Solar Schoolhouse, a program of The Rahus Institute, has worked with the Outdoor Education community since 2003. Thanks to grant funding from All Points North Foundation we’re able to update and re-energize solar energy lessons specifically for the outdoor education environment. We’ll be able to share new narratives/stories exploring human history of using the sun’s energy to heat, cool, and power our homes for 1000s of years and using nature-inspired design (biomicry) to lead low environmental impact lives. We’ll also provide several interactive and fun teaching tools for each participating outdoor education site including: Solar Cell Classroom Set, Solar Fountain Sculpture Sets, Solar Spinart sets, and more. The Project runs from May 2024 to May 2025.
News from the field….
[Westminster Woods Blog Post- by Lillian Karl] On a sunny morning in mid-August, our Outdoor Education staff gathered on the Big Green Field, engaged in a hands-on imaginative activity to utilize the power of the sun in order to access water. Tor and Dena Allen from the Solar Schoolhouse Project asked staff to imagine they were in a remote location without any clean water. If they only had a solar panel, a pump, and a deep well of water, what would they do? A few minutes and several splashed naturalists later, they had four working water pumps. But why were our naturalists doing this?
This lesson is part of a year-long partnership with the Solar Schoolhouse Project to bring solar education to outdoor schools. [READ MORE….]
Naturalists & Team Leads: Pilot the SSHOE activities & provide feedback. CLICK HERE
We’ve already provided the Solar kits and lesson materials to your Outdoor Education Site and appreciate your time and effort to pilot these lessons in Fall 2024.
Read here for more details about Piloting the SSHOE – Life on Planet Solar curriculum.
SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SSHOE PROGRAM. CLICK HERE [New schools]
For School year 2024-2025 we are focusing on residential Outdoor Education Schools located in California. We’ll visit your site to conduct staff training and provide a suite of materials and lessons for Free. Even if your organization doesn’t fit this description, please share your interest via the form. It will help shape our next steps. Contact Tor Allen at tor@rahus.org or 707.829.3154 with any questions.
Participating Schools (thus far)
Westminster Woods (Occidental, CA)
Pathfinder Ranch (Mountain Center, CA)
Web of Life Field (WOLF) School – (Camp Arroyo) Livermore, (Camp Toyon) Aptos, (Camp Loma Mar) Loma Mar – CA (3 sites)
Naturebridge Golden Gate – Sausalito, CA
San Mateo COE Outdoor Education (Camp Jones Gulch) – Loma Mar, CA