CHARLTON, Mass. - If you grew up in New England, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Nature’s Classroom. The week-long program gets kids out of school and into the woods for an educational adventure, and this weekend, it’s celebrating 50 years.

The program’s HillTop campus in Charlton welcomed in hundreds of former teachers and students for a weekend camp-out celebration, which included many of the hands-on outdoor activities that have made the program so special for campers over the years.

Lesleigh Drake, Director of Organizational Development for Nature’s Classroom, said plans for the event had been in the works for most of the past year.

“We have over 400 guests attending through the decades from Washington, California, some came from Scotland,” Drake said. “Going into this event, we just wanted get everyone together. People are tearing up over their memories of being at Nature’s Classroom and working here and how inspired they were when they were here.”

Former teachers like Morgan Laird told us Nature’s Classroom is a field trip destination unlike any other, and they learned about themselves as much as students did.

“Some of these people, they’re the reason I became a teacher, they’re the reason I work with kids,” Laird said. “When my life really didn’t have direction, they’re the ones who kind of threw me on a path and let me figure out my own direction.”

The concept began as a peaceful retreat where students can break from the monotony of classroom education and learn by doing. There’s also a big focus on social and personal growth.

Abby Morgan was a camper in the late 1980s, and returned as a teacher.

“I just remember it as being a really fun five days and just changing how education could be,” Morgan said. “Now, I’m a fifth grade classroom teacher and see the more you can make something hands on and experiential, the more kids latch on to it.”

And as the years have gone on, other former teachers believe the peaceful solitude of nature has become even more important for today’s kids.

“Sometimes, for the first time, teachers tell us students come out of their own shell during this week,” said Cesar Vecerra. “Let’s face it, they’re surrounded by technology, so they come out here and it’s kind of a detox.”

50 years later, Nature’s Classroom has stayed true to the mission, and thinking back to that first season, founder Dr. John Santos never imagined it would still be going strong today.

“Half the time, in the morning, kids are in the woods and almost immediately they start complaining - too many bugs. But in the afternoon, we got into this situation where we asked kids what they wanted to take and gave them a variety of things to choose from,” Santos said. “They keep giving me a lot of credit and I keep pointing out that no, I am an administrator who is gutsy enough to let instructors, teachers, do their thing.”

Nature’s classroom teachers value their role as mentors, and as they teach students everything from how to tie knots to how to dissect a frog, they find ways to help students build a sense of community with each other.

Ralph Kirshner, now 75, has been involved with Nature’s Classroom for 49 years.

“Just the fact that so many people are showing up today shows it had a lot of impact on a lot of people, not just former teachers, but a lot of these teachers are former students,” Kirshner said.

Building that camaraderie comes naturally for the staff, as they’re a tight-knit community themselves.

“It was a second family is what I called them,” Laird said. “These guys were a second family to me. They took care of me when I was sick… They were always there, always looking out for me so I would say community and family is what I got from working at Nature’s Classroom.”

For more information on the 50th anniversary of Nature’s Classroom or to learn more about its program and mission, visit the official website.