Grow with Us - Tremont Institute by Tremont Institute

CONNECTING

PEOPLE AND NATURE

Grow With Us

Circa late 1800s

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Contents:

What Is This Place? Our Mission Looking Back Through The Lens Of Education The Future We Are Working Toward Our Core Values Reimagining Natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Role In Education Our Bold Agenda Grow With Us

Today

WHAT IF...?

..joy and wonder were measures of success in education?

…every school had outdoor learning spaces, and every school day was like summer camp? …students and their teachers teamed with community partners to tackle local environmental issues?

…outdoor investigation was how we built ecological, social, and cultural resilience?

…outdoor time exceeded screen time in each person’s life? …communities were stronger because people were stronger because they spent more time in nature?

…students spent half their school day outside?

...curiosity and kindness were part of school standards? …adults rekindled their excitement for learning by reconnecting with nature?

...national parks were regional hubs for education and for bridging cultural and political divisions? …generations of young people found reasons for optimism about the world through experiencing wonder in national parks?

…every child got to spend a night in a national park? 5

WHAT IS THIS PLACE? The man asking the question has never heard of Tremont Institute. Like many visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stumbled upon us by accident. After crossing the bridge leading to our campus, he and his wife stand outside their automobile eager to learn more. Their teenage daughter and son meanwhile cast despairing looks at the smartphones clutched in their hands:

No Service. 6

“It’s sort of like a camp.”

“Flower walks and things like that.”

“All I know is my kids went there in fifth grade and loved it.” “I always assumed they were part of the federal government.” Were a survey conducted to ask people Tremont’s reason for being, these would likely be among the responses. Misunderstandings about what we do have persisted almost since our founding in 1969. Many people within our region tell us they’ve never heard about us. Best kept secret in the Smokies say others. Clearly we have some explaining to do, because we don’t want to be anyone’s best kept secret any longer. 9

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one brief explanation of who we are: Tremont Institute is a residential environmental learning center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park whose mission is to connect people and nature. 10

Now for a longer explanation: People ages 4 to 94 come for a week or weekend, sleep in our lodge, and eat in our dining hall or on the trail. The outdoors becomes a classroom where we investigate the natural world and our place in it. We do this through science—stream and forest classes, salamander monitoring, bird-banding, and the Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification Program, for example. We also do this through the arts— photography, music, storytelling, illustration, poetry, and more—out of our desire to teach to the whole person. Recreation and play also have a huge role.

In short, we are a place where transformative learning experiences happen every day— ones that create lasting positive change for people and our planet. Where a bridge spanning the Middle Prong of the Little River once led to Will and Nancy Walker’s cabin in the mid-1800s, another bridge can be found today. It welcomes visitors to Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont where vital connections are made between people and nature, past and present, hearts and minds, and so much more. It’s where we’re working to build a future that’s happier, healthier, and more sustainable for all.

OUR MISSION Our mission is to deliver experiential learning for youth, educators, and adults through programs that promote self-discovery, critical thinking, and effective teaching and leadership. From our home in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and through research and residential programs, we investigate the diversity that sustains all life, develop a sense of place, and cultivate a stewardship ethic that will influence lifelong decision-making.

IN PRACTICE The Tremont experience involves transformative learning opportunities that are personal, local, and relevant. With roots in the Smokies and branches that stretch far beyond, we strive to be a world leader in experiential learning.

We seek to shape public perception and practice about the importance of experiential and outdoor learning. We develop instructional methods, curricula, and materials that are replicated worldwide. We train todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educators in experiential learning and foster the next generation of conservation leaders. We inspire citizens, ambassadors, leaders, educators, and decision-makers to work to conserve nature and the culture that sustains it. We influence our world through research with diverse partners in education, citizen science, health and wellbeing, conservation, and more. Our story began in the mountains in a place called Walker Valley. 18

LOOKING BACK THROUGH THE LENS OF EDUCATION 20

Learning And Living: How It Was Education, broadly understood, has existed in Walker Valley for a very long time. Verdant forests and rollicking streams were the “classroom” for Cherokees and their predecessors who learned to master ways of living few people rely on today. They read the landscape as they hunted and fished in the unpeopled valley, acquiring skills only experience could provide. Living was inseparable from learning, and there was little distinction between needs and wants, indoors and outdoors, body and spirit. In certain ways the same held true for Will and Nancy Walker who were newly married when they settled the valley in 1859. For them and their growing family, every day was an education in how to forge a life out of nature’s bounty. Vegetables sprouted in the garden they planted, and trees supplied lumber for making a cabin fitted together without nails. Animals supplied meat and pelts, bees honey, and plants medicine. The book of nature was read alongside scripture, which described a providential creator who had declared that creation was good. The Walker’s values were largely rooted in the principles of Jeffersonian democracy. That meant an independent streak and distrust of authority was balanced with obligations toward one’s neighbors as well as the government. Thus when the Civil War erupted, Will kept Confederate soldiers from entering the valley and harassing local families. He would also prevent lumber companies from cutting his forests while they levelled neighboring areas. At the turn of the twentieth century, American culture was on the verge of monumental changes the Walkers and others could never have guessed: scientific advancement, technological innovation, urbanization, rural decline, the rise of institutions, government expansion, vocational specialization, globalization, and so much more. As modern times slowly crept into the valley, the Walkers recognized a lack in at least one area of their children’s lives: formal education. A teacher was hired with funds donated by women’s civic clubs, and in 1901 the first term of the Walker Valley Settlement School began. Pupils ranged from age three to thirty. It was likely the first rural settlement school to be founded in the United States. So too was the “teacherage,” built for the instructor as a summer residence two years later, the first of its kind anywhere. Literacy—a tool deemed indispensable for self-improvement and self-empowerment—was the main goal. Social welfare on behalf of the underserved was largely an outgrowth of Christian missions, which meant the teacher often was also an ordained minister who led worship 22

