Ecology inspired solar solutions in the Outdoor Education Space [May ’26]

For thousands of years, humans have harnessed the power of the sun to improve their lives—whether by warming their homes, heating water, cooking food, or generating electricity. These sustainable practices offer valuable lessons on how we can enhance our world without harming the environment, providing a meaningful lens through which to explore the climate crisis with young people.

Solar Schoolhouse, a program of The Rahus Institute, has been helping students discover the wonders of solar energy through interactive activities and engaging lessons since 2000. Thanks to a grant from All Points North Foundation, we’ve recently spent a year working with outdoor education programs across California to develop solar lesson plans tailored to the unique needs of outdoor learning environments.

Historically, the topic of solar energy has been limited to photosynthesis as part of the ecology conversation.  Our goal was to expand that narrative and give students an opportunity for a hands-on solar experience, with a narrative that includes historic human modes of harvesting solar energy, and using biomimicry as inspiration for design challenges.  We also looked to strengthen connections to what was already being taught – to enhance the existing activity and increase the chances of the new solar lessons being adopted as part of a site’s program. 

Over the course of the year-long project , we piloted our activities at 12 California-based residential environmental education programs.offering five different activities to each school.  At these sites students come and stay for 3-5 days during the school year.  Since students are there for several days there is a greater opportunity to reach the 1000s of students that visit the Outdoor School each year   

The process involved training and collecting feedback from naturalist educators, then refining the content based on their field insights. The lessons and materials are available to schools, outdoor education programs, and nature centers.  We coined these activities the Life on Planet Solar activities, a theme with a stronger solar-ecology connection.

Throughout the pilot process, we discovered that a key strength of the Life on Planet Solar activities lies in exploration of biomimicry—an approach that empowers students to connect with the natural world while solving real-world challenges. By studying nature’s time-tested patterns, processes, and designs, scientists and engineers have studied nature to solve human challenges in sustainable and inventive ways. The Life on Planet Solar  activities bring solar education out of the classroom and into the field, enabling students to observe how the living organisms are designed in a way to best capture the sun’s energy, and then designing a bio-inspired solar solution for their own home or community.

In the Think Like a Tree lesson, students receive a tree board, a motor and fan, and six solar cells. They are tasked with imagining they are scientists at The Biomimicry Design Institute, designing a solar circuit to power a fan that works in the shade by studying how leaves are ‘wired’ to trees and generate energy on cloudy days. To kick off the lesson, many naturalists encouraged students to spend intentional time with a tree, exploring how leaves capture sunlight and convert it into energy. 

Sophie Seymour at Pathfinder Ranch noted that this grounding of the lesson in a simple exploration, “empowers the kids with their knowledge of photosynthesis, giving them some confidence before going into the less explored territory of the circuit boards.”

This lesson serves as an entry point into both the world of solar energy and the concept of biomimicry. It allows students to directly engage with their observations and reinforces their understanding of photosynthesis. From this foundation, they can confidently apply their scientific knowledge to new challenges, bridging the gap between natural processes and technological innovation. Not only does this approach introduce the concept of solar energy, it also includes biomimicry, an important  concept for students as they learn to design future solutions that help shape a sustainable future.

At Naturebridge-Golden Gate, Education Manager Samuel Desré shared “We really like the Think-Like-a-Tree activity and the biomimicry theme.  We made a few modifications to adapt it to our program and are working toward sharing this with each visiting school group” 

At Cuyamaca School near San Diego, Senior Naturalist Emily Traub described how they put the tree boards (and other activity materials) in a dedicated backpack so that they could do the activity as part of a hike, weaving the solar exploration into what they normally do on a typical hike.

Many naturalists embraced the Solvann Solar Fountain Challenge as a core activity to explore creative solar solutions through team work. This hands-on, imaginative exercise invites students to take on the role of a team traveling through a desert. When they come across a village with a broken water pump, they are presented with a ‘solar pump’ that has no instructions.  The challenge is to correctly wire the solar array, connect to the pump, build a fountain (pipe) structure, and restore water flow for the ‘village’ 

This activity is fun, engaging, and offers an approachable way to learn about solar energy by focusing on practical, real-world solutions.   As a closing activity, the group explores some examples and discusses how solar water pumping applications are benefiting homes and communities around the world.

