November 2, 2022:
Merck Forest and Farmland (MFF) at night is nature's perfect place to play Manhunt. One or two kids are granted a reprieve to find a spot where they can hide deep in the woods. The rest of Mettawee Community School's sixth graders set out to find them. “It’s kind of like hide and seek, but in reverse,” explains one student. “Instead of one person looking for everyone, everyone looks for one or two people.”
Manhunt was just one of many things to do on the Mettawee Sixth Grade overnight camping expedition to Merck. Once an annual and much-loved ritual at Mettawee, the outing had been tabled since 2019 because of the Covid Pandemic. “I was in third grade the last time this trip was made,” said one observant and motivated Mettawee camper. “We had to make up for the others lost fun.”
It began — as do most school adventures — with a bus ride. Once they got to the farm, the students worked as a team to help clear out invasive species of plants, such as honeysuckle, that would otherwise overrun natural growth. After a few hours of work, the kids hiked for four miles along the trails to their rustic campsite, featuring wooden lean-to’s and an open pit for cooking food.
These overnight trips represent an opportunity for many non-academic life learning lessons. For instance, the campers had crammed their backpacks with sweaters, socks, pants, flashlights, and blankets, cards, games, bottles of water and way more. Many carried a sleeping bag, too, schlepping it on their trek to the mountain campsite. “Most of us packed too much stuff,” said one student. “That bag gets real heavy real quick.
From the physical to the cerebral.
“I’ve been going to school with my classmates for years, but on the overnight I discovered that you never really know someone until you really spend time with them outside of school,” added another student. ``Especially when there are no TV’s and cell service.”
Initially, the kids feared a few hours without a cellphone far more than insects, porcupines and bears. But they got over it faster than anyone believed possible.
One student: “It was good to just have a normal conversation with friends. When there’s nothing else to do, you can always talk.”
Another: “Looking up at a full moon from on top of the mountain is something I won’t forget.”
And, finally, these life lessons from three young philosophers:
“I learned I didn’t need my cell phone to survive.”
“Don’t leave your socks outside overnight. They get cold and wet in the morning.”
“It’s great not needing to brush your teeth.”
A pre-dawn wake-up call on a chilly morning made the hot chocolate taste that much better. Another two hour hike to the bus, then. back to school and then home. “I couldn’t wait to take a long hot shower and an early nap.”
Not your typical day at school, but one you won’t forget.
