Why Kroka for your school?

Challenging and enriching, Kroka school programs strengthen the class community and bring learning alive. Working closely with our school partners and the land, we create unique wilderness journeys that integrate expedition travel, community service, farming, crafts, and experiential academic discovery. This is not your typical field trip: we embrace risk, we welcome discomfort, and we shed the layers between ourselves and the natural world. Students return with newfound confidence and a new light in which to view themselves, their classmates, and their unique role in the world.

We offer three main types of programs:

Basecamp Programs

Basecamp programs are suitable for any grades, and can range from 3-7 days in length. Students stay at the Kroka Farm and Village engaging in teamwork through rock climbing, canoeing, whitewater rafting, orienteering, farm work, service projects, and crafts. Programs over 4 days in length culminate in a “mini-expedition” or rite of passage activity.

Curriculum-Integrated

Curriculum-integrated programs take many forms and often include some time at the basecamp and some time on expedition. They center around accomplishing specific curriculum goals of the class including geology, ecology, history, or literature. Curriculum elements are taught either by a class teacher or Kroka staff.

Expedition Programs

Expedition programs begin and end at the basecamp where students spend a day preparing food and equipment for the journey. From here, groups travel to wilderness areas for 4-10 day journeys by canoe or backpack. At the end of the journey, the group returns to the basecamp for a celebratory dinner and conclusion.

Click here to view all sample itineraries

"My students had exactly the powerful and transformative experience I hoped they would. They were challenged just the right amount and fell in love with the world around them." -Sarah Maika, Honolulu Waldorf School

A day in the life on a Kroka program:

Time

Expedition

Basecamp

6:00AM 
Wake up, morning song and stretching
Wake up, morning song and stretching
6:30AM 
Morning chores around camp and packing for the days travel
Morning chores on the farm or in the village
8:00AM
Breakfast cooked over the open fire
Breakfast cooked over the open fire
9:00AM
Sit spot for quiet contemplation
Taking down camp
9:30AM
Daily adventure: traveling to a new destination, hiking or canoeing…
Daily adventure: Traveling to a local treasure, rock climbing, caving, navigating through the forest
12:30PM
Lunch break on the trail or river
Lunch break
4:00PM
Arrival at camp, camp set up followed by games, exploring, journaling, and cooking dinner
Returning from the days adventure to swim in the pond, play games in the field, journal and cook dinner
5:30PM
Dinnertime! Hot, abundant, nourishing…
Dinnertime! Hot, abundant, nourishing…
7:00PM
Evening meeting: daily reflection and sharing
Evening meeting: daily reflection and sharing
8:00PM 
Reading story or stargazing
Reading story or stargazing
9:00PM
Evening song, teeth brushing, settling in for bed
Evening song, teeth brushing, settling in for bed

Our classroom is one without walls where learning is alive and lessons are real.

Our program itineraries reflect over 30 years of experience designing and leading unique wilderness journeys in the United States, Eastern Canada, and Ecuador. Our experienced instructors give students practical tools for sustainable living, while handing them real responsibility and guiding them through a rite of passage in the wilderness.

Programs are authentic wilderness experiences.

At Kroka, students take responsibility for the work of daily living. They learn the rhythms of making and taking down camp each day. They gather firewood, draw water from the stream, and cook on an open fire. Students learn to tell time by the sun and sleep under the stars at night. Traveling at the pace of the natural world connects students to the earth and gives them greater awareness of their classmates and themselves.

Expeditions strengthen your class community.

Living and traveling in nature requires commitment and cooperation within the group. As individuals face challenges, they learn to rely on each other and offer one another physical and emotional support. Under the guidance of Kroka staff and the class teacher students become effective communicators and problem solvers, and develop a work ethic. These lessons translate directly into daily life in the classroom.

Unplugging from technology grounds students in the experience.

At Kroka we require students to leave their phones and other devices behind and ask that even teachers refrain from their use on the program. In this day and age of invasive and pervasive technology it is more important now than ever to get young people outside and connect with each other, themselves and the lessons of the wilderness. Leaving our phones and technology behind and immersing ourselves in wild places, gives us the opportunity to live in the moment and focus on what is real. 

Integrating your curriculum allows for deeper learning.

Our instructors can integrate your curriculum goals into a Kroka trip. Our instructors can weave in lessons on ecology, natural history, sustainability, and more. In addition, our programs deepen students’ social emotional learning goals.