Partnering with Ski-Hills for Active Learning
Developing outdoor classrooms at local ski hills to develop minds and bodies
By Kathy Snow and Annamarie Hatcher
“Efforts to engage students in and through the natural envi- ronment go by many names… but the basic goal is this: to use the surrounding community, including nature, as the preferred classroom.” Richard Louv1
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N REGIONS THAT ENJOY cold temperatures and snow each winter, you will often find small community- run ski parks. These local resources are much loved, but
they are often underutilized. As we looked for a way to bet- ter engage the community near our ski park on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, a dedicated group of volunteers joined forces to develop an outdoor classroom on the site. Our idea was to bring more children to the ski hill for diver- sified activities. We envisioned taking students’ annual ski trips beyond their normal focus on developing sports skills, so as to embrace other learning opportunities. We know from research findings that nature deficits in
young people can be associated with hyperactivity, obesity and other challenging issues for teachers. Re-connecting with nature through both unstructured and structured events has been shown to improve general health, well-being and academic achievement of school-age children.2,3,4 There are many reasons that outdoor classrooms are not
as common as they should be. Teachers may feel trepida- tion around planning and conducting activities outside while still trying to meet curricular demands. Here in Cape Breton
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where the weather includes a long and highly variable winter, school boards are reluctant to fund outdoor classrooms that may only be used in warmer weather. With ever-tighter fund- ing, teachers have to carefully justify the expense of a field trip. Beyond learning itself, another key factor is the safety of children. Safety concerns can spell the demise of a teacher’s well-intentioned outdoor lesson, regardless of cost. Fortu- nately, the infrastructure and user-friendliness of a ski hill can alleviate many of these tensions, because negotiating these issues is part and parcel of the general operation of the hill. In this article, we’ll share our experience in the hopes
that those living in regions with ski hills might develop similar collaborations to enrich outdoor learning during the winter months.
The Solution What do Cape Breton school teachers do when they retire?
Those who do not migrate to warmer climates take daily advantage of the winter sports such as skiing and snow- shoeing. Our project started when retired teachers brain- stormed how to bring more young people to the hill they loved. The group then expanded to include educators and naturalists from the Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere Reserve Association and the education department at Cape Breton University. Together, we developed the concept of an out- door classroom. The interacting goals of nurturing environ- mental awareness and encouraging healthy living through snow sport drove the initial discussions. To make the ski hill more appealing, our idea was to provide teachers with
GREEN TEACHER 113
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