services on Sundays and spoke of moral betterment. The founding of Camp Margaret Townsend in 1925 introduced a different form of education to the valley. Times were changing. The settlement school had closed the previous year, and three miles upriver a lumber company town sprang up virtually overnight. School there was held weekdays in an all-purpose building used for watching motion pictures on Saturdays and holding church services on Sundays, thus earning the nickname “The House of Education, Salvation, and Damnation.” By this time, Will and Nancy’s long lives had ended and most of their heirs had settled elsewhere. The heart of the valley where they had once resided, then known as Walker Fields, largely sat empty—though not for long. The site was brought back to life by Mabel Ijams, sisterin-law to Harry Ijams, whose property would eventually become the site of Ijams Nature Center. She was also the daughter of lumber company president W.B. Townsend as well as a member of the Knoxville Girl Scout Council. While searching for a spot to build a Girl Scout camp, she visited the site of Will and Nancy’s old farm and fell in love with it. Camp Margaret Townsend, named for Mabel’s late mother, held four two-week sessions each summer until 1959 when the camp relocated to Norris Lake and became Camp Tanasi. Hiking, horseback riding, and woodcrafts were daily activities at Camp Margaret Townsend. Girls milled corn using a tub mill built by Will Walker and learned how to cook over an open fire. Chores, called “Kapers,” included chopping wood, washing dishes, and fetching water from a nearby spring. Mabel Hood Houk King was a camper in the 1930s, and remarked, “Girl Scouting taught us to live in harmony with nature, to survive in nature with only a minimum of civilization’s accoutrements, and to respect and protect Earth like the Mother that she is.” Education at Camp Margaret Townsend was about building character and community, honing leadership skills, forging close relationships with other girls, and perhaps more than anything else, keeping physically active. It wouldn’t have been considered an education at all according to some cultural authorities who had long since relegated the body to the margins of what was considered necessary for the formation of young minds. Yet Camp Margaret Townsend had preserved within Walker Valley a vital aspect of education that had virtually disappeared from American schools by the mid-twentieth century: living and learning outdoors. A decade after the camp’s closing, many of the same principles rooted in the camping tradition would be reborn with the founding of Tremont Institute.

Nancy and Will Walker, early 1900s

Teacherage for Walker Valley Settlement School, constructed 1903

History Takes A Sharp Turn By 1969, more than a dozen abandoned modern structures sat scattered around Will and Nancy’s old farm. Several years earlier, in 1964, a Job Corps center had been erected as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty program. Like the Civilian Conservation Corps, active deeper in the valley during the 1930s, its purpose was to give young men vocational skills before entering the labor force—further examples of the continuing tradition of education in the valley. Once Congress cut funding for the program, however, there was no longer any need for the buildings, which were becoming a hazard for park visitors. Dean Stone, editor of The Daily Times newspaper in nearby Maryville, caught wind that the abandoned buildings were to be bulldozed. He called an urgent meeting with Elsie Burrell, a recently retired teacher and Blount County Schools supervisor; Randy Shields, who was born and raised in Cades Cove and was chairman of the Maryville College biology department; and Earl Henry, Blount Countian head of City of Knoxville Schools. The meeting would forever alter the course of history in Walker Valley. What did they want? A place where young people could get the sort of hands-on, sensory “earth education” they weren’t getting while sitting at a desk indoors all day. A place where students could learn the importance of conserving natural resources and develop a personal stewardship ethic. A place where the present could be connected with the past and each person discovered that they were a part of something larger than themselves. That place, they decided, would be the site of Will and Nancy’s old farm. The Job Corps buildings were still functional and could easily house visiting students and teachers. But who was going to run it? Also in attendance at the meeting was a representative of Mildred Doyle, superintendent of Knox County Schools, who expressed interest in operating the center if Blount County Schools was not. Some faculty and administrators at Maryville College were also interested, but action was stalled after a plan reached the president’s desk. Finally James and Jack Proffitt, both influential members of the college’s board of directors, brought the motion up for a vote and it passed. Transfer of the Job Corps site to the national park proved to be extraordinarily difficult. Dean Stone telephoned Howard Baker, Jr., U.S. Senator from Tennessee, for help. Known for his quiet competence, Baker was instrumental in helping to navigate the transfer of the property through three federal bureaucracies—the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, and Interior. Baker would later become President Reagan’s chief of staff. In October of 1969, the college was at last issued a permit to begin operating what was then called Tremont Environmental Education Center.

