Providing Important Answers to the Important Questions for the Youth The Three Questions is a marvelous adaptation of a story originally written by Leo Tolstoy of the same name. Jon J. Muth takes the wheel, adapting the timeless story into a format appropriate for young children. The narrative in the adaptation is simple, yet effective. […]
I feel very privileged to have grown up in Southern California, I was raised at the beach and spent most of my years growing up in the ocean. I learned very young about the beauty the earth has to offer, and the ocean was my teacher. I also learned very young about the importance of […]
Have you ever felt small in comparison to the growing problems we face as a society? As one person trying to make a difference on this planet there is not a lot that can be accomplished; you must change the minds of your peers. In order to change the minds of others you must start […]
In the culture of the American southwest, it could be said that Joshua Trees enjoy something akin to celebrity status. The deserts of California are filled with them. Their image now adorns t-shirts, stickers, and signs. There are roads named Joshua Tree. There is a town named Joshua Tree. There is, of course, even a […]
As instructors at High Trails, we play an integral role in the development of a newfound love and appreciation of nature in our students. While these young people are in our stead, we see evidence of this daily. But what happens once that bus pulls away and heads back to the city? What happens once […]
In education today one of the big buzzwords is STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. A study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) determined that female interest in STEM majors declines as young women enter college. {1. https://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Why-So-Few-Women-in-Science-Technology-Engineering-and-Mathematics.pdf] As a woman and mother of a teen daughter, I especially hope to encourage […]
My choice to follow a career path with children comes from an attraction to their optimism and curiosity. Unlike many adults, kids see the world as a place full of possibilities. The stories from the book, Kids Who are Changing the World, by Anne Jankéliowitch, focus on children who channeled that very curiosity into powerful […]
Like most of you, I often times wonder about the impact we make on students and what they actually learn and take away from their experience here at High Trails. We are in the unfortunate position that we do not get to see the long term effects of the hard work and efforts we put […]
It is that time of year again. The leaves are falling from the oak trees, the wind is becoming cooler and ever more crisp, and for me that means one thing: another year at High Trails Outdoor Science School! This year will mark my third year at High Trails and for most in the Outdoor […]
“The grass is always greener on the other side.” I have ardently disliked that phrase, not because it is cliché but because of how painfully true it is with regard to human nature. Our incessant comparison of everything inevitably brings us dissatisfaction. I am no exception. As a passionate instructor at High Trails who loves […]
It was 1998, my first summer in outdoor education. We had 10 weeks with students from the most challenging neighborhoods in Cincinnati, OH. Each group was out at our rustic semi-permanent tent site for one week. It scared them. They had never heard the forest’s noises before. They had never seen dark like that before. […]
“Pass the ketchup! Who wants seconds? Are you going to eat that?” Phrases like this are music to my ears. Not because I‘m crazy about my condiments or I like getting kids to fill their bellies with food, but rather it’s the intentions behind such an act of passing the ketchup bottle and empowering them […]
There are shared qualities that drive us to be High Trails’ instructors. Mostly, we all share a love of the outdoors. We tend to discover early on that working in an office, teaching in a classroom, or learning in a passive manner do not work for us. We work hard and play hard. And since […]
Can you imagine being 8 years old and being told you have a disease that has no cure? Or finding out that your life expectancy is at best ten more years? Can you imagine living in a body that slowly breaks down, despite the most earnest of pleas or the most advanced medical technology available? […]
On January 14, 2015, history was made…in the rock climbing world at least. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson succeeded in free climbing the Dawn Wall on El Cap, Yosemite National Park. 19 days. 32 pitches of climbing. 19 bloody fingertips (Tommy is missing a finger). 7 years of planning, determination, failures, setbacks, broken bones, and […]
It is a brisk, sunny February afternoon and the Big Bear Alpine Zoo is teeming with curious faces. Families wander along pathways and toddlers are excitedly introduced to wildlife for the first time. There’s even a large, chatty and excited school group that follows a set of tour guides, getting a detailed account of everything […]
The mission statement for High Trails that is prominently displayed on all of the shirts we wear around is “Learning how we can all fit together on one healthy planet”. I believe that for all of us to fit together on this here Earth, we need to grow. Fit together by growing? Sounds a little […]
After 26 hours of continuous hiking, multi-pitch climbing the East Buttress of Mt. Whitney, and summiting the highest mountain in the lower 48 states, Ryan and I were completely exhausted both mentally and physically. We had just completed a daunting, ambitious, and demanding goal that we both initially thought we might not be able to […]
In just a few short months, I will board a plane with my bicycle and fly to the one of the northernmost towns in Alaska. After cycling through Alaska, Canada, and the U.S., I will proceed south through the Americas and all the way to the southern tip of Argentina while backpacking in natural areas […]
As a recent graduate from the University of Vermont I was unsure of my career path. Right out of college I was offered a lab technician position for a Fortune 500 Company making over 50,000 dollars a year. They even offered me an apartment in the city. At the same time, I was offered a […]
