In the natural world of Colorado, fall is a season of restlessness. Bighorn sheep rams depart from their bachelor groups in search of a mate worth dueling over. The night is alive with millions of migrating birds making their way south for the harsh winter months. Various tree cones and wildflower seeds ripen just in time for anxious chipmunks and pine squirrels to cache them away for winter feasts. Fall also marks a season of change for human children, who return to early morning wake-up calls and long days of learning at school. Making this shift from summer fun to the busy school season does not have to mark a departure from the natural world for students. For visiting school groups at Walking Mountains this fall, the bustle of autumn nature transforms into science classrooms.
Just last week, a group of 5th graders visiting Walking Mountains from Red Sandstone Elementary explored the power of photosynthesis beneath the golden canopy of cottonwood trees. The star teachers were the brilliant yellow cottonwood leaves as students ogled at their true flashy colors, revealed by the annual end of photosynthesis in the leafy green chlorophyll. On a different fall day, 2nd graders from Vail Mountain School explored Walking Mountains for a day. They chased grasshoppers through the reddish-blue hue of a grassland while they learned about plant and animal interdependence. Students might forget a textbook reading about how grasshoppers cycle nutrients in a grassland habitat, but they will remember the cautious eye required to track and catch a camouflaged grasshopper amongst the tall grasses.
Yet another crisp autumn day, Walking Mountains welcomed 1st graders from Avon Elementary. This younger bunch adventured alongside the babbling creek to learn about adaptations. It was the Rocky Mountain snails who taught that day, their empty shells picked up in spring snowmelt and washed in masses down the mountain to fill up small, eager hands during fall explorations. At first glance, snails may not seem connected to the learning theme of the day, but the spiraling patterns of snail shells wowed with their novelty and sparked conversations of their purpose in helping the snail survive. These moments, and many more, capture the power of incorporating the more-than-human world into learning throughout the school year. Environmental educators like those at Walking Mountains master the art of connecting any discovery to the learning at hand, but this is a skill that anyone can lean into when raising or teaching children.
As parents, teachers, and students settle into the school year routine, remember the capacity of the natural world to be a teacher. Allow the busyness of animals and plants around us preparing for winter to prompt us to take our children outdoors and learn from observing the world around us. Children remember some of what we teach them with words, but they remember far more from what they experience for themselves.
Savanna Henning is in her 2nd year as an educator and Walking Mountains Foley Graduate fellow. Savanna’s favorite part about teaching is facilitating moments where students experience the magic of nature!