Strawtown Art & Garden Studio

In our Summer program, children explore outdoors, build dwellings, pick berries, play games and make art with natural materials in a small group setting. They have time to observe different plants and animals and get to know them. We guide children through artful questioning of the world, where we often make first-time discoveries. This is what kids love so much about Strawtown – it’s always new and exciting.
Our nature, art and science program is truly engaging all day long.

Children spend their days at our scenic location at the base of Hook Mountain on the Hudson River, called Marydell Faith & Life Center. At this exceptional place, where meadow, woods, river and mountain meet there is a rich diversity of life to discover. It offers splendid outdoor play spaces for adventuring and nature immersion. With all of this plus our endless artful pursuits, every child is filled with the joy of creative possibility all day long.

Our staff are specially trained as artists, educators, and naturalists. A high staff-child ratio assures individual attention. Like all Strawtown programs, our Summer program follows our philosophy of Nature-Connected education.

In a Strawtown Community Workshop participants of all ages enjoy one another’s company while drawing inspiration from nature and learning creative skills. Workshops center around a theme in nature, and incoporate both scientific learning and artistic expression with natural materials.

With Strawtown everyone is an artist. We provide all materials, instructive guidance, and take care of setup and cleanup. Workshops are offered for all ages, and can be a one-time event or a series.

Community Programs are designed for:
Festivals, Nature Centers, Special Events, Scouts, Healing Groups, and Staff Development

The “Meet Your Creek” Program offers hands-on outdoor art and natural science experiences for local youth and their families. A goal of the program is to introduce the young people to their local waterways, from where they begin at their headwaters, to where they flow through urban environments. Participants are engaged in activities that allow them to “get to know” the significant role their waterway plays in the local watershed. They learn about the natural wonders as well as the human impact from development and pollution, and what we can do to help restore and protect the water and their habitats.

Strawtown Studio started offering facilitator trainings so that more people could bring the powerful nature-based art experiences to their own learning groups. This training is designed for all who are looking to bring children into a natural, holistic world of learning: teaching artists / creatives, educators / facilitators, parents / grandparents, homeschoolers, and community center leaders.

Participants learn how to integrate the worlds of nature, art and science into fascinating lessons that keep children’s authentic love of learning alive. A goal of the program is for them to return to their learning group, classroom, organization, or family inspired with new perspectives, practices, materials, tools and a deeper connection with the natural world. They also gain on-going support from the teaching network

The Strawtown Facilitator Training Covers:
-Introduction to the Strawtown principles and methods
-Developing nature appreciation and seeing the world through an artistic lens
-Orienting for place-based education
-Setting up outdoor studios and bringing nature into the home/classroom
-Establishing safety practices
-Encouraging children’s curiosity, skills, and discoveries
-Mentoring children through attentive teaching and dialogue
-Harvesting natural materials and combining with fine art supplies, tools and techniques
-Cultivating creative community relationships