Norwich students gather in a wooded clearing for an outdoor lesson led by an instructor.

The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning

At Norwich, outdoor learning means more than moving a class outside. The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning uses Vermont's landscape as an active part of teaching, discovery, and academic work. Students learn through direct observation, field experience, discussion, writing, and applied inquiry at the Dog River, on Paine Mountain, and at nearby field sites.

More than an Outdoor Class

The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning is built around a simple idea: students learn with and from nature, not simply in it. The environment becomes part of the curriculum. Students encounter the subjects they are studying firsthand, use the landscape to generate questions and evidence, and bring those experiences back into discussion, analysis, and academic work.

For Fall 2026, that model comes to life through two connected general education courses in geology and writing. Students use River Camp along the Dog River, Mountain Camp on Paine Mountain, and off-campus field excursions to observe Vermont's natural history, develop ideas, and communicate what they discover.

Key Information:

Explore Current Courses

Meet the Faculty

Read about the School

Two Camps. One Connected Natural Environment.

Fall 2026 uses two on-campus outdoor learning locations as anchors for the cohort. At River Camp, students work in and around the Dog River, including water testing that connects geological observation with science writing. At Mountain Camp on Paine Mountain, students hike, study groundwater and landscape features, and return to a sheltered gathering space for discussion, writing, and reflection.

Off-campus excursions to nearby mines and geologic features extend the same model beyond campus, giving students additional places to observe, question, gather evidence, and connect geology with communication.

The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning is creating new ways for Norwich students to connect academic study with the landscapes around them. Fall 2026 brings that model to life through geology, writing, River Camp, Mountain Camp, and shared field experiences across central Vermont.

Illustration from 1926 Norwich Student newspaper of Cadet hiking with pack and rifle for Norwich University Outing Club

Continuing Partridge’s Vision

Since 1819, Norwich has approached education as something students practice as well as study. The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning carries that tradition forward through academic experiences that connect intellectual inquiry, physical engagement, and applied learning. The setting may be the Dog River, Paine Mountain, a mine, a trail, or another Vermont field site, but the purpose remains academic: learn through action, observation, and experience.

What Learning Looks Like Here

Explore firsthand

Work along the Dog River, on Paine Mountain, and at nearby field sites to encounter course material directly.

Observe, test, and measure

Use water, rocks, sediments, groundwater, and landscape features as evidence and inspiration, not scenery.

Connect disciplines

Carry geological observations and field experiences into persuasive writing, science writing, discussion, and communication.

Learn through place

Use River Camp and Mountain Camp as launch points for questions, investigation, reflection, and academic work.

Collaborate as a cohort

Share the same outdoor sites, field experiences, and connected coursework with other Fall 2026 participants.

Two Courses. One Connected Experience.

Fall 2026 students will take two general education courses designed to work together. Scientific observations and experiences in the Vermont landscape become material for inquiry, persuasive and science writing, discussion, and communication. Students may test river water at the Dog River, examine groundwater and landscape features on Paine Mountain, and explore nearby mines and geologic sites, then carry those experiences directly into their writing work.

Courses Offered: Geology and Landscape, and Writing

GL 120: Vermont Geology and Landscape Legacies

Faculty: Professor Laurie Grigg

Read the landscape.
The rocks and sediments beneath Vermont shape its mountains, rivers, groundwater, landscapes, and communities. GL 120 explores Vermont geology from mountain building and ice ages to rivers and groundwater, connecting science to society. As part of Outdoor School, the course is taught outside so students can observe, measure, and experience geology firsthand at the Dog River, on Paine Mountain, and during excursions to nearby mines and geologic features.

Discover it in GL 120. Communicate it in WRIT 110.

WRIT 110: Persuasive Writing in the Natural World

Faculty: Professor Sean Prentiss

Turn experience into influence.
The Outdoor School section of WRIT 110 focuses on the art of persuasion in the natural world while also drawing on science writing. Students learn how to make audiences care about ideas and move them toward action by working from experiences at River Camp, Mountain Camp, and field excursions. The course develops skills in audience awareness, stakeholder communication, persuasive expression, science writing, and storytelling, and connects directly to discoveries students make in GL 120.

How to Register

To register for the next session of Outdoor School, contact:

Amy Woodbury Tease

Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
Professor of English

802-485-2984
awtease@norwich.edu
401, Dewey Hall

Dewey Hall houses the School of Business & Management, which offers majors in accounting, computer science, computer security and information assurance, and management.

Learn From Faculty Who Know Nature

Dr. Laurie Grigg has taught geology and led students through the rocks and sediments of Vermont for more than two decades. Her peer-reviewed research uses lake sediments to reconstruct past ecosystems and climates, and she is active with statewide geology and conservation organizations. She brings deep field experience and a passion for using science to understand and protect the natural world.

Professor Sean Prentiss came to teaching through trail-crew work in the Pacific Northwest and Desert Southwest and brings extensive firsthand outdoor experience to the program. His field background includes more than 450 days living in a tent and long-distance hikes on the Colorado Trail and Long Trail. His books include the National Outdoor Book Award-winning memoir Finding Abbey, the poetry collection Crosscut, and the textbook Nature and Environmental Writing. He has taught at Norwich since 2012.

Laurie Grigg

Chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Associate Professor

Sean Prentiss

Professor

All Faculty & Staff

The Partridge School of Outdoor Learning

More than an Outdoor Class

Two Camps. One Connected Natural Environment.

Continuing Partridge’s Vision