There was heavy snow on the ground the morning of the Thinkering Fellowship kickoff. Garrett Wilhelm was outside before anyone arrived. Clearing paths. Moving cars so educators could get into the building safely. Founder, Possibility Architect, & Valet - all in one day.
Inside, something else was being cleared. Educators were discovering that many of them were working with similar passions and goals in outdoor learning.
Here’s a look behind the scenes.
The Winter Outdoor Learning Cohort did not launch in a district office. It happened at Creative Gardens, an early childhood learning center. The educators sat in small chairs at child-sized tables. They leaned forward. They laughed more. They looked different in those seats.
When adults lower themselves into the physical space of children, perspective shifts.
Outdoor learning begins there. Not with curriculum. With posture.
This Is Momentum, Not a Pilot
This is the second cohort to emerge from the Outdoor Learning Partnership between Loudoun County Public Schools and Thinkering Collective.
The first round proved something simple and powerful. When educators are given time, trust, and thoughtful mentorship, they build boldly. They design projects rooted in place. They rethink how students experience school.
This winter cohort builds on that foundation. It is not an experiment. It is not a one-off initiative. It is continuation.
Loudoun is not asking if outdoor learning works. It is investing in how to deepen it.
The Silos We Don’t See
Midway through the session, two fellows discovered something unexpected. They had worked in the same school building for years. They had never met.
Same hallway. Same students. Different silos. The fellowship brought them into the same room. Outdoor learning was the entry point. Connection was the breakthrough.
Innovation does not stall because educators lack ideas. It stalls because they rarely have structured space to find one another.
Start With the Why
Evin did not begin with logistics. He began with a question. Why did you become an educator? Why are you still here?
Then he said it plainly:
“I think in education today, everyone’s talking about the how… but somewhere along the line, we lose that why, which is, we’re human.”
Outdoor learning is not enrichment. It is not a field trip strategy. It is a return to being human in school. To curiosity. To movement. To learning that touches the real world.
The Numbers Are Not Subtle
The data was direct.
“Eighty-five percent of teachers feel their voices are never heard.”
“Teacher attrition has doubled.”
“Forty-four million teachers will be needed globally by 2030.”
Then came the line that reframed the room:
“Something has to give.”
This cohort is not about adding more to educators’ plates. It is about redesigning what is already there.
Imagine Without a Ceiling
At one point, Evin made something clear:
“There’s no limitation here. We want the craziest ideas of how do we change and impact education.”
No one opened with budget concerns. No one led with approval chains. They talked about outdoor classrooms. Environmental literacy. Mental health. Interdisciplinary projects. Community partnerships. When imagination is not interrupted by constraints in the first sentence, it expands.
Teacher Agency Before Student Agency
Noa Daniel Builds Outside the Blocks grounded the conversation in something deeper.
“My work in student agency really taught me so much about teacher agency.”
Student voice grows from adult permission. If educators do not feel trusted to design, students will not feel trusted to explore.
She added:
“If we can look at time in a way where we can have more control over how we use our time… that is so important.”
Outdoor learning demands that kind of control. It requires collaboration. It requires time used differently. It requires educators who feel ownership over their design.
This Is Not the Traditional Fellowship
The broader Thinkering Fellowship supports educators across the country on a wide range of innovation themes. This partnership with LCPS is different. It is district-embedded. Outdoor-specific. Built to strengthen Loudoun from within. The goal is not individual spotlight. The goal is ecosystem strength.
Infrastructure, Not Enrichment
Outdoor learning is not being treated as an optional layer. It is being treated as infrastructure. Infrastructure for movement. For belonging. For environmental literacy. For interdisciplinary work. For deeper engagement.
When districts make that shift, culture changes. Educators begin to see space differently. Students begin to experience learning differently.
This cohort is underway. As are others focused on any dream project you can imagine.
Below, we will share recent capstone projects from our fall outdoor learning partnership with LCPS and continue telling the story of what is taking shape this winter.
If this is something you want at your school, or if you want to join a future fellowship cohort, reach out through the link below.
Humanizing education is not a solo act. It is collective.
You’re needed here.