Tremont: 1960s-1970s

A Quiet Revolution A movement was afoot at the time to found centers like Tremont all over the United States. Within national parks, it began in the Tetons in 1967 and continued under the National Environmental Education Development (NEED) Program, which was designed to increase environmental awareness in on-site “outdoor laboratories.” It would continue with a similar vision as other centers opened independent of one another in Yosemite (1971), Poconos (1972), Yellowstone (1976), Golden Gate (1977), Glacier (1983), Canyonlands (1984), North Cascades (1986), Grand Canyon (1996), Indiana Dunes (1998), Acadia (2004), and Mount Rainier (2012). Out of the NEED Program was born the Quiet Hour, or what at Tremont would be called the “stake spot.” Students would sit by themselves outdoors and write, draw, conduct experiments, and discover insights into their connection with the natural world around them. Lessons that explored interrelationships, interdependence, adaptation, and more were developed in a range of subjects. Soon residential environmental education centers were taking hold on non-public lands, including in Minnesota (Wolf Ridge), Pennsylvania (McKeever), Alabama (Dauphin Island), and other places. A counter-revolution perhaps better describes what was quietly taking place nationwide. If society was becoming increasingly busy, consumeristic, and alienated from the natural world, environmental learning centers offered a return to something that had been lost: learning in and from nature. At some centers, teaching methods eventually echoed those once utilized by the nature-study movement vibrant at the turn of the 20th century, which drew wisdom from Anna Botsford Comstock’s Nature-Study Handbook, first published in 1912 and still in print today. Popular activities in the fledgling years of Tremont’s school program included leaf-study, tombstone rubbings, field trips to Cades Cove, all day hikes, and ethnographic interviews with local mountain residents. Local corporations sponsored schools for weeklong stays. For example, Rockford Manufacturing sponsored Rockford Elementary Schools by covering the twenty-five dollars per person cost. Public funds were also used. During the 1970s Blount County paid for every sixth-grade class in the county to attend Tremont. At the start of each fall semester, Maryville College sent its freshman class to Tremont for a week as part of orientation. The Youth Conservation Corps was the mainstay of summer programs for eight years under the direction of Tom Taylor and Ellis Bacon. Modelled on the Civilian Conservation Corps, which had constructed trails and 32

infrastructure throughout the park in the 1930s, the YCC sent youths age fifteen to eighteen on backcountry work projects during which they learned important life skills under the guidance of inspiring leaders. Their vital contribution to the park one summer included rerouting a one-mile section of the Appalachian Trail which back then passed over Gregory Bald. Ten years after its founding, Tremont experienced an onagain, off-again period in its operations. A flood spurred the Federal Highway Administration to condemn several bridges in the valley, resulting in the closure of the road leading to campus. Congress had eliminated the YCC, and for this and other reasons Maryville College decided not to seek renewal of its contract with the park. The Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association (now Great Smoky Mountains Association) agreed to take over operations. However, by the time the road reopened, buildings had also been condemned. A new leader with youthful energy and experience was sorely needed to usher Tremont into a new era.

ELSIE BURRELL: FOUNDING MOTHER Picture retiring at age at 65 only to start a whole new career. Meet Elsie Burrell. Known for her boundless energy, she devoted countless hours to ensure Tremont’s success in its early days and for years afterward. “Miss Elsie,” as she was affectionately called by everyone who knew her, was born in 1904. The daughter of a Civil War veteran, she distinguished herself by becoming one of the first students to ever receive a Masters of Education degree from the University of Tennessee. Her passion for teaching knew no age limit; she taught both primary and secondary grades as well as at three universities. She also helped establish educational programs for people with developmental disabilities. Her retirement after years of service from Blount County Schools coincided with her burgeoning dream of starting an education center in the Smokies. But that was only the beginning. Driven by a love for nature and a desire to preserve it, she soon found herself developing programs and writing curriculum alongside Tremont co-founder Randy Shields, training teachers, helping with dining hall operations, teaching classes, and more.

“It is safe to say that our first two years would have been quite impracticable without Elsie,” said Lloyd Foster, Tremont’s first director. “I leaned heavily on her advice, and sometimes left her with more responsibility than she wanted or, indeed, was obligated to accept.” Elsie had a deep affection for history and tradition. She had been the last full-time teacher at Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse before it closed in 1936. Years later she portrayed a living history character there—a schoolteacher, naturally—and developed a lesson for Tremont, leading students in an old-fashioned spelling bee and teaching them how to play historic Appalachian games such as Redbirds & Robins and Fox & Geese. No ball was necessary, just the rough-and-tumble energy of young people learning while playing together. She was fond of telling a yarn about an older pupil back in the day who stole a lunchbox belonging to a younger boy because it felt heavier than his own and must certainly be filled with something good to eat. When he sat beneath an oak tree to enjoy his spoils, however, he instead found hard-shelled walnuts and a hammer inside. The lesson Miss Elsie developed in the 1970s based on the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse is still in use at Tremont today.

REBIRTH 36

As a young man, Ken Voorhis was given a

a truck piled with year-old trash sat in a garage bay. Day after day no discernable progress was being made on the piece of advice by a mentor: Stay somewhere long enough kitchen and dining hall renovations, and in the absence of to make a difference. He would do just that by serving as a telephone there was no way to communicate with anyone Tremont’s executive director for nearly thirty years. During outside the valley. that span of time he guided its transformation from a shuttered facility into a nationally recognized learning center One day Voorhis was shocked to hear an actual telephone known for its high quality programs. ringing. As it turned out, a phone was connected to a Numerous challenges awaited Voorhis at the time of his hiring in 1984. Elected officials in Washington, D.C., seemed to frown on anything having to do with the environment. The National Park Service even refrained from using the term “environmental education” to describe their programs due to this adverse political climate. But there were more pressing issues to deal with first. Upon settling into his new home in June, Voorhis would have to oversee renovations, write curriculum, and hire staff—all before September when the first school was set to arrive for a weeklong program. Voorhis and his wife Jennifer, who was six months pregnant, rented a U-Haul truck and departed Philadelphia. Upon arriving in the Smokies, Voorhis was handed the keys by former director Ellis Bacon. Elsie Burrell and park Chief of Interpretation Stan Canter helped unload the couple’s belongings. More than half a dozen double wide trailers used for staff housing in the 1970s still sat scattered around campus. Voorhis opened the door to one and discovered someone’s personal belongings inside. A staff person, he would later learn, had fled during a cold snap during the previous winter after pipes had burst. He tried another and was hit by a musty stench so powerful he stopped in his tracks. The warped floor beneath his feet was so uneven that it rolled from joist to joist. When he looked up he noticed pools of rainwater inside the light globes that hung from the ceiling.

