A mountain bike race in autumn, when the Lowenwood trails are at their most colorful.     Interwoven with the academic program is a full four-season complement of challenging and enjoyable outdoor activities, designed to increase students' comfort in the outdoors, introduce students to life-long outdoor pursuits, and provide opportunities for students to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Conserve School encourages human-powered activities, following Leave No Trace principles. On a canoeing trip, a student takes a break from paddling to enjoy the rushing water of a stream. Conserve's Lowenwood campus provides an ideal setting to enjoy a wide selection of outdoor activities. You can kayak or canoe on one of our eight lakes, hike or run on nearly 20 miles of wooded trails, mountain bike on our scenic single-track trails, or swim in Big Donahue Lake. The ample snows of winter create new opportunities for outdoor fun, such as skiing on our 15 kilometers of cross-country ski trails, snowshoeing to a new corner of campus, ice skating on a lake, building and sleeping in a quinzee (snow shelter), and sledding. Students will often enjoy these activities as part of their coursework, with the outdoors as the classroom. Many activities include a stewardship component. For example, students may hike into the Sylvania Wilderness, adjacent to Conserve's campus, in order to pull invasive plants, or paddle onto a lake to study water quality. Conserve's curriculum includes opportunities to explore the world outside our campus, as well. Students and staff participate in multi-day backcountry camping excursions each semester, with trips to beautiful locations in the Northwoods. Students receive Physical Education credit for their participation in outdoor activities. Friendships blossom on backpacking trips.

	Weekend Activities
	Ultimate Frisbee is a weekend favorite. Each weekend students can choose from several different activities, many of which focus on the outdoors. A typical assortment of weekend activities might include an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament, a visit to the Lowenstine Estate (a short walk from the campus proper) to take a voyageur canoe out on Black Oak Lake, or a nature hike to Inkpot or Dollar Lake, two small lakes that can be reached by campus trails. Saturday mornings are usually set aside for an outdoor activity block. This weekend block might be used for on-campus community service, course-related activities, or field trips. Afternoons are free for homework, for just relaxing with friends or on one's own, or for taking part in an optional activity led by a Subject Specialist or a Graduate Fellow. One aspect of campus life that makes Conserve School so special is that classroom teachers often stay on campus over the weekend to lead recreational activities and to teach students skills related to the leisure activities they most enjoy: paddling, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, ice skating, or skiing.

	Outdoor Activities and Classes
	Aldo Leopold wrote about using a cross-cut saw in Sand County Almanac, so English Teacher Jeff Rennicke challenges students to try one out. Outdoor activities are also integrated into many of Conserve School’s courses. History classes stage simulations of historical events on campus. Readings come to life for students when they can experience the same natural setting that inspired the author, or when they can try their hand at skills described in historical journals. Conserve students have crafted a dug-out canoe from a 1,000-pound log while studying Lewis and Clark, learned to wield a handsaw while reading Sand County Almanac, and struggled to light a fire under a snow-covered pine tree, just like Jack London’s character in the classic short story “To Light a Fire.” Environmental Science class, of course, is held regularly in bogs, on lakeshores, and on the trails. Every year the imaginations of Conserve School students and teachers dream up new ways of enriching academic classes by going outdoors.   History Teacher Michael Salat leads his students in a re-enactment of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery crossing the snow-covered Bitterroot Mountains.