Inspiring Mountain Stewardship

Education Programs

Experiential education programs have been the core of TMI’s Appalachian Program since the very beginning. Our signature Mountain Learning programs bring adventure, conservation, and education together in an academically rigorous environment. The many courses offered through these educational programs focus on leadership development and cooperation through hands-on activities and exploring the great outdoors! Many of the schools that we work with have been bringing students to the Spruce Knob Mountain Center since the early 1980s. Our program offerings have changed a great deal since our early years, but our philosophy has remained the same–we believe that bringing students outdoors to experience true hands-on experiential education is one of the best ways for students to learn about themselves, their peers, and their environment.

“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.”  –Sir John Lubbock, 19th century British biologist

These courses can be based at our residential education facilities, the Spruce Knob Mountain Center; field-based, in the Monongahela National Forest which surrounds our facilities, or off-site. As of April, 2017, Experience Learning has assumed  The Mountain Institute’s Appalachian Program educational activities and has acquired the Spruce Knob Mountain Center property. For more on Experience Learning, check out their website.


Summer Camps

Mountain Stewards is a summer service program designed to give youth an impactful experience amongst West Virginia’s lofty mountains and pristine valleys. The 6-day expedition blends stewardship, experiential education, and exploration in one of the most biodiverse environments on Earth. This summer, Experience Learning is offering separate programs for both high school and middle school aged participants.
Since 1972 The Mountain Institute has partnered with remote mountain communities in the highest, longest and oldest mountains of the world. We work together to conserve ecosystems, develop sustainable livelihoods and protect unique mountain cultures.