École Percy Pegler School's Nature-Based Learning program is coming to the end of its first year.

The program previously saw a successful pilot but was launched in full at the school in the fall.

At the moment, the program combines classes, with grades one and two, three and four, and five and six learning together, but if admission rates allow, it'll see a more conventional class structure next year.

Ryan Lemphers, a grade 5/6 teacher at Percy Pegler who helped develop the program, is thrilled with how it's gone.

"We've seen incredible growth in the students, and one of those ways is through, we call it 'vertical integration between the different grades. We might have a kindergarten class working with the grade three/four kids or it might be the one/two class working with the five/sixes and we've created some really meaningful partnerships where the students are collaborating on their learning in a really significant way, it's something the kids really look forward to. Even to see the grade five/six students invested and caring about their grade one/two buddies, because we often do something every week together."

Lemphers recalled older students helping kindergarteners put on snowshoes before an outing.

The program seeks to connect students more with nature not only by taking them outside but by bringing the outdoors into the classroom.

It's a distinction Lemphers emphasized since "nature-based learning" might sound to some like purely outdoor-focused lessons.

"We're not starting the kindergarteners off with being outside all the time, we build their stamina and teach them the skills they need to know, but also we take the learning that happens outside and we bring it in so it isn't just regular learning in the classroom, but they actually are engaging with nature inside the classroom."

One example involved students raising rainbow trout in the classroom, with plans to release them in the spring.

Okotoks parent Sandy Grunleitner has four children, two of whom have taken part in the program.

She says it's had a noticeable impact on her younger children.

"I noticed when you ask the nature-based kids 'what did you do at school today?' You usually get this big pile of information like 'oh, we went here and did math with his,' and with the older kids who are not in a program, when I ask they're like 'Um, I don't know.' With these kids, they have so much to tell you and they want to share what they've done."

She recalls a shift in her older daughter's behaviour.

"It was such a big, positive impact on her. She used to be scatter-brained, forgetting all her things consistently, always late. I noticed that she grew so much, within the first weeks, really. She started packing her own things, she was aware of the weather, of her surroundings, she started to just pay more attention and retain information much better."

Lemphers has taken notice of the enthusiasm from parents.

"We've also seen the joy in the families. There's almost a sense that they're part of something that's bigger than just school, it's this way they want their kids to learn and engage with the world, so families have been really excited and wanting to participate."

For Lemphers, who has been developing the program over several years along with fellow teacher Graham Campbell, it's almost indescribable to see how far it's come.

"It's really, I think, a dream come true. It's something that Mr. Campbell and I have worked at for a number of years, and just to see the program really come to fruition on something that's bigger than just our two classrooms, it's almost a hundred kids. Just to see already how much it's grown and is impacting kids and changing their story of school is really important."

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