Education

The Tiny Trekkers program is designed to create a foundation of love and respect for the natural world for children walking to 3 years old.

Active play in nature between caregivers and children provides lasting impressions. A Ridges Sanctuary educator guides parents and children in gentle hiking, songs, and endless possibilities for exploration and experimentation. Tiny Trekkers classes typically last from an hour to 75 minutes. Class starts with circle time, where trekkers, parents, and the teacher will sing songs, read a story, and do a nature-based craft. Monthly learning topics incorporate cognitive and language development, while crafts offer opportunities to practice fine motor skills. Following circle time, trekkers will explore areas of the Sanctuary and Family Discovery Trail. Exploration with caregivers and play with other children encourage the development of social-emotional skills and large motor skills.

Registration for Trekkers monthly sessions is now open! Each session is either three or four weeks long, depending on the holidays within each month. Three-week sessions are $30 for each child/caretaker pair. Four-week sessions are $40 for each child/caretaker pair. We understand that caretakers may be caring for multiple children, making it difficult to schedule time with just one child for the Tiny Trekkers class. Therefore, we have the option for sibling sign-ups, which are $15 for three-week sessions and $20 for four-week sessions.

For more information and to register, contact Anna Foster at 920-839-2802, x115 or anna@ridgessanctuary.org.

Forest School is a year-long natural science education program designed for homeschool children who enjoy outdoor, hands-on learning.

On two days each week, students hike through diverse ecosystems, learn how to record their observations and questions about the changing nature around them, engage in hands-on investigations with their peers, and make personal connections with the natural world. One of the unique features of Forest School is the depth of engagement available when meeting outside multiple times each week in fall, winter, and spring. Children are able to make deep, personal connections to nature that inspire life-long learning about stewardship of the natural world. Teachers plan a year-long scope and sequence of experiences that align with their objectives. Objectives are aligned with North American Association for Environmental Education, Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability.

Cost per semester: $1,020. Scholarships are available.

For more information and to register, contact Ana Hinkle at 920-839-2802 x105 or ana@ridgessanctuary.org

The Forest Days program takes place at Gibraltar’s “school forest,” (Peninsula State Park) and at Sevastopol’s EcoLab.

Forest Days is a monthly 90-minute session that includes a hands-on natural science lesson, a hike, sit spot, and exploration. In this experiential program, children engage with the sensory-rich forest and learn by touching, seeing, smelling, and doing. Every season offers a new way to understand more deeply the essence of the plants and animals that cycle energy, water, and nutrients through the habitat. Topics are integrated with language, writing, mapping, and math. While lessons feature grade-appropriate topics for each grade, all children revisit the same trees, logs, moss mounds, insects, and leaf litter month after month, year after year, coming to recognize the school forest in intimate detail.

Forest Days sessions inspire connection to nature in these ways: connections between oneself and the natural community deepen; children acquire familiarity with local ecosystems; children collaborate with each other in care of the environment.

We invite campers ages 4-6 and 7-11 to join us throughout the summer for weeks filled with adventure, exploration, and discovery.

Camps are held Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Children will engage in thoughtfully planned, supervised outdoor learning activities. On Fridays, campers will enjoy “Friday Fun Day” at the beach! Space is limited per session to 15 campers for ages 4-6 and 16 campers for ages 7-11. Each child receives a Ridges Adventure Pack that they will use throughout the week and take home at the end.

Backpack Adventure Camp is an inspiring, fun week of immersion in the ecosystem of The Ridges Sanctuary. Because it is summer, there is no end to the natural phenomena available for observing. This is the time for wildflower blooming, monarch caterpillar growing, fawns nursing! Summer camp is the highlight of the year for many children; teachers and new friends have a lasting impact on each camper, each week. Camp is a wonderful way to foster relationships among people in their connection to nature.

The Door County Festival of Nature is a series of events coordinated by The Ridges Sanctuary and our partners in conservation to encourage visitors, residents, members, and friends to explore and celebrate the natural beauty of the Door Peninsula.

Each year, we organize a number of field trips throughout the county, and special events to allow you to experience the county with field trips intimately involved in protecting and preserving these natural spaces and educating our community on their importance.

Join us for the 23rd Annual Festival of Nature, May 23-25, 2025! We encourage you to learn more about this incredible event series and get ready to join us for Memorial Day Weekend! Festival program booklets will be available in early March. Registration will open on Monday, March 17th. For more information, including field trip information, registration, resources, and sponsors, visit doorcountyfestivalofnature.org.