system outside the building that recorded rainfall for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Tracing the noise to its source, he found it secured inside a bolted-shut metal box in a utility room in the rear of the office. Now he had a line out. But meanwhile there were bills to pay, purchases to make, old items to remove, a trail system to figure out, and new relationships to forge with visiting schools and the national park. At last everything came together—or almost. As the date approached for the first school to arrive, it became clear that the installation of kitchen equipment from the old Job Corps Center into the renovated dining hall wouldn’t be completed in time. Voorhis added one more item to his already lengthy to do list: drive to Maryville College each day, pick up food, and bring it back to campus so no one would go hungry. Now students were eating meals in what had once been the gymnasium for the Job Corps, and they slept on bunks in the former “works building.” The rest of the time they were outdoors. Following a two-year period of silence, children’s voices could once more be heard coming from the forests, mountains, and river. Tremont had been reborn.

At last he found a trailer that would suit his and Jennifer’s needs, at least for the time being. Hours later the power went out and the couple spent their first night in Walker Valley basking in serene darkness and quiet much like Will and Nancy Walker once had. The next morning there was a knock on the door. Lou Thompson and Caroline Horner wanted their old jobs back cooking in the Tremont kitchen. “My first and maybe easiest hires for the new Tremont,” reported Voorhis. Little else about that summer was easy. The administration building was also plagued by the musty odors, and 37

As old structures such as the trailers were

removed, decreasing Tremont’s environmental footprint, its impact increased with the nationwide recognition of its unique education programs. In 1986 the name was changed to Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. In 2001 it amicably parted ways with Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association to become an independent non-profit organization. Growth came in myriad other ways under Voorhis’s leadership. What commonly had been regarded as mere “outdoor recreation” by many teachers and students now took on more academic rigor. An inquiry-based and student-centered learning model was adopted, and lessons were tied to school curricula. The size of each trail group was cut in half to contain between twelve and fifteen students. Cooperative teaching became the new model. Whereas visiting teachers had once handed off instructional duties almost entirely to Tremont faculty, now they co-taught lessons together on geology, wildlife, ecology, cultural history, and more. Workshops prepared them in advance by modeling lessons and building confidence for instructing in an environment nothing like their classroom back home. Youth programs extended into the summer months under a variety of guises. There was Discovery Camp for elementary and middle schoolers; backpacking and expeditionary science camps for teenagers; and Family Camp, which enabled multiple generations to discover ways to connect with their national park and each other. Trout Camp, conducted in partnership with Trout Unlimited, introduced kids to fly-fishing and stream conservation. Firefly Camp gave kids ages four to nine, plus a trusted adult, a taste for wild nature and what overnight camp in the Smokies was like. New partnerships with colleges and universities evolved. The Outdoor Recreation Consortium brought one hundred students every year from the University of Missouri as well as Penn State, Texas A&M, North Carolina State, Eastern Carolina, and Western Illinois Universities for an intensive week of study. The Natural Resources Consortium involved students from Purdue, Virginia Tech, and the University of Georgia from a wide range of disciplines—biology, political science, business, nursing, and education—introducing them not only to the Smokies but to an entirely different mode of learning. Nearby Maryville College and Mountain Challenge teamed with Tremont to create the Great Smokies Experience, which enabled high school students from around the country to earn college credit. 38

Working adults and retirees began making Tremont a home away from home by means of a widening range of program offerings. If many residents from within the region knew Tremont primarily as a “place for kids,” those who lived further away discovered it was a place for them to “become a kid again.” It was a way to keep coming back and learn more about the natural world—and nurture a part of themselves that had become muted by the daily grind of their lives. The list of possibilities grew long: backpacking adventures, photography workshops, and specialty workshops such as Environmental Education and the Arts, during which the popular campfire song “The Scat Rap” was composed. Hiking weeks were held in partnership with organizations such as Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) and the Sierra Club. In 2008, Amber Parker, then Tremont’s education director, created the Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certification Program with courses in birds, plants, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, naturalist skills, and more. Participants who completed all eight courses received the non-credit Southern Appalachian Naturalist Certificate from the University of Tennessee. Adults rekindled their excitement for learning and made new friends. Joy Coursey and Glenn Rice, middle school teachers from Georgia and Alabama, respectively, each brought students to Tremont independent of one another over many years. They met on a hike one summer during Naturalist Week, a popular natural history-based program, and returned summer after summer. Now both retired, they still compete for who has visited Tremont the most, now well over one hundred times each. (For the record, Glenn reached the one hundred mark first.) Tremont became an early proponent of citizen science, through which students and volunteers contributed to actual scientific research. Many projects were tied to the All Taxa Biological Inventory (ATBI), a years-long project aiming to map all 80,000-plus species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ongoing projects included salamander monitoring, which remains one of the longest such studies in the United States. Depending on the season, citizen scientists could also be observed banding birds, tagging monarch butterflies, counting wood frog eggs, and collecting phenology data that are shared with park managers and scientists. Larger questions began to emerge as the year marking Tremont’s 50th anniversary approached. What ought experiential education look like in the 21st century, not just in Walker Valley but beyond—indeed in every school? How could more students and more teachers be reached, especially those in most need of such experiences? In what new ways could Tremont build a culture able to address society’s most pressing issues?

