1. Earthshine was built from the ground up as an outdoor education center, not retro-fitted to accommodate such usage. Our choice of property was determined by this site's ideal natural and historical resources.
2. As a year round operation we are able to attract and retain the highest caliber of staff. About twenty-two people make up our whole staff team. Of these, approximately ten are dedicated to the program. The maturity, dedication and professionalism of this team will stack up against any in the country.
3. Our programs are all Earthshine originals. They are built around the special attributes of our site and staff, and designed to compliment the objective of your classroom. Marion taught seven years in public schools (4th - 8th grades). He was also a camp director for eleven years and has created and run outdoor education programs since 1982. Kim ran outdoor education programs in Michigan; her expertise in winter programming creates terrific opportunities for you and your students.
4. During times that outdoor education is not happening (summers, holidays, and many weekends), Earthshine thrives as a world class country inn. This is no camp! Your accommodations are spectacular!

Our school programs include:

DESTINATION: 1840!

For grades 4 and up, Destination:1840! propels students and adults onto the stage of a dramatic, historical fiction "living play."

Our time-traveling destination is carefully chosen. Here on the Appalachian frontier "The Removal" of the Cherokee has been declared a success, yet pockets of resistance remain. Enter a group of greenhorn, time-warping students half posing as Cherokee and half as settlers. They've come to learn the lessons of the past but get more than they bargained for as the "cold peace" of the mountain top erupts into ethnic and cultural brinkmanship. Our strong characters ensure that fun is paramount, but the sobering situation that unfolds is straight out of the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and "Any City, USA". It is surely the central question of our time:

Can two cultures - one "the haves" and one "the have nots" rise above their racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and economic differences and live together in peace?

We offer no world-saving magic solution. Insights may well lead more to confusion than clarity. Only one clear "evil" emerges ...ignorance. Understanding and empathy rise as the primary agents of hope. As each "play" takes on a life of its own, we often find ourselves humbled by the power of Destination:1840!

Activities:

1. Cherokee Life - Students experience life as Cherokee Indians in the post "Trail of Tears" era. As apprentices, they will contribute to the ongoing construction of the secret Cherokee village. They will learn to grind corn using a traditional mortar and pestle, build and tend fires, clean fish, and cook their meals over the fire. As Cherokee they'll discover that work such as fleshing and tanning animal hides, sculpting a dug-out canoe, making pottery and stringing bead necklaces are all part of daily life. Native Americans knew that much could be learned through games and dances. This rich heritage provides wonderful opportunities for fun and knowledge.
2. Pioneer Life - Students experience life as pioneer settlers in the new lands opened up by "The Removal." As apprentices they will be a part of a working homestead. They will take wool, recently shorn from our sheep, through washing, dyeing, carding, spinning and weaving. Students will learn about caring for our farm animals which include goats, sheep, donkeys, chickens, ducks and geese. They will learn the old ways of cooking in dutch ovens, make drip candles, and, in the fall, press cider with apples straight from our trees. Blacksmithing and traditional carpentry will work up a sweat for all, as real projects make lasting contributions to the farm.

1840 comes alive!

For grades 4 and 6, here's a science program unlike any other. A typical three-day program starts with a nice uneventful arrival and peaceful lunch. But then everything goes out the window when a wild eyed, half-crazed mountain man storms in and steals the whole group away into an old mountain folktale. This tale becomes its own reality and generates a momentum that rifles joyfully through the next two days of dynamic experiential learning.

First comes "The Quest" as students in small groups search for the meaning of the name of the mythological (or is it real?) character 'ICECA.' On this quest they discover five mysterious learning laboratories hidden deep in the woods. These stations will focus on the following:

Geology - Hands-on study of the rock cycle, rock types, mountain building, and chemical and mechanical weathering.
Hydrology - Not just hands on but "feet in"! Students will experience the water cycle, forces of erosion, sedimentation, rock hardness and more.
Botany - Shrinking students will travel into a chloroplast to marvel first hand at one of nature's central mysteries: photosynthesis.
Connectedness - Students become prey and predator as the forest reveals the complex and unexpected ways members of a community rely on each other.
Adaption - Through a close up study of our farm animals (goats, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese) students analyze how living things adapt to changing conditions in establishing a niche in their habitat.

With the Quest complete, the bigger task is at hand: applying new found knowledge and concepts to the community of man. Resources Limited provides the vehicle for a wild and challenging simulation of governing, economics, the wise use of natural resources, and population growth on the world stage. By the time our Sharing Circle rolls around on the third day students have experienced nature like never before and leave with new perspectives on humankind's place on the planet.

SUCCESS

For grades 6 and up. Earthshine offers a safe atmosphere in which students can challenge themselves and do things they never thought possible. As individuals, in small teams, and as a whole group, challenge, opportunity and responsibility abound. While our "Success" program isn't directly academic, it exists to explode the very myths that block so many from the learning process:

1. I can't.
2. It doesn't matter what I do.
3. It's not worth bothering.

Students who tune out their own potential do not learn. Students who believe in themselves do. Earthshine can make a difference.

Key activity components of "Success" include:

• "Flight thru the Treetops"
• High Ropes Course
• Climbing Wall
• Group Initiatives Course & Adventure Course
• Several Earthshine unique and powerful problem solving adventures
• Dynamic evening program options that engage even the "coolest of the cool"

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Earthshine has served more than 46,300 children in our Outdoor Education Programs since 1992. Forty seven percent of our field trips are our Destination 1840 program. What a lesson of the past those kids are learning! Since we opened our doors, Earthshine has lived in the year 1840 for 960 days (about 2 1/2 years)!

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