Outdoor Classroom

LEARN IN OUR OUTDOOR PROGRAMS

YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly offers environmental education opportunities for groups of all ages.  Our rushing mountain streams, forested woodland habitats, and diverse wildlife provide the ideal backdrop for a variety of activities that encourage exploration and awareness of the natural world.

Our unique programs have the ability to instill a greater respect for the environment and deepen students’ connection to nature through observation and discovery.  For School Groups, this hands-on, experiential learning fits the National Science Education Standards of “Science as Inquiry” and other state curriculum standards for grades 4-8.

Mountain Stream Discovery

Explore the mountain streams around Blue Ridge to discover aquatic creatures in their natural habitat, and to determine water quality and other environmental conditions.

Sessions: 1.5 hours
Ages: 4 Years - Adult
Participants: 6 – 24

Predator-Prey

Participate in an ecological simulation game demonstrating predator-prey relationships, survival, and the food web through a strategic game of tag in the woods. Action-packed and lots of fun!
Sessions: 1.5 hours
Ages: 9 Years - Adult
Participants: minimum of 15

Survival in the Woods

This wilderness survival class involves creative problem solving, survival information, group decision-making, and leadership skills as we learn two of the most basic survival skills, shelter building, and fire building.

Sessions: 2 hours
Ages: 9 Years - Adult
Participants: 6

Interpretive Nature Hike

Explore Blue Ridge’s ecologically-diverse hardwood forest on an interactive and informative guided hike. The route can be modified to fit the group’s abilities and time availability- a shorter hike on our lower trails, or a more intense hike to the peak of our mountain.

Sessions: 1.5 or 3 hours
Ages: 5 Years - Adult
Participants: 6 - 24

Night Awareness Hike

Utilize a range of sensory experiences in a fun and interactive evening hike in a dark, but safe, nocturnal setting.

Sessions: 1.5 hours
Ages: Elementary - Adult
Participants: 6 - 48