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It looks like an ordinary school day. Mr. Laughland gathers his students, explains the lesson, and sets them to work. But instead of rows of desks, the classroom is a forest — winding trails, tall trees, and the fresh air of Pine Hill Community Forest.

This 595-acre preserve, owned by Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, wraps around Kennett High School and serves as home base for Outdoor Recreation, a hands-on class where learning takes place in the natural world just beyond school doors. The class builds skills and explores careers that define outdoor, nature-based fields.

Outdoor Recreation addresses a challenge every teacher understands: students struggle to focus when confined indoors all day.

“Some kids do well sitting at a desk,” he explains, “but others need to move, explore, and experience things directly. Having Pine Hill right here makes that possible.”

It’s a feeling many parents and grandparents can relate to; we remember staring out the window in school, daydreaming while the outdoors called to us. For Kennett students, that window has become a doorway.

In the Outdoor Recreation program, students work on trails, learn wilderness first aid, and take on projects that build confidence, resilience, and practical skills. Research shows that time spent in nature enhances focus, motivation, and social connection. Students in outdoor classrooms often take greater ownership of their learning and feel more engaged in the process.

None of this would be possible without the foresight to conserve Pine Hill.

If the land had been developed or restricted, the program simply couldn’t exist. While some schools occasionally take field trips outdoors, Pine Hill allows immersive, weekly learning experiences that deepen over time.

“You can watch it click for them,” Mr. Laughland says. “A student who might be restless inside suddenly comes alive when they are building a shelter or solving a problem outdoors. They realize they can succeed in ways they did not expect.”

Now, other teachers at Kennett are incorporating Pine Hill into subjects like art, woodshop, and environmental science. And it’s not just a school resource, it’s a space for the whole community to explore, connect, and grow.

Pine Hill is part of a growing national movement. Across the country, land trusts are creating “learning landscapes,” strategically conserved natural areas near schools and community spaces where education and exploration go hand in hand. These places do more than protect land for the future — they help kids thrive today.

Other schools, youth programs, and community organizations are also using nature’s classroom. Both Fryeburg Academy and the Molly Ockett School hold outdoor classes at Jockey Cap.

They recognize that new opportunities to bring joy, a sense of focus, and greater community for young people and people of all ages, is an important part of our collective identity.

As a result, we are exploring a project of this kind with Madison Elementary School, only a half mile from the Chain of Ponds Community Forest, we look forward to sharing more news with you.

As Zenobia Barlow, pioneering conservation educator said, “Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into ecological literacy...”

Learning landscapes are how we help ensure that both people and nature thrive for generations to come.