We can never have enough of nature.
-Henry David Thoreau
Given our beautiful 100-acre campus, our students are often provided the opportunity to learn outside the classroom. The “Take a Hike” Winter Term course used this phenomenal natural resource, and also took Upper School students even further than the boundaries of Ladue and Warson. They visited Rodes Park and Stacy Park, which are close to campus, and then went further afield, spending time in Creve Coeur Lake Park, Powder Valley, River’s Edge, and Castlewood State Park.
Each day, the intrepid explorers interpreted an excerpt of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and used it as a lens to observe the nature that surrounded them. Their goal was to view nature as would a transcendentalist. Their teachers, Upper School World Languages Teacher Sarah Elliott-Vandiver and Upper School Science Teacher Cassandra Galluppi, challenged them to creative expression through journaling as they worked to define their place in the natural world.
The teachers had trouble pulling one or two quotes that would encapsulate the experience of our students, so they created an anthology to share their reflections with you. Here are a few of their thoughts in advance (Scroll down and click the anthology to read the full work!)
- When I watch more bare trees reflect against the water, it made me think of secrets being revealed to the world, the parts of life you cannot trust. –Reina Banerjee ’27
- I believe that the freedom that lies within the art of noticing, wondering, and being present in the moment can provide me with an imperishable sense of truth and possibility. –Maddy Brooks ’26
- My newfound ability to dive deeper into the details of my surroundings will undoubtedly make me more open to change and positivity about the environment that will surround me in the time ahead. –Maddy Brooks ’26
- I began to see beauty within the lines of simple aspects of nature. –Lucas Cheng ’27
- A new world had opened up to me, a world of natural beauty I had never seen before. –Lucas Cheng ’27
- I started to realize how the color contrasted with the sky and how it can be cool when all of the leaves are gone; I was starting to look to find the beautiful parts of it. –Drew Danforth ’26
- I am a part of the nature, sharing my home with others who also appreciate its beauty, the small plants and animals surrounding me. –Alexa Davis ’26
- I found a sense of belonging in the quietness of the earth that surrounded me, and I could see with my own eyes the beauty of the outdoors. –Anna Dehlendorf ’26
- I pray that for the rest of my life, I remember that nature is far more than what first meets the eye. –Anna Dehlendorf ’26
- Each paradise we visited contains its own reward and holds a special place in my heart. These places have changed every facet of my life in unimaginable ways. Every object, animal, and view that I saw did its own part to change me as a person. –Isaac George ’27
- This last week gave me time to stop, slow down and experience nature to the fullest. –Isaac George ’27
- While silently hiking, each step carried me deeper into a world of solitude, where the only companions were the branches above and the moist slimy mud beneath my shoes. –Avery Henriksen ’26
- A newfound curiosity of my surroundings has made me aware of the many opportunities to find tranquility that I have passed up on in my past. –Avery Henricksen ’26
- These experiences forced me to look at nature through a new lens and I was able to grasp a deeper understanding of what’s around me. –Claire Kaiser ’26
- I breathed in the cold air, as it permeated by being, seeping into me, chilling me to the bone. But I still felt the comfort of the wild, as it grew around me. –James Karslake ’25
- Imagine waking up to the river instead of the road, the tall trees instead of the skyscrapers, the prancing deers instead of the rushing people. Sometimes nature can hold more than what a city can. –Michal Kenigsberg ’27
- Nature makes you realize what you don’t have; the perspective of beauty and the attention to small details. –Michal Kenigsberg ’27
- When walking the trails I thought of Emily Dickinson’s quote: “That it will never come again is what makes life sweet.” That quote was a reminder on how not to take advantage of and savor the simplest moments because they could never happen again. –Chloe Kolman ’26
- We used our senses to connect with nature and be more present in the moment. Eventually we were given time to explore and wander around. If we focus our attention on the wonderful things we will be more untroubled and happy in life. –Mia Krahl ’27
- Throughout my time outside, I was transported outside my imagination to ponder how things came to be. With a new found sense of curiosity, I dedicated myself to learn more and expand my horizons on the outdoors. –Lexie Kummant ’26
- I have exponentially changed and developed throughout this journey of exploring nature. –Jesse Lobonc-Perry ’27
- I found that nature was serving as an escape from my busy lifestyle and daily dilemmas. –Charlotte Medler ’26
- I can truly say this experience changed my view on nature. –Cooper Myers ’26
- Throughout my expeditions and experiences of hiking in numerous parks, I have taken to heart that nature is far more than just the sights. During my adventures, I was able to take nature in, changing myself to realize that nature is also the sounds, feelings, smells, and even tastes. –Jonah Nacke ’27
- Though the journey felt long, I felt the comfort of nature all around. –Lucy Pickett ’27
- I have learned through this experience that when something doesn’t seem as bright as possible, you can make something out of nothing. –Tyler Ray ’27
- The true essence of nature is not completely seen without understanding and analyzing what you are looking at. –Henry Rohan ’26
- Although the walk was very cold, being able to find the beauty in the environment around us is what makes the walk meaningful rather than just thinking of it as a walk through the woods. –Emily Rotskoff ’27
- It allowed my perspective of nature to shift as I noticed the greater values and smaller details of the world’s landscape. –Alice Seddon ’26
- I wish to live purposefully and connect with nature. –Lea Shamsham ’26
- Experiencing change was a crucial part of the hiking trips and I think that immersing myself in nature made the trips even better. –Alejo Theodoro ’26
- I have realized one thing throughout my journey: nature is beautiful, but it only takes one person to ruin it. –Jackson Vetter ’25
- There was something beautiful in the way humans and nature coexist here, how the mutual respect adds another layer of wonder to the hillside. Only when humans revere the Earth as is rightly so, can nature truly be beautiful in the shadowy existence of humans. –Norah Wright ’25
“The kids all did a great job encapsulating their experiences in their journal entries,” said Elliott-Vandiver.
Well done, Ram hikers!