Grassland Garden School | Mycelium Cooperative

2025-2026

Grassland Garden

Home School Enrichment

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OR SIGN UP for next year's Outdoor Nature Based Preschool.

Experienced Educators

Ryan maintains a Colorado Secondary Science Teaching License (Since 2004) and English Language Learner endorsement and has earned a Masters of Science in Ecological Teaching and Learning (2011). He is director and coach certified with the Colorado Department of Early Edcuation (2021). Ryan has taught and facilitated ecological literacy for over 25 years both inside and outside the formal classroom with ages 3 through 18. He has also worked with adults in school leadership and as a community organizer for the last 15 years and is excited about Mycelium Cooperative as a multi-generational regenerative futures community of learning.

Ryan is a "re-wilding" practitioner and has been since age 3. He reveres the interweaving of life and organizes for climate justice transitions addressing the human induced Sixth Mass Extinction. He aims to help students and society participate in the global movement to protect life on Earth, sometimes listening to “youth wisdom” before listening to “adults”. For the last several years, while working as an Ecological Literacy Specialist in Denver Public Schools and in Salt Lake City Public Schools, he has been a researcher and practitioner of Land Based and Nature Based Pedagogy and/or Forest Schools and also creating modified Forest School programming for public schools.

Ryan is mentoring two Graduate School of Social Work and Regenerative Learning Ecology apprentices for the 2025-2026 school year who have Outward Bound Expedition leading and Case Management Therapy experience. You can read more about the team and see the teaching staff grow here.

Reach out by completing the form below to learn more about our team and community of learners.

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We give back more than we take

We honor the innate wisdom and boundless potential within every child. Our learning emerges from networks of trust, deep interconnection, and the profound sense of belonging that grows when we recognize ourselves as part of the living world.

Children flourish in mixed-age communities that mirror nature's diversity—our 3-6 year olds in ONB preschool, elementary learners 5-11 year olds in our Grassland Garde School, and middle school youth ages 12-14 for weekly Forest School Sessions all learning alongside one another. We maintain nurturing ratios of 1:6 educator to child, with community sizes that allow for both intimate connection and dynamic group learning.

Our programs are rooted entirely outdoors, following seasonal rhythms as we cultivate regenerative ecology skills and nurture what we call "root system learning"—the essential capacities like emotional resilience, authentic communication, and age-appropriate skill development that support all visible growth. And yes, we absolutely revel in mud play, craft shelters from fallen branches, scale trees with joy, and gather the gifts the land offers!

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Each season brings new invitations—reach out by completing the form below to discover which landscapes are calling for the coming months.

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Location

Rooted in Place, Connected Across Landscapes

2025 Fall/Winter - Bear Creek Greenbelt is our base

Our learning community thrives within the intricate web of public spaces and cherished partnerships that make up our bioregional home. Like mycelial networks that adapt and respond, we maintain flexible protocols for weather extremes while staying deeply connected to the land.

Seasonal Learning Migrations

Following the wisdom of natural cycles, our programs flow through Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring offerings across the Cherry Creek Watershed in southwest Aurora and southeast Denver. Our approach to Regenerative Ecology honors the understanding that all beings—including learning communities—move and adapt with the rhythms of place, weather, and seasonal invitation.

Reciprocal Stewardship

Every learning space we inhabit is chosen through collaborative relationship-building with families and our partners in parks, recreation, and open space stewardship. Our commitment runs deeper than "leave no trace"—we practice regenerative presence, always seeking to give back more than we receive to the lands that hold us.

Our Learning Landscape

The mycelial network of our outdoor classrooms spans diverse ecosystems: Bear Creek Greenbelt foothills to grassland migration zone, Cook Park's riparian edges, Wabash Trailhead's prairie transitions, Bible Park's community heart, Hentzel Park's neighborhood embrace, Expo Park's urban-wild interface, Jewell Wetlands' seasonal rhythms, Highlands Hollows' hidden valleys, Great Plains Park's expansive horizons, Plains Conservation Center's conservation legacy, and Mission Viejo Park's community connections.

Each season brings new invitations—reach out by completing the form below to discover which landscapes are calling for the coming months.

Ready to sign up?

Fill out the interest form

Home School Enrichment Schedule

2 Days: Tuesday & Wednesday $920/mo

1 Day: Either Forest School or Studio Learning $485/mo

All programs are cultivating a Pay What You Can culture

Fall (Sept / Oct / Nov)

Winter (Dec / Jan / Feb)

Spring (Mar / Apr / May)

Summer (June / July / Aug)

TUES: Travel Learning Studios with Community Partners - 10AM-3:30PM (Location different each 6 weeks)

WED: Forest School for ages 5-11 - 8:30AM -3:30PM (Bear Creek Greenbelt)

Contact us by filling out the general Contact Us form at the bottom of the page for questions on pricing, schedules or to provide Forest School Sessions for your class, community or school

OR

Ready to sign up?

Fill out the interest form

Why Grassland Garden School?

Triple Well Being and Regenerative Learning Ecologies lead the curriculum for a holistic and therapeutic learning environment

Student-led and Student Initative learning where all are seen as capable, competent members of their community

High quality educators with over 30 years of combined teaching, guiding and mentoring experience

Low teacher to student ratios (1:6) for quality learning experiences

Fill out the interest form