Our 8th Graders are Going to Love This!

Over Fall Break, Mr. Roberts scoped out a destination for the capstone trip of our outdoor education program, Monticello Outside. This trip will be for 8th graders, which means Highbury students will be able to attend this year, and we hope to extend the program to future years so that this year’s West Point 7th graders will go there in 2027.

It’s looking like the destination will be….[drum roll, please]:

Southern Utah’s Boulder/Escalante Region!

The idea came from the fact that Headwaters Ranch—our source for the grass-fed, grass-finished beef we use in our lunch program—is in Boulder, Utah. Our nutrition director, Hayley Gosselin, connected Mr. Roberts with the rancher, who loved the idea of bringing students to the ranch.

In addition to students learning about sustainable agriculture and doing some volunteer work on the ranch to give back to the operation that has helped sustain them, Ron Johnson and Brandie Hardman, the owners of the ranch, will help connect the students to many local learning and adventure opportunities:

• Canyoneering (spectacular slot canons)
• Astronomy (incredible night skies there, with a forest ranger who brings telescopes and teaches an amazing program)
• Ecology (the ranch has been recolonized by over 100 beaver, who are transforming the environment)
• Music (there is a professional recording studio that our student may be able to use)
• And more…

We’re looking a four-day, three-night camping adventure. Stay tuned for more details! A few pics from the trip:

Lower Calf Creek Falls

Slot canyons

Area reclaimed by beaver

Canyon country

Ranch donkey