School of the Wild is a statewide initiative to increase outdoor learning experiences for elementary and middle school students across Iowa. The University of Iowa’s College of Education in partnership with Iowa schools, County Conservation Boards, and many other local conservation organizations across the state work together to bring School of the Wild to students. School of the Wild strives to provide all students with a meaningful, outdoor learning experience that develops a sense of awareness and appreciation for the natural world, and in turn, leads them to act with positive stewardship for all things wild.  

How it started

School of the wild staff and students inspect a snake in the field

In 1991, the University of Iowa’s Iowa Wildlife Camps were birthed with a goal of connecting area children and youth to “the Wild”. These week-long day camps provided hands-on experiences in the woodlands, wetlands, and prairies of the university’s Macbride Nature Recreation Area. As the camps grew, a vision formed to bring the best of these camps into the school year so that all students would have the opportunity to connect to the Wild. In 1998-2000, grants from the U.S. EPA Environmental Education Program and the Iowa DNR REAP Conservation Education Program funded the piloting of School of the Wild for all 17 Iowa City Community School District elementary schools. Today, there are 21 schools in the district and each continues to participate in this five-day experience in the Wild!

In 2019, School of the Wild endeavored to bring these outdoor learning experiences to even more students. With Decatur County Conservation, School of the Wild was brought to 4th and 5th grade students at Central Decatur Community Schools. In the fall of 2020, the statewide effort was launched.

School of the Wild today

Today, School of the Wild is in 36 counties across Iowa. Eighty three schools are currently working with local naturalists and conservationists to bring School of the Wild to more than 6,000 students. The map below highlights counties where schools and the County Conservation Boards bring School of the Wild to students. 

 

Map of Iowa counties participating in School of the Wild

Participating counties: Decatur, Ringgold, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Washington, Johnson, Iowa, Poweshiek, Guthrie, Cass, Montgomery, Hamilton, Webster, Dickinson, Clayton, Fayette, Buchanan, Henry, Adams, Taylor, Pottawattamie, Audubon, Mahaska, Butler, Grundy, Dallas, Allamakee, Winneshiek, Black Hawk, Muscatine, Jasper, Tama, Howard, Cerro Gordo, Polk.

School of the Wild School Districts Grade(s) #ofSchools
Andrew Community School District 5th Grade 1
Audubon Community School District 5th Grade 1
Bellevue Community School District 5th Grade 1
BGM Community School District 6th Grade 1
Cedar Falls Community School District 6th Grade 7
Cedar Rapids Community School District 5th Grade 2
Central Decatur Community School District 5th & 6th Grades 1
Clear Creek Amana Community School District 5th Grade 3
Clear Lake Community School District 5th Grade 1
Council Bluffs Community School District 5th Grade 1
Des Moines Public Schools 4th Grade 1
Dike-New Hartford Community School District 6th Grade 1
Easton Valley Community School District 5th Grade 1
Faith Academy (Iowa City) 6th Grade 1
Fort Dodge Community School District 6th Grade 1
Fort Dodge St Edmonds Catholic School 6th Grade 1
Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District 5th Grade 1
Graettinger-Terrill Elementary School 4th Grade 1
Griswold Community School District 5th Grade 1
Harris-Lake Park Community School District 4th Grade 1
Heritage Christian (North Liberty) 4th Grade 1
Highland Community School District 4th & 5th Grades 1
Independence Community School District 6th Grade 1
Iowa City Community Schools 6th Grade 21
Iowa City Homeschool Association Multigrade NA
Lamoni Community School District Grades 6-8 1
Lenox Community School District 7th Grade 1
Lone Tree Community School District 5th Grade 1
Lynnville-Sully Community School District 5th Grade 1
Marquette Catholic School (Bellevue) 5th Grade 1
MFL MarMac Community School District 5th Grade 1
Mid-Prairie Community School District 6th Grade 1
Montezuma Community School District 6th Grade 1
Monticello Community School District 5th Grade 1
Mount Ayr Community School District 5th Grade 1
Notre Dame Catholic School (Cresco)  6th Grade 1
Oskaloosa Community School District 4th Grade 1
Panorama Community School District 5th Grade 1
Perry Community School District 4th Grade 1
Postville Community School District 4th Grade 1
Sacred Heart Catholic School (Maquoketa) 5th Grade 1
Sacred Heart Catholic School (Monticello) 5th Grade 1
Spirit Lake Community School District Grades 5-8 1
Solon Community School District 5th Grade 1
Southeast Valley Community Schools 6th Grade 1
Southwest Valley Community School 5th Grade 2
Starmont Community School District 5th Grade 1
Underwood Community School District 5th Grade 1
WACO Community School District 7th & 8th Grades 1
Webster City Community School District 6th Grade 2
West Liberty Community School District 4th Grade 1
Williamsburg Community School District             6th Grade 1
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