TREMONT GROWS UP

MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION’S IMPACT With the assistance of Yale University PhD candidates, Tremont conducted an evaluation of the impact of its school programs over one academic year. The first of its kind, this study determined that students’ comfort level in the outdoors was higher after their Tremont experience and continued to remain high three months later, compared with before their visit. Findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Education in 2008 and included students exhibiting statistically significant increases in the following areas: Understanding that Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other natural places help keep air and water clean and protect trees and animals from harm. Wanting to learn about plants, animals, and the places they live. An overall interest in learning—including about different cultures and ways of life, as well as the history of their hometown—and a desire to visit other national parks and natural areas. Environmental stewardship including: • Turning out lights when they left a room • Mindfulness about not wasting food and water • Talking to friends and family about the environment Results from a follow-up survey conducted three months later were found to be just as strong. 39

THE FUTURE WE ARE WORKING TOWARD 42

WHO WE ARE TODAY During Dr. Jennifer Jones’ tenure as President & CEO (2014-2018), societal trends that had been long underway came into sharper focus. The modern conservation movement had grown in the 1960s and 1970s out of the recognition that our lifestyles were causing large-scale changes that threatened the natural world’s ability to support life. From the start, Tremont had addressed the need for conservation through the staying power of education. Over time other crises had emerged including an epidemic of childhood obesity and depression, widespread Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, and lagging STEM education. The twofold meaning behind Tremont’s slogan of “connecting people and nature” now resonated more than ever. On the one hand, people who possessed a firsthand acquaintance with the natural world were more likely to be motivated to conserve and protect it. In other words, you can’t understand and cherish that which you have never appreciated and enjoyed. And on the other hand, a growing body of research showed the benefits people reap when they spend time in nature. In short, what is good for people is often good for the environment too. Contemporary culture, however, had long since been trending in a far different direction.

Disappearing Frontiers: Childhood Reality Today

tapped resource for study. The result often tends to be that students worry over the fate of faraway landscapes while remaining ignorant of the nature that exists on their school grounds and in their own backyards. It’s no surprise that when students spend all their time indoors, they become increasingly fearful of the natural ecosystems on which we all depend. A study by The Nature Conservancy found that eighty percent of students said they were uncomfortable outdoors because of things such as insects and heat. Teachers in the meantime struggle with the burdens of high stakes standardized testing, behavior problems, and lack of resources. On top of this, they report that their students are less equipped to problem-solve, develop social skills, and deal with real world problems. Clearly part of the solution is getting students—and teachers—outdoors. While online learning has its place, it is no substitute for hands-on engagement with actual places. Which is why at Tremont Institute we also believe part of the solution is focusing not just on what students learn but how and where they learn. Missed opportunities accrue when students are taught subjects wholly disconnected from their lives and spend all their time learning what is known rather than the process of knowing itself. Education, of course, can be so much more than that.

7 mins

outdoor play

In his seminal book Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” to describe a generation that had grown up without close association with the outdoors. The reasons included parental fears as well as the loss of neighborhood open spaces. Another cause and outcome was a sharp increase in “screen time.” For instance, teens in the United States now spend nine hours each day on average on screen entertainment, not counting schoolwork, according to a recent study. That’s more time than they spend sleeping. Research has shown that screen time increases likelihood of depression, and that social media exacerbates feelings of exclusion. Student reality closely parallels this “retreat” indoors. The United States now ranks fourth in the amount of time students spend in school—nearly all of it indoors, of course. Meanwhile students learn about exotic landscapes such as the Amazon while local nature largely remains an un44

Other

9 hrs

electronic media

Youth Time Spent Per Day

WHAT SHOULD EDUCATION LOOK LIKE? 46

Simply put, more natureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and more time spent outdoors. We likewise envision a greater role for the senses and emotions, not just the intellect, in all educational settings. Curiosity is vital to the learning process, and studies show that people are better at digesting information they are curious about. Where can this kind of learning take place? Everywhere! And anywhere. Wild nature and green spaces are important, but so are urban environments and wherever else students live and discover their own personal connections. We imagine this as the starting point for education that is personal, local, and relevant. Our dreams are ambitious and we know we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t achieve them alone. Nor do we think we have all the answers. Partnerships with teachers, families, school administrators, and entire school districts are an integral part of the work that lies ahead. Experiential education has resided for too long at the margins of our education systems. Mainstreaming experiential modes of learning into outdoor spaces will require a cadre of confident and skilled teachers, educators, and champions, and much more. Reimagining what school looks like will require a shift in perception and accepting that experiential education is school. 47

THE BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR LEARNING 48

The results are in! Numerous studies in recent years have revealed the overwhelmingly positive outcomes resulting from environmental education in settings in the United States and abroad:

Improved health and well-being

Improved proficiencies and standardized test scores Opportunities to better understand complex concepts for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other learning disadvantages

Decreased numbers of failing students and dropout rate

Greater sense of personal responsibility and motivation to address community and environmental issues

Enhanced confidence, autonomy, and leadership

Increased teacher satisfaction

From Anecdotes to Evidence: Demonstrating the Power of Environmental Education (Stanford University & the North American Association for Environmental Education)

OUR CORE VALUES WE CREATE experiential education programs

focused on the natural world, knowing such learning and research opportunities are uniquely suited to bring about life-changing outcomes in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion for learning, sense of self-worth, and behavior.

