Reflections from Whatcom Hills Waldorf School

Students gather around the campfire. Photo by Rick Allen. 

We had a wonderful time with the Whatcom Hills Waldorf School when they joined us at the Environmental Learning Center from September 14-16. Kuros Zahedi, their fifth grade teacher, wrote about their experience for their school’s weekly newsletter. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your wonderful students!

“The trip offered us the opportunity to be led on many nature outings by the passionate Mountain School naturalists.  We also got to sit around the campfire singing songs and performed funny improvised skits.  We laughed a lot, played a lot, learned a lot, ate excellent locally grown food together and bonded as a class community.  The children were taught about the natural history of the area we know as the North Cascade mountains (our back yard - aren’t we lucky!!).  They learned basic concepts about the geology of the area including the types of rocks which make up the mountains and how glaciers eroded them into their present spectacular formations.  They also learned ecological concepts about communities of living and nonliving things and food webs.  They felt the icy grip of a snowmelt stream on their hands, ate salal berries, smelled cedar bark, listened to bird songs, sat alone in nature, drew in journals, touched bear scratched tree bark, marveled at details revealed by microscopes, watched the moon rise, and saw the early morning sunlight dance upon distant glaciers.  While some of the science lessons could have been taught in any classroom, the experiences the children had were both irreplaceable and priceless.  NCI is a gem of an institution and we are lucky to have been able to participate in their Mountain School program.”