For Schools
School partners from around the United States choose our deeply immersive and experiential ecosystem-based programs that empower students in elementary and middle-school to discover the inner workings of the world around them and their connection to it. Exploration and investigation are conducted in the greatest classroom imaginable, the outdoors.
Our approach to curriculum development and impactful teaching strategies is rooted in the science of ecology, the study of how organisms (plants, animals, and people) and the environment are connected. In addition to the natural teaching tools abundant in our outdoor classrooms, original educational materials, including The ABCs of Ecology and The Ecology School’s Field Guide, provide our professional staff with resources to guide students through hands-on activities in field ecology and skills-building lessons to identify environmental narratives, or “read” the landscape. We incorporate play and storytelling into our programs through skits, games, songs, and a cast of unforgettable characters (Doc Rock, Lil’ Suzie, Funky Fungus, Dude on the Mountain, and more!) so students laugh as they learn.
“It’s not just what [the educators] teach, but that [the students] retain it because of how you teach it.”
Connect with us!
Let us put our experience to work for your school. Connect with Alex Grindle, Director of Programs, to learn more about programs for school groups.
Lessons
Lessons incorporate skits, stories, and games. Click here to learn a little more about them!
EcosySTEM™ is an opportunity for schools to provide a yearly experience for their students from Kindergarten through 7th or 8th grade. Field trips to ecosystems, nature-based classrooms, school outreach programs, and an overnight stay at our campus provide a spiraling approach to acquisition of ESTEM (Environment, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills through authentic field experiences. Learn more
School groups stay at our campus and experience three ecosystem-based lessons a day, exploring food systems, the forests, fresh water sources, and other natural areas. Students draw connections between ecosystems, notice patterns in the world around them and witness natural processes such as cycles, change and disturbance at work in different ecosystems. Learn more
The Ecology School helps you extend your STEM curriculum with interactive, hands-on field trips, classroom lessons, and assemblies. School groups come to our campus or meet our staff at an outdoor location, such as a nature preserve, state park, or even your own school-yard. We tailor lessons to cover your curriculum needs. Learn more