To deepen the learning, Virginia Carbeck, a naturalist at San Mateo Outdoor Education shared, “We talked about greenhouse gases and how those affect the earth, then used the fountain challenge as an ending activity to talk about sustainable solutions for energy.” 

As Sierra Mickleson at Westminster Woods shared, “The highlight of the activity was afterwards when one student remarked, ‘I could be an engineer.’” 

By focusing on an environmental/social issue and giving students the opportunity to explore solutions, this activity inspires students to see themselves as problem-solvers. Sierra continued,through this lesson, students not only solve a challenge but also develop essential social-emotional skills, including teamwork, empathy, and collaborative problem-solving.

To broaden their perspective on what sort of things can be powered by solar cell technology,  students are introduced to the Resiliency Expert Game. Students are designated as “Resiliency Experts” from their town, tasked with finding the best solutions to recommend for adoption. In teams, students evaluate a variety of real-world solar applications, highlighted on individual cards.  Through several iterations, student teams  select 3-4  solutions to implement in their own town with no right or wrong answer.  

Jordan Torres from Pathfinder Ranch noted that this activity “allows students to make connections about how solar differs from other energy sources, its benefits, and its drawbacks.” 

This activity naturally leads to broader discussions on solar applications, showcases real-world low-impact energy solutions currently in use, and encourages students to consider where solar energy could be applied in their own lives.  

Solar Schoolhouse Director Tor Allen shared “I’ve used the Resiliency Expert (Solar) Cards in almost every educational setting I’ve been involved with, since we developed the cards.  It’s a quick way to share about the wide range of solar powered applications in the world today, and it really energizes the students as they discuss and decide which options to choose for their town. They are discovering this knowledge by sharing & discussing with each other, versus listening to a lecture or watching a video. It works.”

Another engaging activity that helps students reflect on the magic of solar cells is Solar Spin Art. In this fun activity, students use solar power to create colorful artwork to make and take. Each student is invited to sit by a spinner and gently hold a felt pen on the spinning sticker to apply color. Afterward, they can either adhere their designs in a journal and write about their reflections on solar energy or simply take the artwork home as a reminder of what they’ve learned. 

Sophie Seymour, Pathfinder Ranch pointed out, “Solar Spin Art was incredibly fun for the students and a perfect way to lift morale at the end of class, especially when students faced challenges with the pumps and circuits.” This approachable activity reinforces lessons in a creative and engaging way.

As a way to wrap up solar-themed activities, Group Circuit provides a quick culminating activity in which the group powers a series of fans using connected solar cells. Standing in a circle, this activity serves as a way for naturalists to pose questions and for students to reflect on what they’ve learned, all while continuing to work with solar energy.

We are deeply grateful for the contributions of the 12 schools that helped us refine and shape the Life on Planet Solar Activities. Through these partnerships, we’ve created 5 adaptable kits that enhance the incredible work already happening in outdoor education programs. These kits not only provide hands-on learning experiences but also offer a unique opportunity to integrate solar energy into the broader conversation about climate change and sustainability.

Each program has incorporated the lessons in unique and creative ways, meeting the specific needs of their students and teaching environments. For instance, at Pathfinder Ranch, these lessons revitalized existing energy units. Amanda Gaines shared, “The Life on Planet Solar activities are an excellent addition to our energy classes here at Pathfinder Ranch. These activities help build on the materials we already had and greatly improve and expand on our previous hands-on activities.” 

At SMOE, they’ve sparked meaningful discussions on climate change and renewable energy. Naturalist Virginia Carbeck shared, “I really love how this is incorporating renewable energy solutions into outdoor education. I like how it allowed me to bring up climate change but in a way focused on solutions and building a better future.” 

These lessons empower students to take an active role in creating a sustainable future. By blending renewable energy solutions with outdoor education, we are helping students develop both technical knowledge and  skills, preparing them to be the problem-solvers of tomorrow. The Life On Planet Solar Activities foster an optimistic, solution-focused approach, showing students that the tools to make a difference are already within reach.  One piece of shaping a better future starts with a solar-literate  population. Our partnership with outdoor educators provides the perfect environment for students to connect their outdoor ecological experiences to bio-inspired solar charged solutions and help shape a better future. .  

We’re excited to see how these lessons will continue to inspire and equip the next generation of environmental leaders.  Going forward we’ll be exploring sharing these activities with a variety of Nature Centers across the country.