Beyond the Classroom: How Farm Immersion Builds Resilient, Inspired Teens

Living Wisdom helps with a harvest of fresh lettuce.

At Living Wisdom High School, we see education as the development of the whole person. Strong academics are central to our program, yet they are only one facet of a much larger whole. Education for Life emphasizes growth through the body, the will, and through calm feeling– the intuitive faculty. Our monthly immersion days at Ananda Valley Farm are one way we help students cultivate these essential dimensions of human nature.

Time in nature offers students more than fresh air and exercise—it invites them into cooperation, balance, quietude, and inner calm. On the farm, students find themselves working with energy and focus in the garden, pausing for observation and discovery of the natural world, or taking in a meditative moment in the serenity all around them. Our hosts weave in principles of conscious farming and the “Sharing Nature” environmental education approach of world renowned naturalist, Joseph Cornell. Students are guided first into direct experience with the natural world and then layers of learning are added about sustainable agriculture and land stewardship. The result is both grounding and inspiring.

Each visit to the farm is unique, yet a thread of continuity runs through them all. This year, high school students are helping to create and tend a new strawberry patch, returning each month to see how it evolves—from preparing the soil and pathways, to planting, nurturing, and eventually harvesting in the spring. Alongside this, they’ve also explored creative projects such as soap-making, learning the chemistry behind it and crafting soaps that will be shared as a gift with our wider school community later this fall.

Perhaps the most enriching aspect of this time is the spirit of cooperation that naturally blossoms among them. Students work side-by-side, applying their energy and will to physical projects that call for problem-solving, awareness of one another, and the satisfaction of building something of value together.

While every immersion day is different, the impact is lasting: students leave with a deeper connection to the natural world, to themselves, and to each other. These farm days are just one expression of how we approach education as a whole—helping students grow not only in knowledge, but in will, awareness, and connection.