Student Stories

Four students bravely recount a legendary CS20 adventure. 

Having a dedicated phenology spot helps students discover the meaning of a sense of place. 

A poem written about the sounds one can hear if they stop to listen to a frozen lake. 

Snow, hiking, determination, Sunset Point, hammocking, and reflections on personal growth from the first week of the semester.

A CS19 student reflects on the feelings of returning from an adventure versus setting out on one.

Bonds form surprisingly quickly on Exploration Week while working and traveling together in the wilderness. 

Being on a solo, alone in the woods, with your thoughts, and strange sounds all around is scary and awe-inspiring.

Lily writes an essay about her big city dreams turning into Alaskan bush dreams.

Cade had some realizations about his Conserve family while spending "Family Weekend" with his sibling family.

The Nine Lake Loop or Lowenwood Portage, helps students experience the lakes on campus in a whole new way.

A student reflects on one of her first nights at Conserve School, getting to know new friends, under the northern lights.

A student from CS16 lovingly wrote an article for his sending school newspaper a year after his Conserve School experience.

Many students choose to rise early to spend more time in nature. Some Students create and lead activities before the academic day starts.

Exploration Week is a time of bonding, some hardship, and tremendous growth. This is often magnified when the weather presents it's own challenges. 

Phenology is the act recording what one observes in nature over time. Here is a look at several pages from spring of one student's Phenology Book.

A mainstay of the Conserve School curriculum is a solo camping experience. Two nights alone at a peaceful on-campus site. 

Seven students and Stefan went into the Sylvania Wilderness on snowshoes, with two dogs in tow, on a mission for pizza.

Students at Conserve School learn to navigate with a compass and map, but sometimes you have to get a little lost to find yourself.  

The NCT has miles of scenic beauty from waterfalls to the Mother of all lakes. This student saw Lake Superior for the first time.

Rain, wind, and damp gear, to bright sunshine rays and crisp fall days. The range of experiences on Exploration Week was full of contrasts.

Stormy conditions, mysteries, compromise, adaptation, and resilience, are all things students on Exploration Week may discover.

Weather rolls in quickly on Lake Superior. This is one student's experience backpacking during Exploration Week on Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

...the power of the solo experience becomes clear. Through spending over 24 hours in a single area, some of the more intricate workings of this campus became familiar.