Native Spaces | Native Actions | Native Traditions: an Outdoor Eduction Campus for the Seattle Public Schools

Abstract

Progressive education is bringing students back in contact with nature, and the result has been higher test scores, greater respect for the environment, and fewer behavioral problems. Precedence for outdoor education ranges from the Waldkindergärten model of total outdoor immersion to Seattle's current practice of annual trips to IslandWood and Mercer Slough. Given the benefits of more regular environmental immersion, this thesis proposes an outdoor education campus within the city where middle school students spend up to one afternoon per week as part of the standard school curriculum. Drawing from the 1600 year-old tradition of Duwamish settlement on the new campus's West Seattle site, the themes of Native spaces, Native actions, and Native traditions will be used to inform three distinct educational nodes, restore the natural environment, and serve as a community learning hub.