Brunswick’s campus in Randolph, Vt., opened last week to welcome its first group of Upper School students for eight days of off-campus wilderness-education and applied-classroom-learning in the field.
The campus sits on more than 600 acres of wilderness, hiking trails, and open fields in central Vermont, offering lodging, meeting rooms, a dining hall, and, most important, space — land, woods, streams, and nature in its abundance.
Two groups of 10th-grade students and their advisors, along with three senior leaders, traveled by Amtrak’s “Vermonter” to the campus for the experiential education program — which included a hike to the summit of Mount Mansfield, volunteering at a goat farm and with a local trail organization, small construction projects, and camping in the woods. Participants also planned and cooked their own meals.
“The boys accomplished much together and shared laughs, a few tears, and many miles on the trail,” said Danny Dychkowski, the program’s director. “After a full week on campus, all of the boys had a desire to stay longer — some even wishing to complete an entire semester here.