Must a classroom have four walls and a ceiling? No, not at all … not when children attend a “forest school” to learn about nature and the outdoors! At a forest school, the classroom can be a trail through the woods, a meandering stream with frogs and salamanders, or a meadow filled with wildflowers and butterflies.
Originating in Scandinavia in the 1950s, the forest school philosophy emphasizes outdoor play, hands-on exploration, and child-led learning in natural settings. This approach has grown increasingly important in recent years, helping to counteract the effects of excessive screen time on computers and phones.
One notable local example of a forest school is the tech-free “Nature Days” program, run by RHA’s educators in partnership with the Hunterdon Community Farmers Market in Flemington. Each Sunday morning from May through October, children are invited to explore the historic Dvoor Farm on Route 12, where the market is held.
The woodlands, meadows, and gentle Walnut Brook on the Dvoor Farm property make the best classrooms. Kids love it, and so do their parents! Not only does Nature Days offer children an enrichment program in nature, but it also gives adults more time at the farmers’ market to shop for fresh food for their families.
Last year, Nature Days at Dvoor Farm provided outdoor learning for about 200 children ages 3-10 enrolled in the program, along with parents and younger siblings invited to tag along on the adventures.
Thanks to a generous donation from the charitable Astle-Alpaugh Family Foundation, RHA offered Nature Days at Dvoor Farm free of charge to families in need in 2025. We hope to do the same again this year!
Led by RHA educators Alison Kavchok and Rebecca Canright, Nature Days at Dvoor Farm also included an artistic component. All children in the 26-week program received a nature journal and were encouraged to draw and write about the animals and plants they encountered during their explorations.
Last year’s final session featured a showcase of participants’ nature journals and a community art project – a large mural – illustrating the changes in the natural landscape of Dvoor Farm through the seasons.
Pandemic Project
The Nature Days program was founded in the spring of 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public schools and recreation programs were shut down. Lauren and former RHA educator Alyssa Dixon had heard of forest schools and decided that Raritan Headwaters should create one to get local children out of their homes and away from electronic screens.
The ethos of the Nature Days program was originally – and still is – to give children unstructured time outdoors, away from screens, to develop a sense of place and connection with nature, and to learn at their own pace, using forests, meadows, and streams as their classroom.
In addition to the Dvoor Farm program, Raritan Headwaters offers Nature Days programs at our Fairview Farm Nature Preserve in Bedminster and at St. John’s Nursery School in Bernardsville.
Registration for Nature Days at Dvoor Farm is expected to open in mid-spring, ahead of the May 2026 opening of the Farmer’s Market. For more information about Nature Days, visit www.raritanheadwaters.org/naturedays.
