What & Who is Gather?

Feb 9, 20242 min read

Hi friends,

We get a lot of questions about who we are. We are a black-centered eco-forest school that offers an outdoorsy community, nature-based events, resources, and materials for children.

Black-centered, all our materials, books, events, and resources have black children in mind. We have created a space where black children feel liberated, safe, celebrated, and have a sense of belonging. We want adults to feel included (lol), but our primary focus is protecting and honoring the dignity of childhood.

We are a Forest school, not a:

Nature (or nature-based) school (30% minimum outdoors)
Farm school (on a farm)
Waldorf (outdoor free play)
Montessori (forming an outdoor environment with indoor)
A traditional school that meets outdoors (traditional classes outside)?
Or a preschool (we go up to "highschool")

All of these schools are wonderful & we have incorporated pieces of each of them in our flow, but we are a forest school. Forest schools are considered to be the most immersive type of outdoor education. Forest schools can be located in public parks, gardens, forests, etc. The key is the time; time spent indoors must be minimal during school hours. That's why you won't find many true-to-definition "forest schools" that go longer than four hours. Most don't meet daily. Risks such as exploration, independent play, and wandering must also be incorporated into the curriculum. At Gather, we spend 99.93% of our time outdoors.

Eco or environmental education, because our Gather curriculum is steeped in: