LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 20 WOODS: Revolutionizing Student Growth Through Immersive Wilderness Education By Carolyn Walton The temps weren't expected to go above 30 de- grees. The day seemed to cry out for a mug of hot chocolate, side of Minecraft, Call of Duty, or the clas- sic time-suck TikTok. But instead, five teenage boys from Lake Placid Central School District (LPCSD) de- cided to go camping in a new program called WOODS for three nights and four days — in February. The Wilderness Opportunity to Offer and Develop Skills program, lovingly known as WOODS, was first implemented with that inaugural group of partici- pants, five mixed-age students from LPCSD, in Febru- ary of 2023. But the vision of the program started long before that. Fostering a vision For the majority of the past decade, I worked in Wilderness Therapy, initially as a guide before moving up to a director position and playing a crucial role in a company's expansion to the East Coast. Currently, I have logged approximately 700 days living in the back- country, mostly accruing in increments of 8 days at a time with all that I need on my back. All while being in charge of and keeping up to twelve adolescents safe. The daily average rate of programs like the one I worked for range from $500 - $800. The work that I was a part of in New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Vermont felt like an honor. The changes I witnessed others go through in the wilderness was palpable. Seeing a 15 year-old enter the wilderness without the ability to make eye contact, who carried an edge of not caring about anyone at all — including himself, and then seeing him on graduation day look at me in the eyes with the glossy coverage that impacts me still to say, "Thank you," are moments in time I hope to spread. After my first five years in the industry and a de- cision not to attend law school, I had a lightbulb moment realizing that I could bring the experiences offered in the wilderness from the private sector to public schools. For years I imagined and dreamed of what my cohort and my young adult life would have looked like had we been given the opportunity to slow down, unplug, and be outside together while talking about the deep things we so desperately craved and really needed. Had an adult asked us, "What gives you joy? " within a container such as the wilderness, with the luxury of no bell going off or car pulling up for a pick up, I imagine I would remember that moment. I would allow it to fuel direction, as I now have. The benefits of placed-based initiatives and outdoor education such as increased student engagement, understanding and connecting to the wider world, are not new (take Outward Bound, NOLS, and Teton

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