Curriculum • Land • Facilities

~

~

This posting addresses basic issues of Curriculum, Land, and Facilities regarding Girdwood Charter School and specifically its Outdoor Education Program.

"Build it and they will come." is an old saying that applies to the creating of this charter school.


"Form follows function." - is the corporate philosophy of Land Design North, one of the State of Alaska's foremost environmental assessment contractors."Form follows function" means we must first focus on the function (exploring, discovering, sharing, teaching) before we put too much emphasis on the actual building, facilities, or other things.


That is why Girdwood's outdoor education program* is concerned most with simply providing the important function of getting kids outside where "Nature is the best teacher." The goal has been and remains to make sure they have fun, that they are alert, and that no one gets hurt. Depending on how well we do and how organized we are will determine the size, shape and effectiveness of the final and subsequent forms of this Charter School and High School.


Right now, the entire Girdwood Valley and surrounding wilderness is our classroom. All the public buildings are part of our facility, as are numerous private businesses and residences. Each contributes something different toward this center for education, ecology and economic prosperity.


There are five acres of HLB (Heritage Land Bank) land that have been set aside in Girdwood for a high school as part of the Girdwood Area Master Plan. The Girdwood Charter School has decided to use this land to serve as a central location for our Outdoor Education Program.

This effort is in no way intended to negatively impact the land or any efforts to create a high school there in the future. According to previous HLB director, Larry Houle, "You can use HLB property for anyting you want as long as you don't camp on it. The primary intention of having the outdoor program based there is to give the kids a central location that is seemingly wild yet right next to the elementary school, EMS services, and Mercantile. Thousands of acres of uninhabited wilderness begin right across the road.



We intend to explore this area in search of an existing shelter as part of basic and advanced survival training. Survival training is an integral aspect of the Outdoor Program and the Charter School. Survival training is an excellent way to experience a profound connection to nature while developing practical skills for thriving in society.


One of the practical skills for thriving in society is having or building a warm, dry shelter and learning to take care of it. The only thing more important than shelter for basic survival, according to our Charter School, is a state of calm- learning how to avoid panic and restoring calm once panic has set in. This applies to all aspects of life and relationship.



Survival training hones each person's ability to be more calm and to better address stressful or challenging situations. Searching for or building a shelter in the wilderness is excellent training on many levels. In general, it provides a wide variety of multi-disciplinary skills. It's fun, exciting and performs a basic necessity for being able to stay outside longer.


Then there are the tasks of finding food and water and continuously honing skills of fire-building. Without knowledge and practiced experience of fire-building, even the best shelter can soon become unlivable. And when shelter is not available, fire is essential for basic survival.


The alternative is some other external source of warmth such as another person, being dry inside a sleeping bag or under blankets, or to keep moving. Learning to build a fire and honing skills of starting one in various conditions can save the lives of you and these children. That's ten percent of it. The rest is for fun, to make wilderness adventure and camping experiences more enjoyable, more fulfilling. Again, nature and native awareness are among the best teachers. Sometimes a fire makes all the difference in the world as to whether or not we can stay in the outdoors for very long before retreating to the comfort, safety and security of civilization.



That five acre parcel of land set aside for the high school is an excellent geographic location for the survival training for smaller children and for all ages and skill levels. The surrounding wilderness offers more challenging conditions for those who are ready for that.

The following is a basic outline used for basic and Advanced Survival Training in Alaska.

In order of priority:

1- Calm
2- Shelter
3- Warmth
4- Water
5- Food
6- Activity
7- Companionship

"The key to survival is Nature Observation." -Tom Brown, Jr.

Each outing involves challenges and skills development in one or more of these survival elements The result is a greater degree of survivability, more fun in the outdoors, and ever-increasing degrees of awareness and observation of nature: mountains, forest, trees, weather, waterways, wild edibles; pure, fresh drinking water and so many uncxplored areas and sites and things to discover.

The best of these are captured by photo and video then shared with those who may not ever see it. Photos, video and especially DVDs and television shows really serve to inspire and challenge staff and students to be at their best or at least to share some of their own beauty, wisdom or creativity.

Part of #6 Activity, there are numerous ways that we engage in to develop survival and basic living skills. Two of them, as taught by Tom Brown, Jr. considered America's most renowned survivalist and outdoorsman, are the Fox Walk and Splatter Vision. The Fox Walk is a method of walking stealthily and quietly through the forest or other terrain even in the dark without tripping of falling. Another one is Splatter Vision in which the omni-visual capabilities of human eyesight are developed to include a much larger and more detailed spectrum of reality. This is used to better catch sign of important feartures, landmarks, food and wild animals prior to a confrontation. Both methods dramatically improve skill in survival and sustainable living- or thriving in society.

There are hundreds of other ways and means to development each of the above skills listed in the outline. This outline is part of a larger outline called the 21 Principles of Sustainable Living.

The basic outline is below and the Girdwood Charter School is dedicated to sharing the highlights of these important aspects of daily life with students, teachers and members of the community as long as this School exists. Exploring, practicing and expanding upon each of these elements is a priority. Both online and published versions of this are being created and continuously added to and improved upon.

21 Principles of Sustainable Living
Curriculum & Operations Outline

Survival ~ Holistic Living ~ Sustainable Development

1.0 Survival
1.1 Calm
1.2 Shelter
1.3 Warmth
1.4 Water
1.5 Food
1.6 Activity
1.7 Companionship

2.0 Holistic Living

2.1 Body
2.2 Heart
2.3 Mind
2.4 Soul
2.5 Money
2.6 Relationship
2.7 Oneness

3.0 Sustainable Development

3.1 Wilderness Adventure
3.2 Ecological Stewardship
3.3 Documentary Production
3.4 Higher Education
3.5 Deep Ecology
3.6 Economic Prosperity
3.7 The Great Mystery

*Girdwood's Outdoor Education Program has had a few names and a few forms since its inception in 1997. It started out as the A.W.A.K.E.N. Program (Alaska Wilderness Adventure for Kids Education in Nature). But then a parent said that sounded too much like the battered women's shelter in Anchorage. Then the name changed to Alaska Kids Camp, but we found out there is an organization by that name in Juneau. So now we are "Glacier City Kids" as part of the Girdwood Charter School which serves all ages, 3-103 years old.

Regardless of the name, which is a "form", the "function" has remained much the same, "Make sure to give Girdwood kids and parents at least one day a week that they can count on to get out into nature, off the beaten path, to experience nature on its terms.

Below is a video of moose calves...