PUNISHMENT OR REHABILITATION?
These professionals believe we should be focusing on bringing out the good
in wayward students by taking nature hikes.
The high school students were breaking rules â skipping class, talking back to teachers or using their phones when they werenât
allowed. They got detention, meaning they would sit in a classroom for a few hours after school.
Leslie Trundy, a Maine high school counselor and avid hiker, was excited to offer students an option to hike instead. Some students
were less enthusiastic.
âI kind of thought it would be boring,â sophomore Alexander Soto said.
âWhy would I even want to hike?â junior Elsie Nelson-Walling recalled thinking. âI could just sit here at school and just wait it out.â
But after their first hikes
â smelling pine trees, listening to birds chirping and discussing their lives â they realized hiking wasnât so bad. In fact, they found it actually improved their moods.
The detention hikes on trails near Morse High School in Bath, Maine, started in October 2024 and have continued this fall.
âPeople seem really different in a good way at the end,â Trundy told The Washington Post. âKids have even expressed it to me. Theyâve said, like, âThat was really awesome, thank you.â ⊠Even if theyâre not as vocal about it, I can tell that theyâre in a better place.â
Amy McDonnell, a postdoctoral research fellow in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Utah, said spending time outdoors improves mental and physical health, decreases stress and enhances focus. Plus, making in-person friendships is a predictor of strong physical and mental health...READ MORE
