Lodging
Cedar Lake has several housing options. Herriman Lodge will house approximately one hundred and fourteen students and teachers during a program. Students and teachers stay in semi-private rooms, accommodating four to six per room. Each heated room has its own bathroom. Rhone Lodge can sleep 50 in two large dormitories and central baths. Participants need to provide sleeping bags, pillows or bedding. Meals are in the cafeteria, with the exception of lunch, which is eaten on the trail.
Activities
Hiking, initiative games, group challenges, high and low challenge/ropes courses, art, astronomy, earth science, life science, and age appropriate environmental science activities. There is a lake (with canoes and a swimming area) on site and extensive hiking opportunities. Group and individual challenges, cooperative challenges, increased identification with the natural environments (i.e. San Bernardino Mountains), and basic natural history of the area are also offered. Introduction to environmental science concepts, minimum impact wilderness travel, and a shared common experience are included.
Educational Overview
Members of the class are organized into groups of twelve-fourteen students. Naturalists at Large instructors will work with their groups to teach basic outdoor skills, supervise meal preparation, conduct outdoor education hikes (primarily a mix of “walk and talks” and hands-on activities) on the Cedar Lake. Students will be placed in situations that en-courage them to work together (e.g. cooking, setting up camp, camp chores, etc.). In addition, they will be encouraged to solve problems posed by the NAL instructors, comprised of both intellectual and well thought-out and well executed physical problems (initiative games).
Studies Include:
- Freshwater biology
- Plant communities – botany, ecology, plant identification
- Adaptations of plants and animals
- Geology – landforms
- The stars -constellations, & mythology
- Environmental resource management
- Water resources – pollution, sewage treatment, water sources