When students are provided with the opportunity to show up as themselves, it’s a quick transition to newly formed friendships and community interactions. A more cohesive class and student body lead to an increase in academic performance. Outdoor education grows community and with that, helps to strengthen the relationships between students. It’s worth mentioning the increase in school performance simply due to helping a student become more confident. It brings the natural world out from behind the screen of a tablet and puts it directly into students’ hands where they can feel it, smell it, and truly experience it. Where some may struggle in a classroom, they will excel with their hands in the dirt. There are so many opportunities for hands-on activities that engage all of the senses and appeal to students with various learning styles. The outdoors provides a completely different arena for multiple styles of learning. It’s not just about increasing students’ ability to pay attention though. This leads to an increase in retention and therefore better performance. Students that have consistent outdoor activity are much more attentive than when they are indoors all day long. While there are hundreds of reasons why, here are a few that show up at the top. As urban sprawl and technology updates continue to dominate the world, we need to fight more than ever to get our students outside. Schools are feeling the benefits of outdoor education. Some places make Outdoor Education a mandatory part of schooling for all youth, and some schools push for these trips on their own. There are countless Outdoor Education programs around the world and more are popping up each year. The outdoors is a different kind of classroom where several subjects are being taught in new and different ways. Yes, there’s a lot about plants and trees, but there’s so much more to be explored. Contrary to popular belief, outdoor education utilizes state and national standards for education and it doesn’t just teach kids about plants and trees. Outdoor education, or nature-based learning, utilizes the outdoors to teach students a variety of different topics. Essentially, when students get outside, their lives get better and communities become stronger because of it. Outdoor education is on the rise across the world, and as we watch our young students experience the outdoors more often, we are also seeing a positive trend in just about every category of well-being.