I have always been an advocate for things that cannot speak for themselves. When a one hundred-foot white pine tree was being cut down in my backyard, my first-grade self stared out the window and cried while it was being cut down.

When thousands of little orange starfish washed up along the coast of the Atlantic one summer, I stayed hours past dark throwing as many of these   tiny creatures back into the ocean  because the thought of letting them dry up on the sand made my stomach hurt.

I can’t quite explain why the natural world has such a hold on me. It is embarrassing to acknowledge that I will tear up watching the classic, Old Yeller, but not shed a tear when watching Titanic.

Naturally, no pun intended, once I discovered Conserve School, I had no doubt in my mind that here was the place where I belonged and where people felt about nature the same way that I did.

When people ask me what Conserve School is, I always have to take a moment to gather my thoughts, since it is so much more than its basic definition. In the simplest of terms, the Conserve School is a one-semester program designed specifically for sophomores and juniors. Its mission is to inspire students to take action towards environmental stewardship through academics and engagement with the forests, lakes, and wildlife of the school’s Lowenwood campus.

Yet, there is so much more to the school that a basic definition.  I understand  that what I am about to say is cliché, but, for me, Conserve School was the closest thing to a high school utopia that a student can get.

Each morning at Conserve when my alarm would go off, I would jump out of bed ready to tackle another “school” day. All the students felt the same way. Strange, but everyone really WANTED to learn the material being taught everyday. Students were passionate about what there was to learn.

In four months, I learned how play ukulele, knit, win a chess game against the boy who taught me how to play, make a sun dial, and write music–just from the friends I made while there.

When I imagined Conserve School in my head before I left, I had thought that I was going to have so much in common with other students, because I believed it took a specific type of person to seek out a school like this. I was completely wrong, but in the best way possible.

Interest-wise, everyone had a common passion to leave the world a little bit better than the way we found it. However, in every other aspect, each person was exceptionally unique.

In retrospect, how could I have expected a boy from the heart of Miami and a home-schooled boy who lives in rural New Jersey to be similar people? Although everybody was different; it never created a boundary between anyone. Actually, it allowed everyone  to become exposed to so many different people from all different walks of life.

I can whole-heartedly report that  I have best friends in Connecticut, New Mexico, California, Vermont, and virtually everywhere in between. I now have a great excuse to visit those places as well.

Classes at Conserve School  are another story entirely. On our first day of school, we learned the importance of fun. In retrospect, I can without a doubt, say that I learned so much in my one semester. The only way convey this in writing is to try to explain that learning felt nothing like learning because, for most of my day, my classroom was a 1,200-acre forest.

For history class, we studied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, made our own dugout canoe, and then got to take it on the lake for a class period. For English class, we read Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”  huddled around a fire on a frozen lake with the temperature below 15 degrees.

I learned how to make a quinzhee (snow igloos), track animals, snowshoe in the forest,  tap trees for maple syrup, and speak confidently in front of hundreds of people,. Most importantly, however, I discovered that learning doesn’t have to be a chore.

When I explain my time there, people will often ask me how Conserve School could even be considered a “real school.” Honestly, I had to ask myself that question every so often as well. When study hours were canceled to go to the top of the sledding hill and watch the Northern Lights, I couldn’t help but look at the person next to me and say, “This is where we go to school?…”

Conserve School is also a boarding school, and I cannot deny the fact that going away for four months made me a little uneasy. I was afraid to fall behind at Regina, lose touch with some of my closest friends, and get homesick while stuck in the middle of the North Woods. To be completely honest, as I was making final preparations the night before I was supposed to leave, I sat on my bed and imagined different scenarios in my head.

One scenario was me receiving a call from the head master of the school, in which he explained that he understands going away is not for all people, and if I wished to withdraw now, it would be totally acceptable. Yet, here’s the crazy part—at that very moment, if someone had told me I didn’t have to go, I wouldn’t have gone. I didn’t understand why I put myself in this position…I thought to myself, Everything is going my way here, why did I even sign myself up for this? I’m going to a school in the middle of nowhere with 59 kids I don’t know whatsoever…

Looking back, those thoughts actually make me laugh out loud. Conserve School was truly the best thing that ever happened to me—I got the opportunity to allow my interest for environmental sciences turn into a passion with a group of the most beautiful and unique human beings I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. For this reason and so many more, Conserve School will always hold a special place in my heart.

Note: Conserve School recruits sophomores and juniors to study for one semester at their Lowenwood campus in Wisconsin. Interested students can visit their website for additional information and application.