You can’t bounce off the walls If there are no walls: outdoor schools make kids happier—and smarter

Exploration of the natural world begins in early childhood, flourishes in middle childhood, and continues in adolescence as a pleasure and a source of strength for social action.

Wet sneakers and muddy clothes are prerequisites for understanding the water cycle.

We tiptoed the tops of beaver dams, hopped hummocks, went wading, looked at spring flowers, tried to catcha snake, got lost and found. How fine it was to move at a meandery, child's pace.

You can’t bounce off the walls If there are no walls: outdoor schools make kids happier—and smarter

What's important is that children have an opportunity to bond with the natural world, to learn to love it and feel comfortable in it, before being asked to heal its wounds.

If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.