Ed-Venture Series Features the A.T. as a Virtual Classroom

Students and teachers have been using the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) as a rich educational resource for decades. This year, as virtual learning becomes widespread, you’re invited to join us online and see the A.T. as your virtual classroom!

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) invites learners of all ages to join us for the A.T. Ed-Venture, a series of virtual lessons taught by environmental educators from each of the Trail’s fourteen states. Every two weeks, the series will explore a new topic connected with the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) through interactive presentations led by local experts covering topics such as wildlife, botany, folklore, and more. New sessions will air on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at 4 p.m. through March 2021. The next session will air this afternoon, August 19, so sign up now if you would like to join us today!

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Each hour-long session will be hosted live via Zoom, providing participants the opportunity to ask questions and interact with each session’s two instructors. These instructors — typically a formal educator and a partner from a local community, trail club or land management agency — will answer questions both about the lesson and about their work as environmental educators. Content will vary based on the educator’s expertise, discipline, focus and areas of interest. All sessions will be recorded and published to the ATC YouTube page for all to access. Participants in each live session will also be eligible to win a hydration daypack to use on their next hike.

Miss the first Ed-Venture session? You’re in luck — all sessions are recorded, so click above to watch last week’s lesson now!

Through the Ed-Venture series, the ATC hopes to connect with and foster a lifelong love of learning and discovery, both on the A.T. and beyond. We are thrilled to create and co-host this series with educators and partners involved with the conservation of our public lands, providing engaging lessons for young learners. This series will also supply teachers, parents and guardians, and after school instructors with material they can implement into their own instruction.

Visit appalachiantrail.org/edventure to register for upcoming sessions and find links to recorded sessions that have already occurred. Like any good A.T. journey, there will be lots of exciting things to discover!