Firsthand experience

Educators and administrators share their experience with School of the Wild.

Clayton County official guides students in the wild

Clayton County Conservation

Kenny Slocum, the Naturalist and Resource Manager at Clayton County Conservation, reflects on his experience guiding student learning at School of the Wild.

Fifth and sixth graders ready to start their final day of School of the Wild

Decatur Community School District

Drury Outdoors visits fifth and sixth graders from Central Decatur Community School District during School of the Wild.

Learn more about ...

School of the Wild is made possible by the communities it serves. Participating Schools partner with local organizations to plan and implement School of the Wild for their students.  

School of the Wild happens thanks to the following groups of people:  

  • Participating Classroom Teachers & School Staff 
  • County Conservation Boards
  • Iowa Lakeside Laboratory
  • ISU Extension
  • City Parks & Recreation Departments
  • Iowa Department of Natural Resources
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service

School of the Wild is supported by the Iowa Wildlife Federation, Green State Credit Union, the State of Iowa’s REAP CEP Grant Program and individual donor support.  

Become a School of the Wild Sustaining Donor

Support School of the Wild with a One-Time Donation

 

No two School of the Wild programs look the same! The outdoor learning experience is designed to uniquely meet the needs of the learners and the local environment.  

But they do look similar ...  

Pillars of a School of the Wild experience include:  

  • Extended Learning Experience  
  • Learning with a Small Group of Peers  
  • Place-Based Learning Activities  
  • Interdisciplinary Curriculum  
  • Accessible for all Learners  

School of the Wild runs during the traditional academic year in the fall or spring. For no less than four days, “school” takes place in a local park or natural spaces in the students’ community. In small groups of 8-15 of their peers, students explore one of five unique areas of study each day with local naturalists, conservationists, and their classroom teachers. Areas of study often include subjects such as ornithology, prairie natural history and ecosystems, archeology, wetland ecosystems, and woodland wildlife and ecosystems. The curriculum is designed to be place-based, in which the environment is uniquely required for the activity and the concepts are relevant to the students and the local context. Activities incorporate science, language arts, social studies, art, math, physical education, and outdoor recreation. School of the Wild strives to meet students’ physical, emotional, and cognitive needs to make the program accessible for all learners.

School of the Wild provides a multi-day, place-based, outdoor learning experience. The overarching learning outcomes include: 

  1. Students foster a greater sense of place and motivation to adopt conservation and environmentally sustainable behaviors.  
  2. Students’ self-efficacy and sense of identity within their school community improves.  
  3. Students gain confidence in their ability to apply science and engineering practices, literacy skills, and creative arts to deepen understanding of relevant natural phenomena and how people interact with their environment. 

In the news

Students survey the landscape with binoculars during School of the Wild

In the News: School of the Wild expands to get hundreds more Iowa kids into the woods

The University of Iowa is expanding its wilderness education program to reach 4,500 elementary school children this year, and it should bring the outdoor learning experience to more than 6,000 next year.

kids outside sitting on the ground, recording their findings during School of the Wild

Gazette: School of the Wild connects youth and nature with equity

Housed in the University of Iowa College of Education, School of the Wild partners with schools across the state to give kids an opportunity to learn about the natural world through immersion.

Contact Us

Email COE-SOW@uiowa.edu for any inquiries about School of the Wild. 

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