Vision: Strong Kids. Healthy Planet.
It is our vision that every child will grow into an adult able and committed to better our world.
Mission
Merrohawke Nature School is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization committed to guiding learning in nature that inspires empathy, resilience, grit and a deep connection to the earth.
We work 100% outdoors because we believe this is the best classroom for personal growth, and it just so happens that through direct experience
on land and at sea, youth develop a profound love and respect for nature that will stay with them throughout their lives.
Merrohawke's exceptionally low teacher:student ratio is typically 1:4.
Key Principles in Practice at Merrohawke
Strong by Nature
It’s a fact that modern childhood has moved indoors. On average, American children spend between 4 and 7 minutes a day engaged in unstructured outdoor play and as many as 9 hours a day in front of an electronic screen. This national trend has paralleled an alarminggrowth in childhood obesity and prescribed pharmaceuticals for kids. Many youth are tuned out, stressed out and over-scheduled. Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle author Richard Louv calls this "Nature-Deficit Disorder." And this is not limited to just kids, as it can also be seen in adults, families, and whole communities.
However, youth and adults who regularly spend time outdoors gain priceless befits to mind, body, and spirit, including improved physical health and professional or academic success through enhanced skills in leadership, self-awareness, self-confidence, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.
Nature Mentoring
We create experiences that have the power to connect us to the earth, ourselves and our community that are inspired by Jon Young and his book, Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature. Our programs are intricately designed and customized for the ages and stages of our youth in each unique natural setting. In this way, we have created an invisible school where curiosity, exploration, and play naturally lead to deep wisdom by way of direct, personal experience.
Through active mentoring, our programs lead to personal growth. We work to raise a generation of youth who are in touch with their gifts, follow their passion, and may become strong, resilient and empathetic adults.
Inspired by Waldorf Early Childhood Education
We are committed to preserving and protecting the sacred childhood years, and to creating space for children to naturally grow into the fullest expression of their unique gifts. We strive each day to create opportunities for children to feel and understand that the world is good.
As we grow and evolve, Merrohawke’s core teaching staff are training in, and applying, principles and practices of Waldorf education into our early childhood programs in order to make for the most meaningful experiences in nature possible for our children. In 2019, Merrohawke was accepted as an Associate Member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.
Wild Nature Play
All of our programs involve time to play in nature because this is where the taproot of deep connection to the earth–land or sea–takes hold. We intentionally create time to allow for kids to get muddy, run wild, build forts, race hand-made driftwood boats, dig to China, search for buried pirate treasure, climb trees, catch frogs in swamps, paint themselves in charcoal, or do penguin slides across mud flats.
While youth believe they are “just playing,” and many marvel at these moments of freedom for unstructured outdoor time, we know that recent studies have proven that childhood experiences such as these–versus more traditional forms of environmental education as found over the past 30 or so years in 4H programs, nature centers, and scouting–directly lead to adults who are active stewards of the earth in practice or profession, or both.
Youth who connect to the land on their own terms through childhood play are scientifically proven to grow to be adults who are active environmental stewards. You can read more about this in David Sobel’s summer 2012 essay in Orion magazine, “Look, Don’t Touch: The problem with Environmental Education.”
Self-Initiated Play
Play is the work of childhood, and the key to education for all of life. Many of our programs, especially in early childhood, create time and space for open play so that children may:*
- Learn how they learn
- Develop confident and clarity of thinking
- Practice problem solving
- Develop a tolerance for frustration
- Refine their senses and develop a foundation for cognitive learning
- Digest life activity and sensory input
- Freely express individuality
- Align with their creative selves
*Courtesy of Susan Weber, Sophia’s Hearth.
Core Values
These are the unshakable truths that clarify who we are, what we stand for, and why we do our work the way we do. Developed by our board of directors and staff in November 2011, these values guide and inform us on how to teach, navigate personal and professional relationships, and make decisions.
Safety: It is imperative that all who participate in our programs feel safe to learn at their own pace by following their curiosity in a manner that does not jeopardize the safety of others. We embrace the fresh energy of a new experience and cultivate awareness of known hazards.
Hope: We believe individuals protect what they love. Youth who develop deep nature connection through positive experiences outdoors during childhood will be motivated to practice lifelong environmental stewardship.
Education: We are committed to providing high quality, experiential learning for all that is meaningful, challenging and fun. We believe youth have a right to unstructured play outdoors, to get dirty, and to explore multi-sensory learning through high quality, place-based, naturalist, wilderness and maritime teachings.
Nature Connection: While ever-changing technology influences our daily life, we understand how to balance the virtual with the real so that we may teach others, especially children, do the same. We understand and appreciate the transformative power of nature, and believe deep nature connection in principle and practice is an essential component of healthy living.
Community: We are here to serve our community. We are a trusted, unique and valued resource for children’s programs, adults, families and visitors. We believe in bringing people together and sharing gifts, stories and ideas so that we may collectively thrive.
Family: We treasure the importance of family in every child’s life, and we nurture parent-child connections through the ages. We welcome and honor multi-generational participation as a means of connecting with the past and our individual ancestral traditions.
Leadership: We understand our responsibility to bring our best selves forward in service to others. We model integrity, empathy, and honesty. We collaborate with other schools, programs and nonprofit organizations in order to provide the best possible outcome for our community.
Respect: We respect the great diversity of experiences, ages and interests among individuals who become the fabric of our community. We respect traditional means of connecting with the earth and, with gratitude, harvesting its bounty. We respect the responsibility given to us as stewards of the earth to always act with future generations in mind.
Who We Serve
Merrohawke was co-founded by Captains Rob and Kate Yeomans in November 2007 as BOAT CAMP. We have organically evolved into a year-round, youth-serving organization that provides nature-immersive outdoor programs for children and families living within a 50-mile radius of Newburyport, Mass.
From October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, Merrohawke staff provided 19,097 hours of nature-based learning to 651 youth.
Since 2014, Merrohawke has awarded $256,272 in financial aid to children who wished to attend, thanks to the generosity of philanthropic supporters.
No child has ever been turned away due to lack of financial ability to attend.
In addition to individual enrollments, we have served children and families of varying needs, abilities, and demographics through partnerships with other youth-serving organizations and schools including:
• Concord Public Schools
• Essex County Sheriff’s Department’s Youth Leadership Academy
• Hamilton-Wenham Public Schools
• Immaculate Conception School
• Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center
• Jumpstart Youth Connection
• Lakota Youth Stay
• Newburyport High School SPED post-graduate program
• Newburyport Learning Enrichment Center
• Newburyport Montessori School
• Newburyport Public Schools
• Newburyport Youth Services
• Pine Hill Waldorf School & High Mowing School
• River Valley Charter School
• The Malcolm Coates Prep @ Pingree Program
• Triton Regional Public Schools