WE BELIEVE a lost connection between humans

and the natural world can be repaired by beginning with experiences that take place where education beganâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the outdoors. We believe such experiences produce cascading results that enrich individual lives, strengthen families, and empower communities. 50

WE CELEBRATE the distinctive setting that Great

Smoky Mountains National Park provides as a living laboratory in which to explore the biodiversity that forms the building blocks of healthy ecosystems, examine past and present human impacts on the land, and navigate questions about how to best manage, conserve, and use natural resources.

WE ARE INSPIRED by the power of place to teach

people invaluable lessons about their surroundings while also deepening self-understanding. As society moves ever faster, each person still lives one day at a time, in only one place at a time. Slowing down, unplugging, and giving thoughtful attention to the places we inhabit play a critical role in influencing our wellbeing by awakening our senses and our minds to the relationships we cannot survive without.

WE CARRY OUT our mission with both urgency and joy, recognizing that the work of connecting people and nature could not be timelier.

REIMAGINING NATUREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROLE IN EDUCATION 52

A series of What If? questions appeared early on in these pages, many of which we have strived to make a reality since our founding in 1969. The main difference today is how we plan to go about them. Programs are and will remain one of our greatest strengths, but no longer will they be our exclusive focus. It’s an exciting time for Tremont Institute, and not just in Walker Valley, because our goal in the days and years ahead is to make our impact felt well beyond the borders of our national park. We imagine a world where connection to nature enriches every person’s life. …Where from our earliest years, we each possess a connection to nature that inspires and motivates us in our learning, work lives, communities, and families. …Where deep connection to nature provides resilience and alternatives to our hectic, technology-laden, preoccupied lifestyles. …Where schools are places students, teachers, and communities tap into curiosity and discover wonder. …Where people in all lines of work recognize how nature enriches every sphere of culture and leads to better outcomes in business, manufacturing, healthcare, education, public service, non-profits, the arts, and more. … Where the value of public lands as wellsprings of our life support systems—clean air, clean water, biodiversity, and more—ranks among the highest priorities of engaged members of society. …And where each generation passes on to the next one a world that’s in better shape than when they found it.

OUR BOLD AGENDA

Our vision for the future is audacious, in part because we truly believe that what we do inspires and improves peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen it happen time and time again. In order to accomplish this on a larger scale, we have crafted a strategic plan that amplifies our work and magnifies our impact in four broad areas.

ONE: RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS

Strategic direction: We create a multiplier effect by training educators, researchers, and public land professionals from around the world. 58

Youth Programs We seek to collaborate with schools, teachers, and communities in new ways to deliver the kinds of experiences and programs that support standards, classroom needs, and the overall wellbeing of children. The driving principles for this innovation are both timely and timeless: Championing a Curiosity Curriculum: We will prioritize student-centered learning that nurtures a sense of wonder and curiosity, both of which are fundamental to deep and lasting learning. Teaching for Whole-Person: We will provide experiences that contribute to a young personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social, emotional, ethical, and academic development whether during a school visit or summer camp. 61

Collegiate Studies Interdisciplinary: Our living laboratory and interdisciplinary approach provide deep immersive experiences that draw on the liberal arts as well as the sciences. We will work with professors from across a wide range of disciplines. Career Choices: Our academic programs introduce students to a different way of learning and living and provide a positive influence at a time when they are making important decisions. New Opportunities: We will pursue new programs, new learning sites, and new relationships with academic institutions. We will increase the number of universities we have partnered with over the years, now numbering more than two dozen.

Field Programs Deepening a Sense of Self and Place: Working adults increasingly need to slow down, unplug, and reconnect with nature and themselves. Doing so allows them time to probe deeper questions that todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastpaced and distracted society discourages them from asking. Wonder, curiosity, and taking pleasure in learning arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just for the young. Reflection and Action: When adults step outside the routines of their busy lifestyles in this way, they are able to return to their home communities with energy and zeal to effect changes for the good. 65

Professional Development for All Kinds of Educators

We are unique in the collaborative approach we take with teachers and other educators. Impacting teachers is one of our most important endeavors because by enriching teachers we are helping them reach thousands of kids and build the â&#x20AC;&#x153;soilâ&#x20AC;? in which future generations will grow.

Priorities: Our goal is to make it easier for teachers to get their students outside, whether in their schoolyard or through a class trip to a national park. Outdoor learning must make their already tough job easier. It should help them achieve their academic and personal goalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and it should be fun for all. We will provide teachers with professional development and support and instill confidence in them, so they can plan new lessons and experiences that are relevant to their students and grounded in place. Rather than providing them with a script, we will assist them in writing their own. 67

TWO: COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Strategic direction: We develop pathways for repeat experiences and lifelong relationships with participants, from elementary to doctorate, streamlined with Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other partners. 68

Increase Access for the Underserved: We want to ensure that individuals from every community have access to nature within their own cultural context. We want to help communities develop their capacity to generate financial support for urban and underserved youth to benefit from a connection with nature. Parks as Hubs of Engagement for Regional Community: Through innovative, long-lasting partnerships, we will create a continuum of experiences and opportunities that deepen connection with nature and continuously enrich and expand an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of place. Partnering with Community Organizations: We will help train partners to leverage the wonder and power of connection to nature to reach shared outcomes for communities in health, resilience, empowerment and more.

