Excited for the A.T.!

Kim Stetser
Seven Generations Charter School
Emmaus, PA
2015 TTEC Cohort

As the weather turns cooler and hikes with my 5th graders become less frequent, I keep reminding myself that in a few months, I’ll get to bring my kiddos to the AT, some, for the first time ever.



We are all so excited for this trip. Many of these kids have been hiking at Seven Gen since Kindergarten, but they rarely explore farther than South Mountain, which is right outside our door. They know those trails like the back of their hands, and I can’t wait to show them something different. We’ve been working to determine ways we can help leave no trace on our local trail, while teaching others to do the same. It will be so fun to see them apply this knowledge to the AT – what can we bring to our section of the AT that will make a real difference?


Winter won’t be so bad this year. While we are cooped up inside, we will study the Leave No Trace system, the local trail system, and the Appalachian Trail system, identifying the components, processes, and functions of each. The important work will come from our comparisons of these systems. My hope is that our winter study will inspire great work this spring – collaborations with community partners, service learning, and new experiences for this year’s 5th grade class. These next few months are going to be a blast!