Muddy Sneakers

For Students

Your life as a Muddy Sneaker:students1

To start with, you don’t have to have muddy sneakers to be a Muddy Sneaker but there is at least a chance that the shoes you’re wearing may get wet, squishy and/or muddy. Why? Because soon enough you’ll be off on an outdoor adventure with your classmates in the middle of:

  • Rocks and boulders
  • Springs and creeks
  • Rushing water and waterfalls
  • Hills and banks
  • Forest paths
  • Birds and animals
  • Plants and flowers
  • Bugs
  • Frogs
  • You get the idea…

There are six to twelve Muddy Sneaker bus trips during your school year in which you’ll have a chance to meet a lot of new creatures, find out a lot about how nature works, use a lot of creative tools like writing, math and imagination and hear a ton of interesting stories about the mountains.

Your teacher and your field naturalist have a lot more to tell you but, for now, a hardy welcome to the world of Muddy Sneakers!

What to Bring on a Muddy Sneakers Learning Expedition

Please note: Students will share a Muddy Sneakers backpack with a partner. The packs are small, so it helps to have one student empty his or her backpack to help carry what will not fit in the Muddy Sneakers backpack. The Muddy Sneakers pack contains a compass, measuring tape, magnifying glass, sitting pads, maps, and other supplies relevant to the topic students are studying on any given day.

students2Every Muddy Sneaker student, teacher, parent, and chaperone should bring:

  • A lunch, preferably without lots of packaging since you’ll have to carry your garbage
  • Two bottles of water
  • A rain poncho or waterproof rain jacket
  • A warm jacket/sweatshirt, no matter the weather
  • Comfortable walking shoes
  • A “Field Journal Kit” – consisting of a small notebook and pen or pencil in a ziplock baggie. This Field Kit should come into the field each time a student goes on a Muddy Sneakers Learning Expedition.
  • A smile and eagerness to be outdoors all day!

Please do not bring:

  • Cell phone, iPods, or anything electronic
  • Flip flops
  • Fishing gear
  • Dogs or other pets
  • Soda
  • Gum

Suggestions from Muddy Sneakers field instructors:students3

Wearing clothes that dry quickly (not cotton clothing) often makes being outdoors more fun. Wind pants or synthetic “running/warm-up pants” are great.

Only bring what’s on the list of things to bring; carrying extra stuff throughout the day will make your pack heavier.