Developing an Outdoor School in Anchorage

ALASKA

Anchorage Outdoor School is a program that cultivates lifelong stewardship of public lands in Alaska through outdoor education for fifth graders in the Anchorage School District. The program engages students in hands-on and place-based curricula in STEM education while reaping the mental and physical benefits of learning outdoors.

Anchorage Outdoor School began in 2018, when the school district and their nonprofit partners requested assistance from the National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program (NPS-RTCA) to develop a new, partnership-driven outdoor education program. Together, the partners designed and implemented an education program at the Chugach National Forest's Portage Valley Learning Center which is renowned for its salmon runs, mountain clear streams, lakes, glaciers and evergreen forests. There, students learned side-by-side with natural resource professionals from various land management agencies and organizations.

After the pilot program, NPS-RTCA assisted with business planning and developed strategies for sustainable operations that resulted in a community public-private partnership operated by the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area and an advisory board of education and conservation entities.

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For more than 30 years, the National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program  has been moving the needle on conservation and outdoor recreation in communities across America. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.