“LET’S GO INTO THE WOODS!”: That’s what students at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart shouted as they took part in initial sessions of the new Forest Program last semester. (Photo by Stephen Harrington)

By Anne Levin

A new collaboration between Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart (PASH) and the nonprofit Ridgeview Conservancy gives new meaning to the term “taking it outside.”

Starting this fall, students at the private school on Great Road will be learning about everything from identifying trees and invasive species to outdoor survival skills, amid the 200 acres of forest and wetlands — recently preserved as open space by the municipality and a consortium of local land trusts — that surround the campus.

The program also extends to the public, who will be able to engage in presentations by international authorities in forest conservation, climate resilience, and environmental advocacy as well as artists and writers under Forest & Climate Training (FACT), an international initiative to empower the next generation of environmental stewards.

“We’re really enthused,” said Christopher Barr, executive director of the Ridgeview Conservancy. “It seems like such a win/win/win for Princeton Academy, the Ridgeview Conservancy, and the Princeton community itself. The school has an extraordinary resource that very few schools globally have access to. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for the school to bring the forest right into their curriculum.”

PASH, which serves boys from kindergarten through grade 8, is based in a former mansion designed in 1930 by architect Rolf Bauhan for Helen and Thomas Dignan. The Dignans owned the property until 1947, when it was sold to the Marianites of Holy Cross. The site was known as Our Lady of Princeton until it was sold to PASH in the late 1990s.

The new program’s “living laboratory” concept won’t be limited to science.

“We’ll be bringing it into math, history, and social studies,” said Barr. “We’re working with the teachers and students to help them learn about species on their campus and adjacent forest. We’re teaching them about the important history of the land, as well as geology, including when and how the Princeton Ridge was formed.”

Discussions about the program, which is the first in New Jersey to explore history, geology, climate change, and biodiversity as part of a comprehensive core curriculum for K-8 learners, started some 18 months ago when PASH formed a new board that Barr described as “transformational leadership.”

“They could see that the recent preserved land, most recently two parcels totaling 25 acres that are immediately between the school and woods, presented this unique opportunity,” said Barr. “They engaged us in a conversation about how they could use this in their educational programs.”

Co-founded in 2009 by Barr and Patricia Shanley, the Ridgeview Conservancy works to conserve vulnerable forests and wetlands, and educates youth and the public about these resources, as well as hidden histories that have been buried in the forest. Programs with Princeton High School students and other volunteers are a major part of their efforts.

“Today’s kids are the first to grow up with the threat of climate change, and they have no sense that they can do anything about it,” said Barr. “We’ve been running programs with high school students, and we’ve seen that they get engaged and empowered. They see that they can do something about these global issues.”

Under the partnership, the Conservancy will preserve approximately two-thirds of the open space on the PASH campus, protecting both the environment and cultural heritage of the property.

“Initiatives to bring students closer to nature are urgently needed to boost their ecological literacy, bolster their inner strength, and foster a sense of meaning and agency,” Shanley said in a press release on the program. “With energetic youth and 200 acres of conserved forests surrounding the campus, Princeton Academy is an outstanding partner for developing the Forest Program.”

PASH Head of School Kathy Humora expressed similar sentiments. “By engaging with the ecosystems surrounding our campus and learning from international experts, our students will develop a global perspective on forests and climate change and become proactive agents of environmental stewardship and social justice,” she said.