Muddy Sneakers

Muddy Sneakers serves North Carolina's 5th-grade public school students by introducing them to the wonders of the natural world by engaging them in experiential outdoor education aligned to North Carolina's essential science standards. Muddy Sneakers strives to cultivate in children a life-long love of nature and to do this in a way that enhances academic achievement, inspires the joy of living, and plants an understanding of the interconnectedness of all things. The 2022-2023 season marks Muddy Sneakers' sixteenth year of bringing an experiential format to teaching a 5th-grade science curriculum at participating public schools across the Mountain and Piedmont regions of North Carolina.

. Measurement results and feedback from students and teachers across both regions were as strong in 2022-23 as the organization has ever seen. With the aid of an annual measurement tool, created in collaboration with our long-time research partners at NC State University (who also process and report back on the data collected), the tool produced the following student findings: - 81% said Muddy Sneakers took them somewhere new half or all the time. - 67% of students wondered how nature works at least once per week after Muddy Sneakers, including 32% who wondered daily. - 82% of students said Muddy Sneakers made them understand science better. - 97% of teachers reported that Muddy Sneakers supports students' understanding of science. - 85% of teachers reported thinking Muddy Sneakers supports higher science test scores. - 84% of teachers said Muddy Sneakers supports students who often struggle in the classroom. - 89% of teachers said Muddy Sneakers builds critical thinking skills. - 74% of teachers said Muddy Sneakers helps students focus and learn better in the classroom. - 87% of teachers said Muddy Sneakers helps students build relationships with peers they may not connect with in the classroom. Findings show girls significantly increase their knowledge and interest in science through Muddy Sneakers at an age when the STEM gender gap typically sees girls falling behind.

This year, the Mountains Region (WNC) saw success in continuing the integration of the virtual and Remote Expeditions components of our program, while simultaneously seeing a return to off-campus instruction across the region, allowing students to explore and learn on publicly and privately conserved lands in their communities. We welcomed two additional schools to the program. In total, WNC served 33 schools bringing more than 57,000 contact hours to 1,885 students in 10 counties and 11 school districts. This year, the Piedmont Region, we partnered with 14 schools delivering 30,000 contact hours to 1,030 students.