Field Program

Since 2003, the Marie L Haberl School Outreach Program: Three Seasons at Heart Lake has been transforming the lives of fourth-grade students by bringing them to the outdoors and the outdoors to their classrooms.

Our field program has three components: classroom visits, journals, and field visits. All are designed in conjunction with teachers to help meet classroom goals and are aligned with New York State Learning Standards.

Every fall, winter, and spring, ADK educators go into the classrooms of participating schools to engage students on topics such as Leave No Trace; outdoor preparedness; the region’s natural and cultural history; and skills such as map-making.

After the classroom introduction, students visit ADK’s Heart Lake Program Center, just outside of Lake Placid, NY. Here students get to try seasonal activities such as snowshoeing on Heart Lake and hiking Mt Jo to see the fall colors. Students keep a field journal throughout to deepen their understanding of each lesson. At the end of year, there is a wrap-up visit where students reflect on what they learned during the program.

This program is available to teachers and schools. ADK can also provide custom outreach programs to schools and other groups. Please contact our team to learn more.

Online Program

In our online program—Bringing Heart Lake to Your Backyard—we share five videos each season that employ science, beauty, wonder, and humor to highlight observable natural phenomena and encourage students to explore right in their backyards. The videos are accompanied by a nature journal and activities that support the fourth-grade curriculum and help students engage with the outdoors.

We use examples that students can experience wherever they are to reinforce New York’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We hope to inspire students with the beauty of their world and foster a desire to protect it. The Leave No Trace principles are infused throughout the program and provide students with tangible steps they can take to protect the places they love.

This program is available to teachers, homeschool educators, and anyone else looking for outdoor education resources for fourth graders. Click here to register now.