OUTDOOR EDUCATION

The Outdoor Education Pillar at CCS strives to provide students with hands-on opportunities to connect to nature, learn risk management concepts, effective communication skills, group dynamics, and survival skills in an outdoor classroom setting. Courses in these areas are designed to enhance how students collaborate socially and in other areas of academics throughout their daily lives.

Purpose

Charleston Collegiate School’s Outdoor Education Pillar exists to equip students with leadership, confidence, outdoor and survival skills, and knowledge of the science and sustainability of the natural world through a curriculum-driven, project based Outdoor education approach.

Program Overview

In an outdoor setting, students will engage in the scientific study of the natural world on campus and of the region to understand how ecosystems function and how humans can help preserve the natural world for future generations. As students work in teams, they will develop effective leadership skills and practice working in teams as leaders and participants. Students will learn how to safely venture into the natural world by building outdoor skills and survival skills and learning how to plan and take part in outdoor experiences, adventures, and expeditions.

Charleston Collegiate School’s Outdoor Education Program aims to increase awareness of how we impact one another’s lives and the effect we have on our environment. Learning goals are accomplished through a project-based approach to learning. Students will acquire knowledge through participation, discussion, questioning, and immersion of the topic being covered. It is our mission to make stewards of our students and to help provide them with the tools necessary to be functioning members of society in our ever-changing world.

Program Resources

The Outdoor Education Center (OEC)- The OEC is located in the wooded area of campus and contains challenge course elements, a fire pit area, and a walking trail. The OEC is also home to two covered classrooms and abundant wildlife and animal habitats.
The Garden is located between the Lower School building and the Blue top. The Garden is home to raised beds, a mud play area, a covered outdoor classroom, and a wildflower area. This area is accessible by a crushed gravel pathway. Rain barrels and gutters assist with providing water, and the area is also pesticide free.
The Marsh Property is located across Plowground Road and is home to an expansive wildlife habitat. It he marsh provides a natural learning classroom for studying the marsh ecosystem.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum for the Outdoor Education Education Pillar focuses on sustainability education, teamwork, group dynamics, effective communication skills, outdoor skills, survival skills, and risk management. At each age, students are introduced to all learning areas, utilizing age-appropriate resources.

Outdoor Education as an academic subject encompasses learning objectives centering on the following areas:

Leadership and Core Values
Outdoor Skills Development
The Science of and the Sustainability of the Natural World

OUTDOOR EDUCATION BY DIVISION

Lower School

Cooperative learning, leadership, and outdoor skills are central to our Outdoor Education classes and the Classroom Jobs Program. Our teachers foster a stimulating, hands-on environment where students engage in activities like gardening to explore the life cycle of plants and observe the growth of food from seed to harvest. Students will also learn to identify insects in our CCS Garden, practice safety procedures for outdoor spaces, and develop sustainable habits to protect our outdoor spaces. Through sensory exploration and lessons on keeping animals and habitats safe, students build a deep appreciation for the natural world. The Lower School program encourages a love for the outdoors, instills confidence in nature, and equips students with the skills to be responsible stewards of the environment.

Student favorites include: exploring in the mud kitchen, watching vegetables grow from seeds to plants to plate, composting leftover snacks, maintaining our CCS Chicken Coop, selling vegetables and eggs, and foraging for edible snacks on campus like dewberries and Florida betony.

Middle School

Every Middle School student will participate in the OEC program each year of their Middle School journey. This unique, grade-specific curriculum emphasizes leadership, outdoor skills, and sustainability. Using our challenge course and group games and initiatives, students will develop teamwork and problem-solving abilities while deepening their understanding of our local environment. At the start of the program, each student will learn essential safety practices for engaging with the outdoors.

Each grade level's curriculum is designed on the individual needs of that grade, every class includes reflections on why and how we interact as individuals and as a group. This technique is a proven method for building a strong character.

Upper School

In ninth grade, students enter into Leadership and have the opportunity to increase their understanding and effectiveness in areas that are critical to effective leaders. With communication, students study the impacts of speaking and listening in group settings. Students become the teacher by sharing their original ideas along with lesson plans that focus on teaching and managing safety while working in the outdoors. Our students study different leadership styles and study effective motivational and involvement techniques. Goal setting is explored as is positive reinforcement and honest communication. Throughout the course, students are building the foundations for becoming leaders for life.

In tenth grade, students enter into the outdoor portion of the course with a focus on Wildlife Management. This course aims to increase awareness of how we impact one another’s lives and the impact we have on our environment. The immediate goal is to reconnect students with their natural surroundings and with their fellow man. The course will cover a wide range of topics, including the flora and fauna of our CCS campus, biodiversity, sustainability, teamwork, group dynamics, effective communication, and risk management. Student-driven projects will be based on both their interests and the needs of our campus’s natural habitats. Potential project topics include mosquito mitigation and mapping or enhancing habitat areas for the Southern Flying Squirrel.

In twelfth grade, students take a Wilderness Survival course. This course focuses heavily on self-reliance with skill-building in orienteering, fire building, effective ways to purify water, shelter building, and procurement of food.

Eleventh and twelfth grades are given the opportunity to select Outdoor Education as their major. Students in this major will be exposed to many aspects of the Outdoor Education profession. Students in the Outdoor Education major will assist in teaching classes, creating curriculum, planning trips, and learn to set and maintain budgets for projects.

This year's Outdoor Education majors students are researching, planning, budgeting, and creating a curriculum for a new and innovative low ropes element for our school's challenge course.

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