Teacher Spotlight: Kathryn Hartman
Kathryn Hartman has had many different roles during her experiences with NatureBridge. Over her four visits to NatureBridge’s Olympic campus, she has been a teacher, a parent chaperone and most recently, an administrator working toward her principal certification for the Port Angeles School District in Washington. For Kathryn, it is essential that the learning experiences her students have outside the classrooms work in tandem with what they are learning in the classroom. “I bring my students to NatureBridge for the hands-on learning experiences that connect to the region and topics relevant to their learning,” Kathryn says. “This is a program that is literally in our own backyard that creates connections to what we are learning in the classroom to our natural surroundings in a meaningful and powerful way.”
They are able to take what they learn in the outside world and apply it to the classroom where they can continue their learning. This quality experience creates connections that continue beyond the initial trip and can be referred back to throughout the year.Kathryn Hartman, Administrative Intern and Teacher, Port Angeles School District
But it’s not just the parallels to the curriculum that are important to Kathryn. She knows that even the most interesting material can fall flat if students aren’t engaged. That is why Kathryn continues to bring her students to NatureBridge programs. “The programs are engaging and well-run by staff and provide students with captivating lessons that create great learning experiences and group bonding at the same time,” she explains.
NatureBridge is set up to utilize the natural environment and extended day to show that learning doesn’t need to be confined to four walls and a traditional schedule. It takes concepts that may be presented in a textbook format and brings the content alive and up close for students to interact with.Kathryn Hartman, Administrative Intern and Teacher, Port Angeles School District
As for the lasting impact, Kathryn sees indelible transformations in her students regularly. Aside from the field science experiments, team-building activities and social and emotional learning, students take with them a sense of joy and wonder well into the future. “I have heard stories told years later from students that this was their favorite memory of the entire school year from multiple kids,” Kathryn notes. “They remember their experiences, the songs and the fun they had learning.”
Photos courtesy of Kathryn Hartman
Stories
In Memory of Ty Cobb: A Visionary Leader of Resilience and Impact
Ty Cobb, former CEO of Yosemite National Institutes (now NatureBridge), passed away on Saturday, December 7, 2024 in Reno at the age of 84. Known for his visionary leadership, resilience, and ability to inspire collaboration, Ty guided YNI through some of its most difficult moments while building a foundation for its future growth and success.
WildLink November 2024: Woodlake High School
This November, Woodlake High School students and chaperones arrived in Yosemite for their first year as a WildLink school, and we are so excited to have them on the team! That means that the brave students who signed up for this expedition had virtually no idea what to expect before signing up for the trip, because none of their peers had experienced it before them! The week, although quite frigid, was full of lovely views, learning about Wilderness, spending lots of time by the river, and enjoying the beauty of Yosemite Valley and Wilderness. Their educators Sarah and Amelia were excited to help this group feel a sense of belonging in this place. They were also lucky enough to be joined by Ranger Lissie on their first day in the Wilderness!
Fall Reflections from NatureBridge Yosemite
As an environmental science educator, I spend a lot of time teaching about nature, but this season I’ve been finding that as it turns out, nature has a lot to teach us, too. Sometimes I can let the trees, the meadow, and the lichen teach for me. They show us how to respect each other’s boundaries, how to celebrate differences, how to work together, and how to lean on each other’s strengths in order to exist in a new place. These lessons felt incredibly relevant to me heading into the first week of November, a notoriously busy time at NatureBridge Yosemite. I wanted to focus on messages of kindness and inclusivity with my students, I wanted them to feel a sense of belonging in this new space, and I also hoped that they would share those messages with others.