Participants say experiential education creates lasting learning, urge classroom integration

For participants on a multi-day outdoor field session, experiential education was more than a method — it was "a way of life," they said. They described learning as a full-body, sensory experience that ties classroom topics to real-world relationships and local people, and several speakers urged bringing more hands-on programs into public schools and involving classroom teachers. Participants said experiential education matters because it helps students build lasting memories and empathy that classroom lectures alone do not produce. "For me, experiential education is, really a way of life," said Participant 1, participant. Participant 6 added: "To me, the difference between experiential learning and the traditional academic sense is just total body submersion." Speakers described multiple concrete benefits. Participant 17 contrasted textbook facts with sensory memory: "I can't hardly remember a single fact out of a textbook sitting in school, but I remember so many minute details because I'm here and I'm smelling it and hearing it and feeling it." Participant 12 urged bringing classroom teachers into field experiences but noted budget limits: "Building on that, I'd like to get existing classroom teachers involved in the thrills of of experiential education because many of them, you know, are really restricted by lack of funds to be able to do this." Participant 2 noted the program's longevity: "They've been doing this for, like, 5 years now." Several speakers said field contact with local people — ranchers, landowners and residents — deepened understanding of environmental issues. "All the people that we've had a chance to meet so far, the ranchers...to actually come out and talk to the people who, these things directly affect and look them in the eye and just hear firsthand, you know, their struggles is a really amazing" said Participant 10. Participant 11 emphasized the two-way value of those conversations: "We need to be understood and we're not being understood...I wanna talk to the guys who don't have any idea what we do." Speakers recommended actions rather than formal policy changes: involve K–12 teachers in field programs, secure funding to support teacher participation, and encourage policymakers to visit sites. "I just kinda wish the the policy makers who are deciding the fate of natural resources would get out here more instead of sit behind desks all the time," Participant 2 said. The session included varied examples of experiential learning — wildlife observation, geology and direct conversation with affected residents — and participants described those experiences as personally transformative even when they contradicted prior assumptions. Several urged schools to expand alternatives for students who do not thrive under standard classroom methods. No formal decisions, votes or endorsements were recorded during the session; the remarks reflect participant observations and recommendations only.