Outdoor Education
Mission Statement
At Dunn School, our Outdoor Education Program is dedicated to equipping students with the knowledge, confidence, and experience to ignite a lifelong passion for outdoor recreation. We aim to foster a deep sense of stewardship towards the natural world and build meaningful relationships within our community through challenging outdoor adventures.
Learning Outcomes
We achieve these goals through three key learning outcomes on each trip:
Skill Development
Our program uses a building block approach to outdoor living skills. Freshmen and sophomores start with basic skills like shelter building, first aid, and basecamping. By junior and senior years, these foundational skills evolve into more advanced techniques such as backpacking, orienteering, and water filtration.
Sense of Place
Students leave each location with a profound sense of place. They learn to identify local flora and fauna, understand the region's ecology and geology, and appreciate indigenous ways of life.
Reflective Practice
Evening meetings during our trips are sacred rituals for reflecting on core values. Students explore themes of human strength and weakness, virtue and vice, and overall team dynamics.
Progression by Grade
Our philosophy centers on a scaffolding approach, where each year builds on the skills and lessons learned from previous outdoor adventures. Here’s a glimpse of our grade-level trips:
- 6th-Graders — Begin their Dunn grade-level Outdoor Ed experience with a weeklong trip beach camping and exploring in Malibu.
- 7th-Graders — Spend a week in Pinnacles State Park, camping, rock climbing, and exploring caves.
- 8th-Graders — Culminate their Middle School experience with a week of base-camping, rock climbing and hiking in Joshua Tree National Park, a preview of the Junior year backpacking trip.
- Freshmen — Begin their high school journey with a basecamping trip in the stunning Los Padres National Forest.
- Sophomores — Venture to the Channel Islands for a week of basecamping, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, and habitat restoration.
- Juniors — Spend a week rock climbing and backpacking in the majestic Joshua Tree.
- Seniors — Culminate their outdoor education with a backpacking adventure in the pristine High Sierra backcountry of Yosemite National Park.
Winter Terms and Residential Life
Beyond the school year, our Winter Term offers technical outdoor learning opportunities for those seeking extra challenge. Students have embarked on expeditions to Big Sur, Death Valley, and Point Reyes, earned scuba certifications along the coast, ventured to Belize for two weeks of adventure, and mastered skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing at Northstar.
On weekends, we partner with the Los Padres Forest Association for trail maintenance outings, day hikes, stand-up paddleboarding lessons, surf trips, and overnight backpacking adventures. Our on-campus Indoor Climbing Wall is also a favorite among day and boarding students alike.
At Dunn School, the great outdoors is our classroom, where students grow, explore, and connect with nature and each other in breathtaking settings just a stone’s throw from our California campus.