Fueled in part by the phenomenal instruction and success of Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods, Muddy Sneakers has been a passionate labor of love for all who have come in contact with it. The basic premise: expeditionary learning incorporated into the standard course of study for public school fifth graders.
Truly distinctive parts are frequency--up to 12 trips into nearby wilderness areas during each school year--and field instructor to student ratios, which are roughly 1 to 10.
This fall Muddy Sneakers served 11 schools in western North Carolina and close to 900 students.
From a communications perspective, the challenge has been to develop a brand and a brand personality inventive and large enough to work with principals, teachers, parents, kids and funders and to present all aspects of the initiative in super relevant and understandable ways.
Many thanks to Tripp Tuttle (http://www.quipcreative.com/) who teamed with me and others to congeal the look and feel of this non-profit, render a stage one web site (muddysneakers.org) and a steady stream of pieces for expositions and fund-raising events. If the kids' response to Muddy Sneakers is any indication, we have an excellent chance of modeling a good and proper, sure-fire remedy for nature deficit disorder.
I'm especially grateful to Sandy Schenck and John Huie who asked me to be a part.
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