OUTDOOR EDUCATION

THE IMPORTANCE OF MEADOW SNIFFING

BY BRUCE HENDRICKS, DIRECTOR OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION

We often think of the outdoors in terms of physical activity in the wilderness – running, hiking, paddling, skiing or climbing. But during the pandemic, it became abundantly clear just how important all kinds of ‘getting out’ are for our physical and mental health.

Immersing our five senses in the natural world, not just wilderness, has an inexpressible yet very real effect on most of us – dangling our feet in a cool stream, watching the slow movement of clouds across the summer sky, listening to a bird

Grade 9 backpackers with Ms. O’Neill. song, marveling at the riotous colour of a newly emerging wildflower. I refer to these calming, renewing and perspectivegiving times as ‘meadow sniffing’. They are a much-needed balance to on the edge, ‘pinning it’ moments. For me, these may involve negotiating strenuous, technical moves on an ice climb; paddling an intimidating rapid; or having the realization there’s no turning back from a steeper-than-expected section of mountain biking trail.

Much of this year has been an extended ‘pinning it’ period for most of us – so much uncertainty, unexpected change, isolation, and sense of consequence. We’ve needed some ‘meadow sniffing’. Over the life of STS and its founding schools, our community has valued getting outdoors and exploring nature as opportunities for learning, challenge, fitness, building relationships, and experiencing joy. The value of spending time outside is increasingly important in a culture that spends less time doing so than in the past.

Developing healthy ways and means to adapt to the new and unexpected is one of the key benefits of outdoor experiences. Students new to STS often comment that time spent at orientation camps or on hikes helps them to get to know new people in ways that develop their relationships and connections. It happens more quickly and in a deeper manner than typically happens day-to-day in the hallways and classrooms.

One recent graduate described his span of outdoor experiences from Grades 4 to 12 as an ongoing development of learning to move more confidently and safely, with greater awareness, in an environment that is both wondrous and potentially dangerous. That confidence and adaptability is more than just a metaphor for the larger canvas of life. Five years after graduation, another alum expressed how her experiences in the outdoors while at Grade 2s snowshoeing on campus.

STS had transformed her willingness to embrace challenges and helped shape her career path.

For faculty, too, the outdoors provides healthy learning benefits. In 2019, when our Senior School Principal Anand Mahadevan joined STS, he participated in the Grade 10 orientation camp. He hiked and did a variety of outdoor activities with students and faculty. Looking back at this time, he recognizes how the experience helped him establish human connections, not just organizational ones, as a basis for his new role.

There is much to be gained from outdoor learning at STS, but you don’t need organized programs to realize the benefits. Just take the shortest, least mechanized route to the closest natural space - your backyard, acreage, local park, or neighbourhood bike path. The key is to get outside alone or with family and friends in ways that renew you and nurture a sense of wonder. Amongst the ‘pinning it’ times in our lives, there is immense benefit to ‘meadow sniffing’.

Mr. Steven Mercer ’87, faculty, with new-to-STS students, Jess ’21, Brooklyn ’22, and Izzy ’22 during back-packing.