By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—River Road Nature School (RRNS), a new educational endeavour that will utilize outdoor space to teach students a variety of curriculum, both standard and nature-focused, is setting their sights on opening their doors to the public this summer.
Carrie Loyer, co-founder of the new school, spoke about the endeavour, the inspiration behind it, and the process of developing programming for a new approach to education.
RRNS is planning to exist as both an alternative to standard schooling and as a complement to it.
Loyer explained, “We aim to offer programs that will suit the varying needs of families in our community, both from a flexibility and a financial standpoint. One of the programs we will offer is an ‘Enrichment Program,’ where children can attend one day per week while still attending a traditional school. You can speak to your child’s principal about integrating nature school into their learning. We hope to offer field trip opportunities as well.”
The school will be located on a private, 30-acre farm on River Road in Cayuga, offering access to green space and “beautiful, vibrant Carolinian Forest,” according to Loyer. “Haldimand County is the perfect place to develop this school because it provides a rich and diverse landscape for educational programs.”
She added that the vision and inspiration behind the school comes from the property itself: “It is truly breathtaking – it feels like an alternate universe tucked away from the outside world.”
She continued, “Our goal is to create a homestead and a community here. As we progress, our site will offer a fully fenced outdoor learning environment with kilometers of hiking trails, various natural playgrounds and creativity stations, gardens, animals to care for and interact with, and lots of wildlife to observe. We will also offer a cozy indoor learning environment. Soon, we have plans to build an additional 2,400-square-foot passive schoolhouse, which has already been designed.”
Loyer credits her memories growing up on a farm in Haldimand with helping shape her passions in life, noting, “I was immersed in nature and had the freedom to roam and explore. I don’t believe there is a better way to experience childhood. It made me who I am today.”
She continued, “When we started our family, we felt a calling to return to these roots. Our goal was to immerse our family in nature and learn to live more sustainably. We knew there would be tremendous benefits to pursuing this lifestyle, which sparked a strong desire to share our vision with others.”
On the in-development programming and curriculum, which takes into consideration the results of an online survey completed by the team at the school, Loyersaid, “We are developing exciting year-round programming for children ages 2-12. This will include preschool, kindergarten, and elementary programs, as well as camps and family programs. In the future, we hope to offer a professional development program, as well as seasonal events and workshops.”
She said that programs will be guided by the Principles of Forest and Nature School, an educational ethos that “allows children to learn by connecting with the natural world. It fosters an ongoing relationship with the land and encourages observation, inquiry, and exploration.”
“Our goal is for children to build confidence and develop a strong sense of body awareness. You can expect to see many opportunities for movement and risky play. Children will also have access to a wide variety of loose, natural materials and hand tools, inspiring curiosity, creativity, and innovation. We want to encourage children to do what they do best – move and play freely,” said Loyer.
She explained that by placing classrooms in outdoor spaces such as forests, green spaces, gardens, treehouses, and animal pastures, RRNS will create a “less rigid and more natural learning environment,” something she called “much needed in today’s chaotic world.”
“We know children learn best in the open air, through play and open-ended methods. In this environment, the learning opportunities are limitless,” added Loyer. “Children will continuously be learning about traditional subjects such as literacy, science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math, as well as non-traditional topics like bush craft skills and mindfulness. Our curriculum is child-led and will focus on eco-literacy and socio-emotional literacy.”
RRNS is planning to launch a website soon, offering programming and pricing information for the school, as well as the ability to register.
“We are hoping to create connections with community partners to enhance our curriculum. Please get in touch with us if you are like-minded and have something to offer to benefit children. Also, we believe that all children should have access to nature. We are brainstorming ways that we can make our school more accessible. We hope to start a scholarship fund, so if there are organizations out there that would like to contribute to this, we would be very grateful.”
For more information on partnering with RRNS, email info@riverroadnatureschool.com.
Loyer concluded, “Nature grounds us and sustains us. Children need to learn that our actions have a lasting effect on the environment, and we must act responsibly to support future life on this planet. So, the benefits are tremendous. We want to create an atmosphere where children can gain meaningful life skills that will have a lasting impact. Most importantly, we want to inspire children to have fun and get messy. We want to make learning magical for them.”
