LEARN ABOUT FORESTS
The Learn About Forests™ program is a full-day nature immersion that introduces youth to the beauty and peace of nature. It is an intentional experience that brings 12 to 15 youth and young adults between the ages of 8 and 24 to a natural site for hands-on lessons with outdoor professionals, games , team-building, and stewardship. Here’s a sample agenda:
Group arrives: time to fill up water bottles and use the bathroom, groups may borrow rain gear or extra layers if needed
Games: Name game + energizing game before walking into the forest.
Walk in: 1 mile walk in, mostly on a gravel road. This is a time to ask questions and maybe see/hold some wildlife!
Hands-on activity: 2 volunteer instructors give hands-on instruction blocks in their particular area of environmental expertise
Lunch: Eagle Eye provided plant-based lunch shared between everyone present at the program day to connect and be grateful
Service Project: participants are assigned a short 30 minutes -1 hr project to give back to the land and steward it so that future participants may enjoy
Visit Waterfall: go swimming in a gorgeous private waterfall
Group Reflection: individual and group interviews to process the day and provide feedback
Walk out: walk out as a group to return to the bus
The content of each program is customized to the site visited, the needs of the youth, and the expertise of the instructors. All the programs accommodate multiple learning styles, expand environmental literacy, and build bridges to careers in the environment.
If you would like to coordinate a Learn About Forests program with your school or youth organization, please contact us to learn more!
Testimonials
“Eagle Eye has helped me grow and connect with nature over the years since I was six years old. I’m welcomed back to Peru every summer, which I appreciate because I don’t think I would get the experience to hike trails or help build a cabin anywhere else. I stay off electronics while I’m in Peru, which is refreshing. Also, seeing the Eagle Eye staff always makes me want to come back the next year because they’ve helped me grow into a better person.”
Sabiha Miahjee, Former Youth Participant and Teen Intern
“[Eagle Eye] gave me more opportunities to be in nature and to learn more. Every [Learn About] experience, every time I went, was different. It was great to be able to share that experience with my friends when I was younger and now I want to share that experience with my family. I bring my sister, my nephews, my god kids, and friends to the woods. Now, I go hiking all the time. I bring people with me camping and mountain biking, because I just love to share the peace and joy of it. If I didn’t have Eagle Eye in my life all this time, I wouldn’t share that; I wouldn’t be such an outdoors person; the way I think about life would have been different. [Eagle Eye] just kind of molded me.”
Melinda Duffy, Former Youth Participant and Eagle Eye Alum