A FOCUS ON THE OUTDOORS
“ I loved learning through doing rather than sitting. Whether that meant making a shelter with duct tape and trash bags during the survival unit or pacing out measurements of a building in Williamsburg, Virginia, to make a mock up when we returned from the 8 th grade trip. Annette Trierweiler ’00 Assistant professor at Baldwin Wallace University, former postdoctoral research associate at Notre Dame University, earned a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University
In an increasingly urban world, nature remains central to The Orchard School experience with more than 40 wooded acres where students can learn, play, be inspired, soothed, intrigued, and enlightened. Orchard students analyze how architecture, geometry, and design all draw from nature. Students learn how some systems survive by cooperation, how others take a more individual approach, and how nature cannot survive without these fundamental differences. Our diverse learning environments place special attention on how children learn and what their interests are. Ours is a fluid space that encourages children to interact with high quality, open-ended materials to engage them in active learning. Orchard’s 43 acres serve as an outdoor classroom to explore STEM and enhance curriculum. The campus consists of many intentional learning spaces, including:
Vegetable gardens
Two greenhouses and a large hoop house
Wooded nature trails
Multiple outdoor classrooms
Three age-appropriate playgrounds
Natural water feature
Outdoor science labs
Butterfly garden
27-element ropes course
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