WE ARE GREEN John Dorr Nature Laboratory is our outdoor education center in Washington, Connecticut, but also it is a living laboratory where students learn by doing—they explore caves, brave the 45-foot climbing wall, learn how to build a fire and cook a meal on it, canoe and swim in the pond, play teambuilding games, and learn how to use a compass and map. In a world dominated by technology, Dorr is a refuge from cell phones, laptops and other electronics.
W H AT IS OU T DOOR E DU CAT ION? All students experience Dorr throughout their Horace Mann education in age-appropriate activities related to environmental science, conservation, cooperative learning and outdoor living. Dorr is a hallowed tradition embedded in the curriculum. For our youngest students, Dorr faculty members come to campus. Nursery Division students go pretend-camping, kindergarteners press their own cider, and 1st graders study bugs and insects. Our 2nd graders travel to Dorr for the day to study ponds and swamps. Overnight stays in cabins begin in the 3rd grade, where students learn about Native Americans. Our 4th graders focus on stream ecology; 5th graders explore astronomy and myth writing; while 7th graders discover geology. The eight-day program for 8th graders includes a much-anticipated three-day backpacking trip along the Appalachian Trail. A highlight is daring to belay, climb, and trust your peers on Dorr’s Cooperative Adventure Tower. Older students come to Dorr for Upper Division Orientation where they experience teamwork and risk taking on the thrilling Odyssey Course, a high-ropes challenge. There’s also time for getting to know new friends and have fun at Karaoke Night or Disco Dorr. Upper Division students can also join the Searchers, Dorr’s outdoor adventure club. Something magical always happens at Dorr. It is a special place. And now it is used year round for science classes, student groups and leadership training, and retreats for sports teams, clubs, faculty and staff. Under the supervision and guidance of the four full-time faculty members at Dorr, students seem to change the way they relate to each other, their school and nature. Some of the strongest and most long-lasting memories from school are often created at Dorr.
FASTFACTS The environmentally sustainable aspects of Dorr help inform the entire school. Horace Mann’s green initiatives include: •
•
• •
•
•
46
environmentally friendly lawn and field maintenance a photovoltaic system that produces about 40% of Dorr’s electricity the use of green cleaning supplies solar thermal tubes that heat 90% of Dorr’s water for showers and sinks recycling of paper, oil, fluorescent light bulbs, plastic, and computer hardware geothermal cooling and harvested rainwater at Dorr
47