School classes come to Alton Jones for up to 5-day
extended-stay field trips to learn about the environment, ecology,
social science, history and group building. The Environmental Education Center has been providing youth
with exciting learning experiences in the natural environment
since 1966.
Each year an average of 10,000 school-age children from southern
New England and beyond visit the W. Alton Jones Campus. Most
School Programs are geared towards grades 4 to 8, but all grades
are welcomed. With a focus on learning through hands-on discovery
and exploration, the W. Alton Jones Campus curriculum addresses
many of the Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut state
education standards.
With an average student-to-staff ratio of 12:1, we can focus
on meeting specific educational objectives. College graduates
and some certified teachers make up our field teaching staff.
They are hired for their experience working with children, are
certified in CPR and First Aid and receive training in environmental
education techniques and outdoor safety.
The Environmental Education Center’s educational facilities
consists of a knotty pine dining lodge with five teaching classrooms
and two fieldstone fireplaces surrounded by 10 miles of hiking
trails through fields, forests and wetlands. Six winterized
cabins with hot showers and lavatory facilities accommodate
a total of 100 students and 14 adults overnight. Each cabin
holds 16 to 20 students and each has a separate room for adult
chaperones.
Additional resources include two low ropes courses, the historical
Woodvale Farm, the ecologically diverse Nettie Marie Jones Nature
Preserve a replica Native American living area and 75-acre Lake
Eisenhower.
Bring Your Laptop! If you like the woods but want to
stay connected, you are in luck! The Environmental
Education Center Main Lodge and cabins now feature high speed
wireless access points for teachers and parent chaperones to
connect with the outside world. Check your email, surf
the web or keep in contact with work and loved ones while
sitting by the fireplace or out on the lawn.
All programs offered by the Environmental Education Center have
earned the distinction of being accredited by the American Camping
Association.
Additional information links are provided below. Please click
the "Printable Brochure" link to learn more about
what the W. Alton Jones Campus school programs have to offer.
Click the "Info Request" link to receive
additional information about school programs. "Online
Forms" provide more detailed information on the programs
offered and include trip planning material.
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