About
Web of Life Field (WOLF) School offers activities such as miles of hiking trails, high and low ropes courses, volleyball, basketball, campfires, and an outdoor classroom. Programs include environmental education, outdoor science school programs, team building programs, Summer Nature Day Camp, DIY family camps, marine science, water sports, backpacking, kayaking, surfing, swimming, gardening, and music.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Since 1989, WOLF School has focused on educational outdoor experiences for California’s K–12th grade students, with a mission of “Building respect, appreciation, and stewardship within the web of life.” Program Directors and Naturalists hold college degrees and are professionals in environmental education, with backgrounds in science, history, community-building, education, and working with youth. The leadership team includes Heather Butler (Director), Desiree Gant (Associate Director), Sergio Typhoon (Program Coordinator), and Marie Kraemer Wegrich (Naturalist). Heather Butler graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. in Human Biology and Comparative Literature and received her Teaching Credential from Chapman University in 2005. Desiree Gant earned a B.A. in History with a minor in Education from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount University. Sergio Typhoon earned both a Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and a Master of Science in Biology from UC San Diego.
WOLF School is the educational component of United Camps, Conferences and Retreats (UCCR), a registered non-profit camp and conference management organization. Programs are offered at multiple professionally maintained camps throughout California, and the school offers residential outdoor science school and team building programs adapted to support each individual student group. WOLF School’s curriculum is California state standards-based and NGSS-supportive. The program has professionally trained naturalists committed to outdoor education. WOLF School has a scholarship fund to give equal access to students, and a camp store where proceeds benefit the WOLF School Scholarship Fund. Save the Redwoods League supports WOLF School, and the school participates in the statewide virtual conference of the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE). Heather Butler is a member and past president of AEOE and a past board member of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. WOLF School announced its 2020 Award Winner for WOLF School Staff of the Year, Antonella De La Tore.
Camp Arroyo, where WOLF School programs run, is a state-of-the-art, green-built facility with environmentally friendly design features. The property includes rolling hills with large oaks, meandering seasonal streams, and trails that stretch through the hills to nearby Cresta Blanca, a geological formation. Six duplex cabins sleep 24 each, for a total accommodation of 144 persons, and all duplexes have a full bathroom. Homemade meals are served buffet style by WOLF School’s staff in a spacious dining hall. Program spaces at this site include the Dining Hall, Craft Yurt, Lawn, Organic Garden, and an Amphitheater with a Campfire Circle. The property is managed by UCCR, whose mission is “creating partnerships to provide positive life-changing experiences.”
Teachers and students have shared feedback about WOLF School. One teacher, Carolyn Hudson from Deterding Elementary in Carmichael, stated that WOLF School’s naturalists are passionate about what they are doing and use multiple modalities to reach every student. A student journal entry described an experience that “took my breath away, so perfect and vivid that you ask yourself is this real. You think not even the best technology can be so beautiful.” Another teacher, Helen Shamble from Easterbrook Discovery School in San Jose, said that in standards-based education, the naturalists at WOLF School remember that, along with the facts, there should also be joy in the scientific process, and that they instill in their students an appreciation for close observation and an understanding of global issues, making each experience feel new and exciting. A WOLF School naturalist described working in the redwoods with kids and having them stand in a perfect circle and look up to see a perfect circle formed by the redwood grove they are standing in.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Since 1989, WOLF School has focused on educational outdoor experiences for California’s K–12th grade students, with a mission of “Building respect, appreciation, and stewardship within the web of life.” Program Directors and Naturalists hold college degrees and are professionals in environmental education, with backgrounds in science, history, community-building, education, and working with youth. The leadership team includes Heather Butler (Director), Desiree Gant (Associate Director), Sergio Typhoon (Program Coordinator), and Marie Kraemer Wegrich (Naturalist). Heather Butler graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. in Human Biology and Comparative Literature and received her Teaching Credential from Chapman University in 2005. Desiree Gant earned a B.A. in History with a minor in Education from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount University. Sergio Typhoon earned both a Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and a Master of Science in Biology from UC San Diego.
WOLF School is the educational component of United Camps, Conferences and Retreats (UCCR), a registered non-profit camp and conference management organization. Programs are offered at multiple professionally maintained camps throughout California, and the school offers residential outdoor science school and team building programs adapted to support each individual student group. WOLF School’s curriculum is California state standards-based and NGSS-supportive. The program has professionally trained naturalists committed to outdoor education. WOLF School has a scholarship fund to give equal access to students, and a camp store where proceeds benefit the WOLF School Scholarship Fund. Save the Redwoods League supports WOLF School, and the school participates in the statewide virtual conference of the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE). Heather Butler is a member and past president of AEOE and a past board member of Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. WOLF School announced its 2020 Award Winner for WOLF School Staff of the Year, Antonella De La Tore.
Camp Arroyo, where WOLF School programs run, is a state-of-the-art, green-built facility with environmentally friendly design features. The property includes rolling hills with large oaks, meandering seasonal streams, and trails that stretch through the hills to nearby Cresta Blanca, a geological formation. Six duplex cabins sleep 24 each, for a total accommodation of 144 persons, and all duplexes have a full bathroom. Homemade meals are served buffet style by WOLF School’s staff in a spacious dining hall. Program spaces at this site include the Dining Hall, Craft Yurt, Lawn, Organic Garden, and an Amphitheater with a Campfire Circle. The property is managed by UCCR, whose mission is “creating partnerships to provide positive life-changing experiences.”
Teachers and students have shared feedback about WOLF School. One teacher, Carolyn Hudson from Deterding Elementary in Carmichael, stated that WOLF School’s naturalists are passionate about what they are doing and use multiple modalities to reach every student. A student journal entry described an experience that “took my breath away, so perfect and vivid that you ask yourself is this real. You think not even the best technology can be so beautiful.” Another teacher, Helen Shamble from Easterbrook Discovery School in San Jose, said that in standards-based education, the naturalists at WOLF School remember that, along with the facts, there should also be joy in the scientific process, and that they instill in their students an appreciation for close observation and an understanding of global issues, making each experience feel new and exciting. A WOLF School naturalist described working in the redwoods with kids and having them stand in a perfect circle and look up to see a perfect circle formed by the redwood grove they are standing in.
Last updated March 17, 2026.
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