In late October, Seventh and Eighth Graders traveled to Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia for two four-day leadership journeys.
A working forest, Monongahela provides timber, water, and minerals to local communities and represents one of the most ecologically diverse areas in the United States, which makes it the perfect location for lessons on forest ecology, climbing, caving, and hiking. During one expedition, the students hiked to the top of Spruce Knob, the highest mountain peak in West Virginia. Later, they donned head lamps and helmets to explore a partially submerged cave system near the Experiential Learning campus.
Experiential Learning, Calvert’s partner in this expedition, is an organization that works with schools to develop high-quality outdoor programs that instill leadership skills and confidence in students.
“The orienteering was pretty fun. I feel like we all did a good job of communicating. Even though we were getting pretty tired, we were still able to land almost exactly at the trail, which was what we aimed to do,” CJ N. ’23 said.