To say that it's an important aspect of who we are is an understatement. Given what founding head of school R H Perry intended for the school, outdoor education is arguably our reason for being. In his book, Canoe Trip Camping (which is the basis for canoeing standards still in use today) he wrote that, through an ongoing experience within the outdoors, "nature takes on a new meaning and living becomes exhilarating.” That's what Perry wanted to bring to education: meaning, life, and exhilaration. He felt the means was by living and learning close to nature. Since then, generations of RLC students have proven the point.

What you need to know:

• At RLC, outdoor education is full-year credit course. It includes a five-day outtrip as well as regular classes throughout the duration of the school year.
  
• Students at all grade levels take outdoor education each year, and the credit is required for graduation. Grade 10-12 students have a choice between the Outdoor Education course or Indigenous Studies.
  
• In addition to coursework and outtrips, at RLC outdoor education is a way of learning. It is fundamental to the delivery of the full breadth of the academic program.

Why education in the outdoors?

Experience in the outdoors is uniquely able to deliver the kinds of skills that employers are looking for: problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, and character traits, such as resiliency and empathy. It also reflects the core values of the school as crystalised in the Rosseau Roots.

At RLC, outdoor education has three facets:

• Education of the outdoors: through a broad range of outdoor activities, students gain the sensation of physical exertion and experience the satisfaction of reaching a goal. At times these are personal goals, at others they are collaborative.
  
• Education for the outdoors: students learn about what is happening to the ecosystems and why, through natural processes and human impact.
  
• Education in the outdoors: the campus—forest, fields, lake, watershed—is essentially a 56-acre STEAM lab. Studying biology, physics, physical education, and the arts within the natural environment gives depth and dimension to the academic experience.  

The RLC experience is founded on being outdoors for a portion of every day. We had Paula Banks, a local landscape photographer, come to take photos of the campus. and you can view her photos here. They show the backdrop for everything that happens here—the learning, the relationships, the inspiration.