Teacher Feature: Jedd Austin

Trinity Trails Connect Students To The Natural World

Written by: Jedd Austin
P.E. Teacher, Fast and Fit Instructor, Production Studio Manager

A feeling of freedom washes over you as you step onto the Trinity Trails. The fresh air, the sound of chirping birds, and the cool temperatures on the shady paths that meander through the forest all combine for a perfect escape from the busyness of our daily lives. As you venture deeper into Discovery Woods, hiking from one trail to the next, ducking under low-hanging branches, jumping over fallen trees, and tiptoeing across streams, your sense of wonder begins to come alive. Listening to the trickle of the babbling brook, skipping rocks on the water, watching butterflies flutter by, chasing frogs, digging in the dirt, and interacting with a diverse ecosystem, you can truly connect with the natural world right in Trinity’s backyard.

Our school’s mission is “to create a community of learners
in a diverse and distinctly elementary-only environment, in which each child develops the knowledge, skills, and character to achieve his or her unique potential as a responsible, productive, and compassionate member of the School and greater community.” We believe that becoming a responsible, compassionate community member involves developing a deeper connection with and respect for our natural world. As we prepare our students for the future, it is our duty to engage them in outdoor activities that help them to build a sense of responsibility, ownership, and respect for their environment, while simultaneously providing them with a range of joyful play-based experiences that deepen this connection.

Trinity School sits on a 43-acre property, most of which
is forest. Our wooded sanctuary in Buckhead gives Trinity students the sense that they’re deep in the wilderness, on
an exciting adventure, exploring uncharted territories. Imaginations run wild here; this natural playground provides our young adventurers with countless places to run, play, explore, and get their hands dirty. As students venture into Discovery Woods, they learn to adapt to new situations, developing their growth mindset and feeding their curiosity and excitement about the world around them. Peaceful and quiet, this unique place provides students with the opportunity to connect with themselves and the natural world.

I began teaching at Trinity in 2006 and still remember being blown away by the beauty of our campus. What particularly impressed me were the woods and the trail that looped through it. As a P.E. teacher, I would periodically take our kids out hiking or running on the single trail, sometimes doing multiple laps. It was a great way to be active, but there was something missing. I always thought about how much untapped potential was out there, how a whole trail system throughout the entire woods could benefit our students and the School.

So, over the past few years, I cleared a new network of pathways, expanding that single loop into more than a dozen trails, all interconnected, mapped out, and color-coded. This new web of hiking trails takes you throughout the woods,
up and down hillsides and across streams and the rolling landscape, providing a new range of opportunities for our young hikers and runners to explore.

In the spring of 2019, as a celebration of the newly built trail system, Trinity hosted a “Trail Day.” Participation was immense, with more than 300 Trinity students, parents, faculty, and
staff showing up to hike on the new pathways. This fun event brought more awareness to the vast, beautiful landscape right here on the Trinity campus.

I value the Trinity Trails as a priceless resource for our P.E. program, as it greatly expands options for outdoor areas where our kids can run and play. The steep hills, winding paths, and stream crossings provide our students with a great workout, give them a wide variety of obstacles to navigate, and help our growing athletes develop persistence and resiliency.

We also love to use these new trails with our running club, Fast and Fit, which is held every Monday after school. Our runners can’t get enough of this wild outdoor playground, participating in cross-country runs, hill-climb challenges, tag games, and a variety of stations. They have become accustomed to the steep hills, tricky terrain, and half a dozen creek crossings that are scattered throughout the woods.

Knowing that learning occurs naturally through play and hands-on experiences, base classroom and specials teachers at Trinity also value the Trinity Trails. The diverse ecosystems and intentional learning spaces found in Discovery Woods provide our teachers with increased options to incorporate the outdoors into their curriculum, helping to further deepen our students’ connection with nature.

For example, through her River Kids program, Fifth Grade Science Teacher Becky Maas has her students study freshwater ecosystems. Using the trails, they trek into the woods once a month to conduct tests and make sure our creek is healthy. These studies enable the Fifth Graders to experience real-life applications of their learning, performing basic water sampling tests that indicate freshwater health, such as dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, as well as nitrate and phosphate levels. Students also learn how to look for and identify macroinvertebrates, the tiny creatures that live in the creek that are sensitive to pollution and other environmental changes.

Scientific research confirms that playing in nature is essential for children and their growth. Numerous studies have been done on the benefits of getting children outside and into green spaces, concluding that consistent exposure to nature decreases stress and anxiety, elevates mood, and helps with self-regulation. One recent study
in Illinois found that even a 20-minute walk in the park led to a substantial attention boost. In short, playing outside in nature is good for children’s overall happiness and development. In a world of overexposure to screens, outdoor spaces—like the ones we have at Trinity—help bring balance into our students’ lives.

Discovery Woods is a magical, transformative place, and we are lucky to have this resource. The newly created Trinity Trails make it a little easier for students to access this rich sensory environment and engage their developing minds.

Written by: Jedd Austin
P.E. Teacher, Fast and Fit Instructor, Production Studio Manager