Mud City Forest School | Now Registering for Fall 2024

The Lamoille Nature Conservation District’s forest school program is thriving! Mud City Forest School is a once-a-week, full-day program located entirely outdoors at the beautiful Lamoille County Nature Center in Morristown. We acknowledge that this land is the traditional land of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation.

Does your child love to play games? In the Fall 2024 session of Mud City Forest School, we will embark on a creative journey to design and develop games. Youth will explore games in all the formats available to us: tabletop, movement, verbal, and live-action. We will explore cooperative and competitive games in a non-competitive setting. Youth will then take what they learned and develop a new game of their own invention. In the process, youth will gain skills in writing, art, teamwork, planning, strategy, and creative problem solving. 

Each day consists of outdoor skills such as fire-building, forest safety, weather prediction, cooking, and quiet observation. We also incorporate storytelling, puzzles, and free play in nature. Youth use problem-solving skills to build fort structures, cut new trails, and work together. We use movement games to learn about Vermont’s ecology and wildlife and how animals, plants, and people interact. 

Above all, we will explore the natural world with curiosity, joy, respect, and gratitude. We hope you will join us. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions. 

Is My Child Ready For Forest School?

Mud City Forest School is a welcoming outdoor once-weekly day-program for youths aged approximately 8-14 years. These ages are flexible because children gain skills at different ages. Please email us about your child’s specific needs if you have questions. At Mud City Forest School children are expected to have the following skill base:

• Able to read approximately 2nd grade texts
• Able to write in sentences
• Able to use sharp tools under supervision and with instruction (hand saws, pocket knives, etc)
• Able to stay with the group in the forest
• Able to communicate what their body needs
• Able to walk 2-4 miles per day
• Understand fire safety
• Follow safety instructions