Local schools trade screens for skies

SANDPOINT — The spark for Lake Pend Oreille School District’s outdoor education initiative came by happenstance. 

During the thick of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, the district faced uncertainty about a return to classrooms in the fall. With schools across the country experimenting with distance learning, the limitations of virtual classrooms were becoming apparent. Educators needed a way to teach their students in-person. 

Washington Elementary Principal Natassia Hamer recalled a meeting among district educators during the tumultuous time. “We were really trying to think outside the box,” Hamer said. “If they don't let us go back to school, could we go back to school if we went back to school outside?” 

That idea led Washington to exchange its computer lab class for a new outdoor education program taught exclusively outside in which students sit on painted tree stumps while being taught from a small whiteboard by outdoor education specialist Hallie Reikowsky in a large canvas tent on school grounds. 

In the years since the 2020 launch of Washington’s original program, LPOSD has made outdoor education a priority. 

“Staff and students have been happy to learn more about the beautiful outdoors we live in and especially how to get out with their families to enjoy adventures together," said Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer. 

“There is nothing more important in my mind than staying healthy so you can enjoy quality of life. To that end, I think the more students learn to enjoy, appreciate, and explore the diversity of outdoor adventures in North Idaho, the healthier they will be in the long run,” Meyer added. 

At Farmin Stidwell Elementary, outdoor education specialist Tim Kerrigan instructs more than 500 students as part of a course established in 2022 to reconnect pupils with natural spaces. 

Like Washington, the school traded its computer lab course for outdoor education. Kerrigan noted that students use individual computers in most of their core classes, and that administrators saw a need for less, not more, screen time. 

“They wanted kids off computers, and they wanted to get them back outside,” Kerrigan said. “Most of the kids here know more about computers than we do.”  

In his course, Kerrigan focuses on place-based learning. Students study 100-year-old trees on Farmin Stidwell’s campus and local geographic features like the Purcell Trench. 

“Everything I teach has to do with North Idaho,” Kerrigan said. “It makes it more personal.” 

On top of teaching natural science fundamentals and conservation, Kerrigan aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to enjoy the outdoors in their free time. Sixth-grade students visited Baldfoot Disc Golf Course in September, and over the summer Kerrigan secured a grant to purchase 24 strider bicycles for kindergarteners. 

“Riding a bike, having a fishing pole — these are things that will get them outside, but it won't break the bank,” Kerrigan explained. “I want them to learn realistic ways to enjoy the outdoors here.” 

Kerrigan’s passion for educating shines brightly. He recently approached the Forest Service to acquire thousands of tree seeds, which he plans to help students germinate and plant in the community. He envisions a similar program for native fish in the future and is collaborating with local bike club Pend Oreille Pedalers on an ambitious initiative to collect unused bicycles in the community and get every student in Sandpoint riding. 

“I have a lot of ideas. It's just a matter of getting around to them all,” Kerrigan said. “I want them to see what an amazing place we live in and how many opportunities it has.” 

Outdoor education has also reached the secondary level in LPOSD; at Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School, students have the opportunity to take two elective courses. 

Outdoor education instructor Scott Victorson, who also teaches physical education and health, hopes to show students how to utilize natural resources while also serving as stewards of the land. 

In Victorson’s entry-level class, Outdoor Education 101, students are first taught the principles of “leave no trace” — a set of ethics designed to allow users to enjoy natural spaces while leaving them undisturbed for future visitors. 

Then, they apply the knowledge and learn how to tie survival knots, build a shelter, start a fire and create a small game trap. “With those ethical skills, we then put together technical skills,” Victorson explained. 

Equipped with a conservation mindset and knowledge necessary to thrive in the outdoors, graduates of Victorson’s Outdoor Education 101 can enroll in Outdoor Pursuits. 

“It’s a more physical class,” Victorson said of the second-level course. Students in Outdoor Pursuits spend time trekking in the field on snowshoes and cross-country skis; Victorson hopes to expand the course to feature backpacking, mountain biking and a visit to Schweitzer. 

Before his time in Sandpoint, Victorson cofounded and guided for True North Treks — an organization aiming to bring young adult cancer survivors into the outdoors. 

“I just saw so much healing that happened with people just by getting out of autopilot and getting into the moment and connecting in nature,” Victorson said. He said that he aims to “bring a lot of that mindfulness, that therapeutic outdoor perspective, to these classes.” 

Further, Victorson designs his courses to prepare students not only for recreation in the wilderness, but for their other classes and post-school life. 

“That's what I like about the outdoors: It really tests their self-reliance and problem solving and critical thinking on a whole different level,” said Victorson. “I think those critical thinking scenarios really help them process how to navigate the rest of their lives.” 

Going forward, Victorson and Kerrigan hope to unite their classes, and allow Victorson’s high schoolers to visit Farmin Stidwell and use their knowledge to mentor the grade schoolers. 

“It takes the village. It takes everybody to make it work,” Kerrigan said. 

By teaching the next generation of local learners, the Lake Pend Oreille students will help establish and perpetuate a culture of outdoor stewardship in Sandpoint to ensure North Idaho’s greatest resource — its wilderness — remains intact in perpetuity.