Outdoor Education

The outdoors is part of how we teach

Experiential learning has been part of an RLC education since our founding. Like the educator Kurt Hahn, who inspired our founders, we believe purposeful experiences that challenge and engage students build resilience and strength of character. Some of life’s most important lessons can only be learned by doing.

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On the land and water

Students learn to paddle, navigate and travel safely in the backcountry. Along the way, they learn what it takes to keep going when the work is physically hard, and how good it feels to reach a goal they weren't sure they could. They also learn about the land they're travelling through: how local ecosystems are changing and how the geography of the region fits together.  

Just as often, ordinary classes move outside. A math class might work on the lawn on a sunny day, or an English class might discuss a novel by the water.

“Here, we're going out and building bush shelters, we're playing in the snow, we're going canoeing. Stuff that I would only see on TV. But now I'm doing it.”

^{Jeremy '24, United Kingdom, now studying Medicine at Brunel University London}

Outdoor classrooms across campus

Teachers use outdoor learning spaces all over campus, including a natural amphitheatre by the water and the Knot, a platform on a hill overlooking the lake.

Shorelines, our newest outdoor classroom, sits in the Outdoor Education Zone near the pond and climbing wall. It's named in memory of Bill Cole, a much-loved RLC English teacher.

“My favourite part of my morning is being able to start a fire in Shorelines and how disconnected from the rest of campus it is. You can really feel the forest and the outdoors all around you.”

^{Isaac, Grade 12, Turks & Caicos Island}

Out on the water

Students get out on the lake during classes and in their free time. Each school year begins with all-school outtrips in September, when every student and most staff head out on a five-day trip. Depending on the group, that might mean hiking or paddling in Algonquin Park or Massasauga Park, a voyageur canoe trip or kayaking on Georgian Bay. Older students can go further with courses like Expedition Leadership and Wilderness First Aid. When the lake freezes, students take to the trails on snowshoes and skis, and our snowboard terrain park opens on campus.

What it builds

Time outdoors teaches the skills employers increasingly look for. Students learn to solve problems and make good decisions when plans change, and they grow more resilient and more aware of the people around them. For nearly 60 years, outdoor learning has given RLC students a strong base for their studies, and for healthy, active lives after they graduate.