THREE: RESEARCH THAT COMPLEMENTS OUR LEARNING LAB

Strategic direction: We conduct research that complements our learning laboratory and influences education, conservation, and more.

Research in Effective Educator Training: We partner with education researchers to assess and inform the trainings we offer teachers. This work advances our field and provides credibility and support for new partnerships with school districts and other non-profits seeking better outcomes in education. Community Science Research: Our award-winning citizen science program is considered a benchmark for successful field science programs around the continent. We will continue to lead and expand in this arena by working closely with current partners such as the National Park Service, and by attracting research partners who will support us in analysis and publication of our data. Science Communication: Done effectively, this reaches the twin goals of empowering citizens and informing conservation decisions. We will share results from student-designed investigations and long-term monitoring studies in local, regional, and national media outlets and professional journals. 71

FOUR: ADVOCACY FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING

Strategic direction: We provide educational expertise and work to influence policy to extend the reach and impact of experiential education. Impacting Policies: Research and publishing will enable us to demonstrate the efficacy of nature-based learning and give school districts data they need to make policy decisions on behalf of increased outdoor learning for their students. Shaping Narratives: Changing public perceptions about outdoor learning is key to mainstreaming it and showing that it is not just “camp” or a “field trip.” Families, civic organizations, faith-based institutions, and more all have a part in this work. Growing the Number of Advocates for Experiential Education: Creating change begins with local school districts, but we aim to broaden this impact statewide through professional networks such as Tennessee Science Teachers Association and Tennessee Environmental Education Association, as well as close partnerships with the Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

DISCOVERY:

A LOST ART Justin Luckner

Junior at New York City’s Regis High School & student with Great Smokies Experience, a collaboration between Tremont Institute and Maryville College The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “discovery” as “the act of finding or learning something for the first time.” Personally, this is something that I seldom encounter in my education. Everything I know was taught to me either in school or by the internet. Discovery seems like a lost art. As a student, I am taught that learning is about getting the right answer. In lab, finding out whether or not a hypothesis is sufficient in resolving the original problem of an experiment often yields apathy in myself and other students, because the scientific discovery has already been made by someone else. Frankly, it seems trivial. At Tremont I was quite literally thrown into the wilderness to conduct my own experiment. The only resources I was given were various measurement devices and nature. This was a new challenge for me. For all I knew this was uncharted territory and we had just made a shocking revelation. This experience was anything but “going through the motions” while attempting to find the right answer. When freedom to discover is granted, it stirs passion in students. When students can experience an experiment for all that it is, and earn original findings rather than be taught information, students will have more interest in science—and, hopefully, be stunned by their ability to discover.

CONNECTING THE Program Spotlight: Fulton High School Sometimes climbing a mountain isn’t the hardest thing—it’s getting to the mountains in the first place that seems like an insurmountable challenge. If access to nature is a basic human right, and Tremont’s mission is to connect people and nature, then we have an obligation to do our part in making the opportunities for those connections to nature in our national park and neighborhoods accessible to all. We recognize that for many, there are economic, geographic, and time barriers to taking advantage of our region’s amazing natural spaces. As we look toward the future of Tremont, we are finding our role within a growing movement to create easier access to nature in daily life. Though time spent in nature does not necessarily come with an entrance fee, access is not always equal. Leisure time can be cost prohibitive, and natural parks are not always nearby. Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park can introduce you to a world of possibilities you didn’t know existed and provide the spark for imagining an entirely different future for yourself. We see our role as supporting communities and schools with the learning experiences, resources, and in-depth program that can inspire shifts toward more time spent in nature on a day-to-day basis. A new program built on a partnership between Tremont Institute and Fulton High School aims to bridge the distance between Knoxville-based students, their national park, and a brighter future. For many of these high school juniors and seniors, this program provides their first ever visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park despite being able to see a panoramic view of the park from their schoolyard.

DOTS...

FIRST STEPS

Program Spotlight continued The Environmental & Community Leadership Program began literally in the dark during the total solar eclipse of 2017. Nineteen students, accompanied by two of their teachers, traveled to the Smokies where they were trained as docents and led educational activities for more than one thousand public visitors who came to Cades Cove to view the eclipse. For most students, the four-day experience was their first time hiking, camping, stargazing, and learning in the natural world. Says Fulton teacher Kim Kennard, “Many students live in single-parent households where they help raise younger siblings, care for sick family members, and work part-time jobs to help pay the bills. They don’t know that spending time in nature is even an option, let alone having enough time for it. They fail to see that they too are a part of nature, and that it can be restorative for people whose lives are chaotic and sometimes traumatic.” Subsequent visits for students have included a four-day backpacking trip, the opening of the Foothills Parkway, and a four-day leadership skills-building course. Keilah King, who comes from a single-parent family with six children, first came for the eclipse event. She wasn’t sure whether she could deal with the insects and absence of internet while living in the woods. But over the course of a long weekend she stepped well outside her comfort zone by exploring nature and interacting with total strangers in her role as docent. At the end, she returned to school and got to tell her classmates about her adventures. She says the experience changed her whole perspective on life. “Kids our age feel like they have to do what everyone else is doing,” she says. Based on her time spent in the fellowship program, however, she realized there were other options. “You have to go explore and take chances with your life.” 79

