About
Art and Wilderness Institute Outdoor Education Programs include activities such as stories, crafts, hands-on learning, hiking, gardening, wildlife observation, habitat exploration, cooking, hammering, drilling, examining worms under a microscope, and planting trees. Students also take part in projects like raising money to dig wells, assisting refugees, and leading hikes for the elderly.
• Ages: 2–13 years old
• Schedule: Weekly and multi-day options, including 75-minute Saturday classes and 2-day-per-week preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school programs
Established in 2019, Art and Wilderness Institute Outdoor Education Programs follow an outdoor, hands-on, “get muddy” learning philosophy that includes nature-based preschool and kindergarten. At the Redwood Raven campus, the main learning takes place outside at two outdoor classrooms called the Inspiration classroom and the Reading Tree, with an old barn that includes an air conditioned classroom known as the exploratory hide-out for research and projects. Emerald Owl Preschool & KG meets two days per week, with Preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm for ages 3 and 4, and Kindergarten on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm for ages 5 and 6, and students must be potty trained for Emerald Owl Preschool & KG. Redwood Raven Preschool & KG meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm, and Redwood Raven School meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am to 1:30pm. Mugworts Middle School is a weekly day-long program for 5th–8th graders that meets on Tuesdays from 10:00am to 2:15pm and covers Civics, Conservation Biology, Plant Medicine, Environmental Ethics, and Endurance Building. Nature Tots is a 75-minute class that meets every Saturday. The mission of the program is to rekindle a love and appreciation for the environment and community through exploration, creativity, connection and growth.
The Art and Wilderness Institute Community focuses on exploring the outdoors, learning about and protecting nature and natural systems, drawing on global wisdoms about how to live together with a beneficial impact, and aiming to regenerate abundance from what has been provided or left behind. Through projects and leadership opportunities, students plant trees, raise money to dig wells, assist refugees, and lead hikes for the elderly, and they collaborate with numerous partners to make a wider positive impact. Students in the educational programming range from two-year-old naturalists to tenured retirees.
The leadership team includes Executive Director Sama Wareh, M.S; Administrative Director Syma Aslam; Programming Director Dr. Khadeeja Abdullah; Board members Hassan Elwan, Rhamis Kent, and Masood Khan; Green Masjid Initiative Director & Administrative Assistant Suhana Shereef; Administrative Secretary Maimoona Rashid; Khulafa Al’Ard Director & Grant Writer Carla Taylor; Marketing Manager Nur Amer; Grant Writer Monica Baltazar; and Unit Studies Site Lead and Office Manager Hannah Shreim. Deborah (Karemah) Alfaddaghi is a Licensed Montessori Teacher.
One parent shared that their son wakes up every morning asking when he is going to an Art and Wilderness Institute program and that they are impressed with how much attention instructors give to understanding different personalities and learning styles. Another parent described Redwood Raven School as “Fun School,” noting that their children learn by doing things with their hands in an outdoor natural environment and that their previously worm-phobic child was able to participate in a project about worms and their role in soil.
Last updated August 6, 2026.
• Ages: 2–13 years old
• Schedule: Weekly and multi-day options, including 75-minute Saturday classes and 2-day-per-week preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school programs
Established in 2019, Art and Wilderness Institute Outdoor Education Programs follow an outdoor, hands-on, “get muddy” learning philosophy that includes nature-based preschool and kindergarten. At the Redwood Raven campus, the main learning takes place outside at two outdoor classrooms called the Inspiration classroom and the Reading Tree, with an old barn that includes an air conditioned classroom known as the exploratory hide-out for research and projects. Emerald Owl Preschool & KG meets two days per week, with Preschool on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm for ages 3 and 4, and Kindergarten on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm for ages 5 and 6, and students must be potty trained for Emerald Owl Preschool & KG. Redwood Raven Preschool & KG meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm, and Redwood Raven School meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am to 1:30pm. Mugworts Middle School is a weekly day-long program for 5th–8th graders that meets on Tuesdays from 10:00am to 2:15pm and covers Civics, Conservation Biology, Plant Medicine, Environmental Ethics, and Endurance Building. Nature Tots is a 75-minute class that meets every Saturday. The mission of the program is to rekindle a love and appreciation for the environment and community through exploration, creativity, connection and growth.
The Art and Wilderness Institute Community focuses on exploring the outdoors, learning about and protecting nature and natural systems, drawing on global wisdoms about how to live together with a beneficial impact, and aiming to regenerate abundance from what has been provided or left behind. Through projects and leadership opportunities, students plant trees, raise money to dig wells, assist refugees, and lead hikes for the elderly, and they collaborate with numerous partners to make a wider positive impact. Students in the educational programming range from two-year-old naturalists to tenured retirees.
The leadership team includes Executive Director Sama Wareh, M.S; Administrative Director Syma Aslam; Programming Director Dr. Khadeeja Abdullah; Board members Hassan Elwan, Rhamis Kent, and Masood Khan; Green Masjid Initiative Director & Administrative Assistant Suhana Shereef; Administrative Secretary Maimoona Rashid; Khulafa Al’Ard Director & Grant Writer Carla Taylor; Marketing Manager Nur Amer; Grant Writer Monica Baltazar; and Unit Studies Site Lead and Office Manager Hannah Shreim. Deborah (Karemah) Alfaddaghi is a Licensed Montessori Teacher.
One parent shared that their son wakes up every morning asking when he is going to an Art and Wilderness Institute program and that they are impressed with how much attention instructors give to understanding different personalities and learning styles. Another parent described Redwood Raven School as “Fun School,” noting that their children learn by doing things with their hands in an outdoor natural environment and that their previously worm-phobic child was able to participate in a project about worms and their role in soil.
Last updated August 6, 2026.
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