High Mowing teens spend night in nature

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Submitted photo
High Mowing naturailist students, from left, Will Wright, Aidan Woishnis, Skylar Wisswaesser, Ben Auerbach., Hannah Burnham and Hunter Moore, kneeling, prepare for their night in the woods.

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Submitted photo,br> Hunter Moore, student at High Mowing School, nestles into a debris shelter - his home for the night on a recent December evening.

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Submitted photo
High Mowing naturailist students, from left, Will Wright, Aidan Woishnis, Skylar Wisswaesser, Ben Auerbach., Hannah Burnham and Hunter Moore, kneeling, prepare for their night in the woods.

Enlarge

WILTON – Most teenagers seek the warmth and comfort of their own beds on a wintery night in New England. However, on a recent December night, the woods at High Mowing School were the evening accommodations for students in the school’s Intermediate Naturalist Program.

Nestled in small debris shelters made from sticks, leaves and branches, students tested their survival skills and the new capotes (or cape-coats) they made for the occasion.

“It is all part of a larger focus where students are steeped in the natural history of the northeastern woodlands,” said Keith Badger, the program’s director.

Why is this particular experience important to the naturalist program?

“At first, it was strange because I started feeling claustrophobic, surrounded by several feet of leaves,” said Hannah Burnham, a sophomore at High Mowing. “But it’s surprising … how fast you fall asleep. The best part was to learn things through experiencing them. Tracking, rope-making, building a shelter or starting a bow-drill fire – these skills are learned best by putting them to use.”

Students Hunter Moore and Skylar Wisswaesser agreed.

“I was surprised by how effective the shelters we made were, since they consisted of sticks and leaves,” Moore said.

“The overnight was cold, but I learned I could warm up the further down into my shelter I went,” Skyler added. “Once I was asleep, I slept through the night.”

According to Badger, High Mowing’s program teaches students to use natural resources to survive.

“Reciprocity is a fundamental law,” Badger said. “But it can’t be taught as an abstract, intellectual concept. I like to incorporate this type of experience into the naturalist curriculum because I feel a missing element in adolescent work today is the rite of passage experience, or identity work.

“Teenagers require intense experiences; if we fail to provide them in a structured way, they will be found without our guidance, often in destructive forms. A large piece of my work as an educator is getting youth ‘connected.’ Time in nature provides the stillness that enables them to do so.”

As it turns out, a wintery night is a perfect forum for learning about many things.

“I learned that I should make my shelter better next time,” said student Aidan Woishnis.

High Mowing School is a Waldorf high school in Wilton for boarding and day students. For more information, visit www.highmowing.org.

– Submitted by Heather Atwater, High Mowing School