Let us show you our remarkable natural classrooms

Are you a teacher looking for an out-of-school experience that will inspire, challenge, and offer a unique learning experience to your students?

Deer Hill works with schools from across the country in the spring and fall months, designing programs that offer students the opportunity to expand their hearts and minds, test their bodies, and succeed in ways they may never have before. Whether you are looking for a special adventure to celebrate your time together, or want a group orientation that will help bring your students together and teach better leadership, co-operation and decision-making skills, or you wish to provide a chance for students to engage in meaningful community service work, we can put together a blend of activities that will meet your needs. You can return to the classroom with new teamworking skills, the camaraderie that develops during an expedition, and all the new memories you all share.

The beauty of working with Deer Hill is that, within certain limitations, you can choose what, where, when and for how long. Let’s design a program together that suits your class, calendar, budget, and vision. Call our Outreach Director, Richard Malcolm on 970-533-7492, or send an email to richard@deerhillexpeditions.com, and we’ll discuss your options.

Schools we are working with in 2009/10 include: Campbell Hall School (North Hollywood, CA), Cedar Springs Waldorf School, Chicago Waldorf School (IL), Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO), Davis Waldorf School (Davis, CA), East Bay Waldorf School (CA), Eugene Waldorf School (OR), Four Winds Waldorf School (Warrenville, IL), High Mountain Institute (Leadville, CO), The Latin School (Chicago, IL), Lexington Waldorf School (MA), Live Oak Waldorf School (Meadow Vista, CA), Marin Waldorf School (CA), Mendocino Waldorf School (Ukiah, CA), Pasadena Waldorf School, Philadelphia Waldorf School (PA), Santa Fe Waldorf School, St George’s Independent School (Collierville, TN), Susquehanna Waldorf School (Marietta, PA), Tucson Waldorf School (AZ), Vistamar School (Los Angeles, CA), Waldorf School of the Peninsula (Los Altos, CA), and Westridge School (Pasadena, CA). We will be happy to provide you with recent teacher references for our program.

“In all of my travels and run-ins with guides and backcountry expeditionary learning programs, I have never met a staff that is as capable, responsive, flexible, and supportive as at Deer Hill. Your staff combined with your unique wilderness and service programs in such incredible locations make for one of the very best organizations that I have ever been involved with.” Derry Mason, Director of Outdoor Programs, The Lawrenceville School

Sample Itinerary: 9-day River and Service Program

Day 1: Fly into the Durango, Colorado airport where your Deer Hill field leaders will meet and drive you the short distance to Deer Hill Basecamp, a beautiful 130-acre facility, for outfitting and program orientation. After a delicious meal, we will hold our first Circle; a tradition of nightly sharing and listening that will set the stage for a successful expedition.
Day 2: Drive to the launch site at Sand Island, near Bluff, Utah. Together we’ll load the rafts and inflatable kayaks. Then, following an in-depth safety discussion, launch and begin navigating down the river.
Days 2-5: On the river! Take short hikes up the side canyons, float through stunning Comb Ridge, splash through the warm water rapids, enjoy the beautiful redrock scenery of sandstone walls and wind-sculpted rock, visit the fascinating and rarely visited River House Ancestral Puebloan ruin. In the afternoon, it’s back in the boats for a couple more hours of river travel. Around 4:00 pm, pull over and set up camp for the night. At the end of the day, when dinner and the dishes are done, we find a beautiful spot for Circle. We gather to reflect on the day’s activities and share our feelings about this incredible new environment and what it means to be a part of this group of people. Each night, we fall asleep to the gentle sounds of the river and a sky bursting with stars.
Day 5: Take out at Mexican Hat, Utah, and load the river gear. Later in the day, we drive to the Navajo or Hopi Nation later in the day, set-up camp and meet our service host. With Deer Hill, service in a Native American nation begins by building the foundations for a positive cultural experience. We take time to discuss appropriate etiquette, and talk about our views on service and Native Americans.
Days 5-8: Service project and cultural interaction with a native host family. Likely projects include fence repair and construction, building of ceremonial spaces, sheep corral building, hauling firewood for elders, building hand rails for walkways, improving earth dams, painting, rock work, agricultural work and many other tasks. We keep our work schedule flexible so we can join in local events such as basketball games with community youth, a fair or rodeo, or a ceremonial dance. In the evening, our host(s) may share a meal with us, tell stories about native traditions and history or possibly teach us a traditional skill.
Day 8: Later in the day the group drives back to Deer Hill Basecamp where we take hot showers and enjoy a cook-out banquet.
Day 9: On our final morning we will share a sweat lodge experience – a powerful Deer Hill tradition that will help bring closure to our program, followed by a tasty lunch. In the afternoon we will return you to the Durango airport.