digital age.

GMF as a forestry laboratory

GMF Program Coordinator Vicki Nelson, who spent 36 years teaching at Cornwall Consolidated School, is responsible for developing the curriculum and is still evolving it.

She focuses on the forest’s unique “riches” as assets to provide students with experiences they won’t find elsewhere.

“We have a sugar house, a weather station, and so many geologic features that are just mind-blowing,” she said. Currently, available modules cover topics such as ecology, dendrology, geology, biodiversity, and maple syruping, with many more in development.

Great Mountain Forest Trustee Lisa Bowden, who previously served as principal of Salisbury Central School and superintendent of Region One School District, is currently assistant executive director at EdAdvance, an education support organization for Northwest Connecticut. She is thrilled about the educational opportunities that GMF affords.

“The great thing about this forest is that it’s not just a nature preservation organization but a working conservation site, so kids can see the kinds of things the forest produces for human use,” she said. “And if we’re going to keep producing those good things, we have to protect the flora and fauna that live there.”

Bowden has seen firsthand how direct exposure to the natural world deepens students’ understanding of concepts like stewardship and earth systems, which can be abstract to children, she explained.

“They have to go out and see it,” she said. “They have to see how much care goes into a managed forest.”

Getting out of the classroom

Botelle School’s field trip was not a one-off, but the beginning of a strengthening partnership between two Norfolk neighbors, according to Principal Valentino.

“We’ve utilized Great Mountain Forest as an educational resource in a variety of ways in the past.” she said, “but I’m really enthusiastic about a collaboration that builds a tradition of experiences for our students.”

She noted trips to GMF and other outdoor learning sites provide a broader sense of place and community to students who don’t spend much time outdoors at home.

Debbie Tallon, a seasoned first and second grade teacher with 26 years at the school, cherishes opportunities to take her students outside. She finds that during GMF field trips, the students engage with the landscape, but also more with each other.

“I noticed that some of the kids who are my quieter learners are outgoing on the trip” she observed. “They kind of just came out of their shell.”

Kirsten Gray, a teacher at Cornwall Consolidated School who recently took first and second graders to GMF, connected storytelling to the ecosystem. Her students walked the Iron Trail while pausing to read chapters from a book about an oak tree’s role in a forest—just like the one around them.

“The setting encouraged curiosity, reflection, and connection in a way that felt meaningful and memorable,” she said

Teaching the Teachers

There can’t be forest education without forest educators, which is why GMF is hosting the inaugural “Teach the Teachers” retreat on August 14th through 16th.

The retreat is the brainchild of Audra Leach and Emily Picard, both former high school agricultural science teachers. Leach, the program administrator for the Northwest Conservation District, a state-mandated nonprofit that protects agriculture and natural resources, said the idea has been percolating between them for a decade. Picard currently serves as the U-Conn 4H Extension educator for Fairfield County, southwestern Connecticut’s chapter of the international youth development organization.

Co-hosted by the Northwest Conservation District, U-Conn 4H, and GMF, the weekend-long immersive conference will address what Leach and Picard have identified as a gap between educators and experts in outdoor education, whether it be safety, science, or just the logistics of getting a group of students into the field. “We just kept hearing the same thing,” Picard said— “We need resources in order to teach this.”

Leach explained that GMF’s status as a working forest gives it a compelling edge as a venue for experiential learning.

She said that the active forest use component gives GMF a “unique advantage” over other outdoor education centers in the region. It’s not only younger students, she explained, but also many adults who don’t understand the value of balancing forest conservation with sustainable use and management.

The upcoming retreat is intended for educators of all types to take away outdoor education skills and knowledge and an expanded forestry professional network back to their respective teaching spheres.

The retreat will feature a talk from acclaimed author and forester Ethan Tapper, which is free and open to the public, as well as a full weekend schedule of workshops and networking opportunities.

Register for the event here.