--- title: "Becoming in the Wild: How Our Outdoor Education Shapes the Middle School Years" description: Discover how Lorien Wood’s middle school outdoor education program—The Watershed Years—forms students through daily, hands-on experiences in stewardship, resilience, and creation care at a private school in Northern Virginia. image: https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/IMG_8681%20(1)-min.jpeg --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/becoming-in-the-wild-how-our-outdoor-education-shapes-the-middle-school-years#main-content) - [APPLY](https://lw-va.client.renweb.com/oa/index.cfm?memberid=782) - [VISIT](https://www.lorienwood.org/school-tours) - [FAMILY PORTAL](https://sis.factsmgt.com/family-portal?DistrictCode=LW-VA) - [GIVE](https://www.lorienwood.org/giving) [![Lorien Wood School\_Reverse Horizontal](https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/Lorien%20Wood%20School_Reverse%20Horizontal.svg "Lorien Wood School_Reverse Horizontal")](https://www.lorienwood.org/) [![Lorien Wood School\_Reverse Horizontal](https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/Lorien%20Wood%20School_Reverse%20Horizontal.svg "Lorien Wood School_Reverse Horizontal")](https://www.lorienwood.org/) - 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These years are not simply a bridge between childhood and adolescence; they are a watershed. That’s why we’ve created a three-year, outdoor-integrated curriculum called *The Watershed Years*—a journey of field-based learning that cultivates not only skills but stewardship. These years invite students to attend to the created world, to take up the work of restoration, and to understand their role in it—not just as observers, but as caretakers and contributors. Regardless of the grade in which a student begins, they rotate through three rich and distinct seasons of practice: ### **Shelter and Survival** *Practices of Awareness, Resilience, and Self-Reliance* Students begin with the essentials: how to meet their needs in the wild with courage and creativity. Through fire-building, shelter-making, navigation, and seasonal readiness, they learn not only how to survive—but how to listen, adapt, and grow in resilience. It is a year of attentiveness, personal capability, and awe. ### **Tending and Mending** *Practices of Restoration and Belonging* This year draws students into the quiet, faithful work of care: repairing tools, restoring trails, planting gardens, and nurturing soil. As they compost, cultivate, and craft, they learn that restoration often comes through small, consistent acts—and that to belong to a place is to invest in its flourishing. Through hands-on stewardship, care becomes more than a task; it becomes a calling. ### **Stewarding and Sustaining** *Practices of Long-Term Care and Faithful Presence* In this final season, students are invited to think generationally. Whether they’re restoring a neglected space, managing erosion, or guiding younger students through a planting project, they are learning to care for systems that endure. This is the work of strengthening what is good, sustaining what is fragile, and imagining restoration—not only for today, but for the future. ### **Formation That Grows with Them** Throughout the Watershed Years, students spend time outdoors every school day—rain or shine. They engage deeply with the land, build resilience, reflect through nature journaling, and take on real responsibility. They don’t just learn about watersheds—they live within one, caring for the creeks, gardens, trails, and woodlands that surround their school. And in the process, something beautiful happens: Their roots go down deeper. Their vision expands. Their hands grow skilled. Their hearts become more attentive. They are not simply learning about stewardship— They are becoming stewards. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![Sowing Seeds of Learning: Gardening at Lorien Wood School](https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/Untitled%20design.jpg)](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/sowing-seeds-of-learning-gardening-at-lorien-wood-school) #### [Sowing Seeds of Learning: Gardening at Lorien Wood School](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/sowing-seeds-of-learning-gardening-at-lorien-wood-school) [![Picture of Lynnette Fields](https://www.lorienwood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Faculty%20Photos/Lynnette%20Fields.jpg?width=30&name=Lynnette%20Fields.jpg) Lynnette Fields](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/author/lynnette-fields) : Apr 24, 2024, 9:49:34 AM Hands on learning, Gardening with children at a Christian private school in Northern Va. Experiential Learning. [Charlotte Mason](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/charlotte-mason) [Outdoor education](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/outdoor-education) [hands on learning](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/hands-on-learning) [experiential learning](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/experiential-learning) [Read More](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/sowing-seeds-of-learning-gardening-at-lorien-wood-school) [![Stepping Back in Time: The Lorien Wood Historic Ball](https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/IMG_6547%20(1)-min.jpg)](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/stepping-back-in-time-the-lorien-wood-historic-ball) #### [Stepping Back in Time: The Lorien Wood Historic Ball](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/stepping-back-in-time-the-lorien-wood-historic-ball) [![Picture of Tacye Clarke](https://www.lorienwood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Faculty%20Photos/Tacye%20Clarke.jpg?width=30&name=Tacye%20Clarke.jpg) Tacye Clarke](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/author/tacye-clarke) : Apr 18, 2024, 11:15:03 AM Experiential learning at Lorien wood school, private school in Vienna, VA. Classical school northern va. [Charlotte Mason](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/charlotte-mason) [Integral Learning](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/integral-learning) [hands on learning](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/hands-on-learning) [experiential learning](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/tag/experiential-learning) [Read More](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/stepping-back-in-time-the-lorien-wood-historic-ball) [![10 Exciting Field Trip Destinations: Exploring Beyond the Classroom at Lorien Wood](https://www.lorienwood.org/hubfs/2024-04-11_RVP_LW_Art_Museum_Field_Trip_smaller-013%20(1).jpg)](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/10-exciting-field-trip-destinations-exploring-beyond-the-classroom-at-lorien-wood) #### [10 Exciting Field Trip Destinations: Exploring Beyond the Classroom at Lorien Wood](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/10-exciting-field-trip-destinations-exploring-beyond-the-classroom-at-lorien-wood) [![Picture of Lynnette Fields](https://www.lorienwood.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Faculty%20Photos/Lynnette%20Fields.jpg?width=30&name=Lynnette%20Fields.jpg) Lynnette Fields](https://www.lorienwood.org/the-fellowship-of-learning-adventures-in-education-at-lorien-wood/author/lynnette-fields) : Apr 18, 2024, 12:59:55 PM Field Trips in Washington D.C., Experiential learning at Lorien Wood School, a Christian private school in northern Virginia. 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