DEEPER INTO THE WOODS Program Spotlight continued Keilah’s next step was to go backpacking. She’d never done it before and wasn’t even sure what it was exactly. “It’s just crazy,” she says. “You gotta keep hiking. If you stop, time is going to get to you, it’s gonna get dark, there’s animals out there. You wanna get to your spot so you can eat. You want to give up. But you have to keep pushing if you want to get to the end.” Her sister Kaela also went backpacking. “They were all supporting and pushing you to keep going,” she says, describing Tremont faculty and other youths on the trip. “We went through it together. Like, are you going to be mad about it the whole time or are you gonna fix it and get happy?” For both sisters, the experience was empowering and stretched the limits of what they each thought they could do. Kaela says she doesn’t know what the world will look like in twenty or thirty years, but now she wants to do her part by taking care of the environment so the next generation has similar opportunities. The trip was also a wake-up call to use her time wisely. When she grows old she doesn’t want to regret spending so much time on her phone. She says her little sister, who is in sixth grade, is constantly on her phone and claims she’s “too busy” to go outdoors. “I’m like, girl, you have so many other things ahead of you that you don’t even know.” Both Keilah and Kaela now have a plan to take their little sister on a hike up Sharp’s Ridge in North Knoxville, as well as perhaps to the Smokies one day. “We gotta start her off small,” says Kaela. 80

UP THE MOUNTAIN Program Spotlight continued

Janiya Goines is a junior at Fulton and has grown up all her life in Knoxville’s largest affordable housing project, Western Heights. Someday she’d like to major in pharmacy at the University of Tennessee. Following her Tremont trip she expressed concern for her twelve-year-old brother who, despite her prodding, wants to sit indoors playing video games all day rather than go outside and climb a tree with her. When asked why reaching out to kids to get them outside matters, she conveyed her desire for them to have an experience like the one she had. “The peace of mind and time to reflect on myself made me think, other than my phone, what hobbies do I have?” Though her brother remains a work in progress, she has had success getting a family member outside—and not just anywhere. During her four days at Tremont she hiked to Andrews Bald in the high elevations of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The following semester, over fall break, she returned there of her own accord with her older cousin. “It was really pretty, and it made me feel happy to take her somewhere she had never been,” says Janiya. “It’s a big deal when we hear about one of these students using money she earned from her part time job to take her cousin hiking to Andrews Bald,” says Caleb Carlton, Development Manager at Tremont, who has spearheaded the fellowship program. “It’s evidence that students are actively making decisions on behalf of themselves and their families that will push them to grow past their perceived limits. That’s what the program was designed to make happen.” Kim Kennard is equally pleased with the results so far, even if obstacles remain in place for many of her students. “They grow in so many ways. Their lives are changed, and more than anything, they want more students like themselves to have this opportunity,” she says. Like Tremont’s other residential programs, the Fulton High School experience is a powerful example of nature as teacher. As a result of spending time away from the built environment, students rethink their values and ask themselves what kind of world they want to live in and leave behind for others. Imagine the possibilities were a similar experience to be made available to an entire school district, state, or country.

GROW WITH As Tremont enters its next 50 years under the new leadership of Catey Terry, President & CEO, we will endeavor to shape the conversation both locally and nationally about the urgent need for people to connect with nature. And we will put this philosophy into practice every day in our organizational growth and in our programs for youths, college students, and adults. But we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do this vitally important work alone. It will also rely on individuals and families, employees and bosses, leaders and visionaries in every sphere of influence including business, service and manufacturing, education, non-profits, healthcare, public service, and so many others. It will rely on you!

US We invite you to join us on this journey. And we encourage you to do your part within your own sphere as we reach together toward goals that will sustain the planet for future generations. In the meantime, seize whatever opportunity you can to reconnect with nature yourself. Stare at the clouds or a moving body of water. Explore a trail or your own backyard. Sit and rest outdoors and â&#x20AC;&#x153;come into the peace of wild things,â&#x20AC;? as Kentucky poet-farmer Wendell Berry writes. Need a nudge? Come visit us or attend one of our many programs to experience the wonders of the natural world for yourself.

Our Institutional Partners Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains Association Friends of the Smokies Discover Life in America Maryville College University of Tennessee Citations:

Cagle, NL. “Changes in experiences with nature through the lives of environmentally committed university faculty.” Environmental Education Research (July 17, 2017): 1-10. John Miller, University of Michigan, report for NASA, http://home.isr.umich.edu/files/2016/10/NASA-CSL-in-2016-Report. pdf Pew Research Center’s American Trend Panel, 2014, http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/09/10/what-the-public-knows-anddoes-not-know-about-science/ Pew Research Center, 2017. September, 2017, Science News and Information Today, http://www.journalism.org/2017/09/20/ science-news-and-information-today/ The Nature Conservancy, 2011, https://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/kids-in-nature/kids-in-nature-poll.xml Gruber, J., B.D. Gelman, C. Ranganath, 2014. States of Curiosity Modulate Hippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit, Neuron, 84(2). https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/teens-tweens-media-screen-use-report/index.html Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation, Jean M. Twenge, The Atlantic September 2017

Contributors: WRITTEN BY: Jeremy Lloyd TRADITIONAL 19th CENTURY PEN & INK ILLUSTRATIONS: Debora Cook PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Caleb Carlton DESIGN & LAYOUT: Laura Beth Denton COPY-EDITOR: Emily Stein ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS: Jennifer Jones, John DiDiego, Catey Terry, Ken Voorhis, David Bryant, Stephanie Bowling, Greg Hurst, Susan Milinkovich, Alice Sun, Steven David Johnson, Jennie McGuigan, Thomas Eyler, Tiffany Beachy Â© 2019 by Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

9275 Tremont Road Townsend, TN 37882 (865) 448-6709 www.gsmit.org mail@gsmit.org