Learning Beyond Four Walls

Our Moraine Farm campus offers acre upon acre of protected fields, meadows, woodlands and wetlands. Across the grades, we incorporate the diverse ecosystems of this natural classroom into lessons and activities. With a formal program that integrates nature study and science investigation into main lesson blocks and other subjects, our students and teachers are continually discovering the treasures right in our “back yard.” Such topics as sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, weather and climate, and graphing and statistics, are all here for us to discover together and experience in a completely hands-on way.

The Trustees of Reservations’ Moraine Farm CSA is right next door and offers another dimension to our outdoor classroom environment. Several of our classrooms visit the farm weekly in the fall and spring, working alongside their teachers and Trustees’ staff. In the third grade, students spend a week at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Ghent, NY – a working farm – where they participate in sustainable agriculture, develop practical skills and gain a sense of independence.

We also take advantage of the many historic and cultural resources on the North Shore and beyond. Our classes take frequent trips to Boston museums, and historic sites on the North Shore. Students participate in cycling and camping trips, exploring points of historic, natural or cultural significance within New England. These experiences deepen and reinforce classroom study, as well as the social fabric of the class.

All of these activities enhance learning, create a reverence for nature and a sense of stewardship for our environment, and build self-confidence in our students.