Summer is a time when we think students and teachers take a break from learning.  This summer, 22 teachers from school districts as far away as Syracuse got an outdoor education by participating in Reinstein Woods’ summer teacher workshop, the Schoolyard Habitat Institute.

This two-day training highlighted techniques for using schoolyards to teach math, science and English Language Arts. The goal of the program was to make teachers comfortable taking their students outside, whether into a concrete courtyard or out along their school’s nature trail. We tried provide sparks of inspiration for how to use existing resources like a grassy area or pavement to fan the flames of learning in students.

The program included training in Project WILD, one of several curricula that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) offers through Reinstein Woods.

The program’s best result was the change in the number of teachers who plan to take their students outside in the upcoming school year: in a pre-workshop survey, only 26% of teachers said they’d take their kids outside once a month or more, but 76% responded that they would after participating in the Institute.

A thank you note from one teacher read:

“To all the Instructors at Reinstein Woods,
Thank you for running the Schoolyard Habitat Institute. It was the best workshop ever.”