learning as participation in Earth's living community

School of Living Arts is located within a landscape blessed with natural abundance, and hosts peach and apple orchards, springs, creeks, pastures, and a working farm.  Fields of soft grass and wildflowers, and forests of tall trees beckon children to immerse themselves in the beauty of the natural world.  Biodynamic food and medicine gardens and wild berry brambles call forth the native gardener or forager that lives inside each student.  Our campus also hosts chickens, horses, rabbits, sheep, longhorn cows, and abundant wildlife.  SOLA students develop a sense of stewardship, empathy and responsibility as they form meaningful relationships with their 4 legged and 2 legged companions through daily participation in their care, grooming and feeding.  During our academic classes, teachers often utilize outdoor classroom spaces, and students learn alongside our horses, rabbits, sheep, chickens, dogs, and amazing wildlife!  

SOLA students also have many opportunities to engage their animal relationships in a deeper way through once-weekly animal arts specialty classes. These classes include animal care, husbandry, physiology, feeding, grooming, communication, training, and stewardship, as well as natural horsemanship classes that include equine groundwork and trail riding, and much more.  Our on-site holistic horse barn also offers after-school riding and groundwork lessons, as well as trail riding and Gestalt Equine Therapy. 

SOLA students learn about regenerative land stewardship through their participation in gardening/biodynamic agriculture, forest stewardship, and the practice of leave-no-trace and permaculture principals.  Our campus is  surrounded by Pisgah National Forest.  This expansive 'natural classroom' hosts rare plants, rushing creeks, pristine forests, abundant wildlife, and stunning natural beauty that invites students into their 'native wildness', and a profound experience of the natural world.