“When the only open spaces you’ve seen are parking lots, and you’re used to hearing screeching tires instead of rustling leaves, a simple patch of woods can be an astoundingly liberating experience.” – Gregory Michi from the book Holler if You Hear Me One of the things I love most about my job at High […]
Question: If you knew your interactions with students were having a genetic impact on the way they behaved in the future, would you change the way you relate to them? In a study lead by Dr. Moshe Szyf, Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University, the idea that “nurturing” infant rats led to significant […]
Some of us are past camp counselors. Some of us are artists. Some of us are biologists, and some of are simply lovers of nature. Whatever type of person our instructors may have been before High Trails, we are all youth and outdoor educators. Something that I have learned from my time working at High […]
…when I look up it’s not my father’s quirky smile or his customary cut-off jeans and white socks to his knees, instead it is a… I sit on the rocky river bank watching the orange glow of the sun sink behind the hills as I wait for my father’s old legs to catch up to […]
A couple of weeks ago Dan Bowman and I were walking from Camp Edwards to Camp Nawakwa after a lovely night of playing music with some fellow High Trails musicians. He commented that this school year, he’s noticed that we, in this little community of outdoor educators, hug each other more than we have in […]
In my ninth week as a new instructor, I’ve learned quite a bit from my students. For one, not to underestimate their ability to adapt. I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I was surprised when students who seemed impossibly homesick didn’t go home. I didn’t expect students who were afraid of our dark cabin on […]
On November 7th, 2009, I made my way to the summit of Springer Mountain, Georgia, ready to begin my Appalachian Trail through hike. The plaque there read: “Appalachian Trail: A Footpath for Those who seek Fellowship with the Wilderness.” After one million steps and five months later, I completed the 2,200-mile long hike that wound […]
A hot day in a small, rural village. Three riders approach bearing news that a gang of thieves and marauders are quickly approaching. These riders, these… three amigos have pledged to help the townsfolk defend themselves. “What is it you do really well?” asks one of the riders. “Hmmm.” The people look around at their […]
The sun was setting behind the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The sky was turning from blue to pink and purple and alpenglow turned the eastern peaks golden as I walked down to a serene lake in the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park after a day of volunteer work with the National Park Service. […]
When I was 18 I sat in a mandatory economics class and listened to my sweet elderly teacher say that “when making a decision, you must consider two things—‘how much does it cost’, and ‘what’s in it for me?’” It was at this moment, essentially, that I decided to become an environmental educator. I was […]
Maybe we did learn everything we needed to know in Kindergarten. Being a good teacher means being a good person, but, despite the simplicity of an idea like honesty, it is incredibly difficult to embody “goodness.” We have a tendency to try and think our way out of situations; since the invention of the wheel, […]
I’ve seen outdoor education take many forms throughout the United States. We cowered from the snow and smog in a wigwam and tried to make fire with bow drills in Brooklyn Park in New York City. The students learned independence from the big city, as it bustled around them. We cored apples and made our […]
When we drive up to the beach the parking lot is empty. It is also covered in about an inch of snow. Stepping out of the car a cold, unfriendly wind steals the curls of my hair out from under the fleece of my hat. Like some sort of intrepid artic explorers we trudge forward […]
Throughout the past few years, the prominence in which environmentalism has taken within our daily lives cannot be easily disputed. Reusable materials, such as grocery bags and coffee mugs, run abundant and recycling cans stand more evident throughout businesses and streets than ever. “Being green”, as many have come to term this way of life, […]
The relationship between art and nature may not be apparent to everyone, but art and the environment have been linked together as far back as the days of Plato and Aristotle when aesthetics was connected to the beauty of our surrounding and the natural world. Much of the artwork created around this time period had […]
1. Waterproof everything you own from head to toe. 2. Borrow a sled from a coworker. 3. Purchase snow chains for your car. 4. Spend at least one day on Bear and Summit. 5. Take a daytrip to Redlands, visit H&E Thrif t Shop, and buy yourself an ugly, yet warm wool sweater. 6. Don’t […]
…Said my grandfather as all four of my cousins and I finally piled into the car for the drive down to the Texas coast for the weekend. Packing for these trips, which we took on a regular basis, hardly ever went according to the plan, was never a smooth or timely process, but spending the […]
One of the first things you will notice walking into our dining hall is the “Food is Love” board. On this wood carved board are three sections detailing what we are eating, what we waste, and a funny riddle to occupy young minds during the meal. Through my time as an instructor, cook and now […]
All too often I hear these words uttered by friends, family, and strangers. Here at High Trails, we lead an interesting and unique lifestyle. We laugh until our stomachs hurt, live and work in the mountains, dress in outrageous costumes at work, sing while cleaning the toilets, find things other than television to occupy our […]
A master’s degree is an advanced academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. Earning a Master’s degree requires hard work, passion, and dedication. The financial obligation and time commitment needed for one to two years of […]
With the occurrence of the holiday season, there is no other time in our calendar year that Americans, in particular, hold and exhibit such great feelings of gratitude. Families and friends produce copious amounts of food, stuff themselves beyond satiation, and generously give to others gifts of love and appreciation. We are constantly reminded through […]
