Invest in People, Not Just Places: The Future of Outdoor Learning in New Mexico

A Guest Post by Allison Martin, Teaching Outdoors to All Learners (TOTAL) NM

Please enjoy this thought-provoking guest post by Allison Martin, Teaching Outdoors to All Learners (TOTAL) New Mexico

For 17 years, I have worked in outdoor and environmental education. When I stepped into my role at Teaching Outdoors to All Learners (TOTAL) New Mexico, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. I wanted to have the resources to empower teachers to continue teaching outdoors beyond one day or one time. Really give them the tools to get started and stick with it. I didn’t realize at the time, but what we are building was and is so much more than that.

When people hear “outdoor classrooms,” they often picture infrastructure: shade structures, gardens, greenhouses, elaborate learning spaces. Those features can be beautiful and inspiring, but they are not the starting point for change.

The real work is investing in people. It means honoring the time change truly requires and providing the resources, relationships, and spaces that ignite the “aha” moment. THIS is when outdoor learning shifts from an occasional activity to a daily practice. From simply using outdoor spaces to growing them, caring for them, and weaving them into the fabric of everyday learning.

At TOTAL NM, our mission is to support outdoor learning in schoolyards across New Mexico. We are not beginning with construction plans for building those spaces, but rather, are beginning with relationships with teachers and with students. We focus on those who are increasingly disconnected from the land around them, from one another, and from a sense of belonging in a world that feels louder and faster every day.

Over the years, I have sat in countless meetings with school leaders presenting strong outdoor learning programs. Often, I heard, “Yes, that sounds great.” But there was no follow-up. Or the experience became a one-time event with no structure to sustain it once everyone returned to the classroom.

That pattern revealed something important: inspiration is not enough. Sustainability requires systems and systems require investments in people.

Through TOTAL NM’s Outdoor Educator Leadership Program, we developed the New Mexico Outdoor Classrooms Framework, a statewide guide that supports teachers at the ground level. Not by insisting on expensive upgrades in schoolyards. Not by requiring a perfect space. But by helping educators use the outdoor spaces they already have: a patch of grass, a courtyard, a tree, a stretch of pavement under the sky.

Before each professional development session, I ask teachers where they are starting. More than half report they have never used a formal outdoor classroom for learning.

Never.

In many cases, a beautiful outdoor classroom had just been built on their campus. So why wasn’t it being used?

Because no one invested in the people.

Teachers were often not meaningfully involved in the design process. They were not given time, training, or ongoing support to build comfort. What emerged were deeper barriers: concerns about classroom management, safety, and how to adapt instruction.

The truth is, they often do not need to change their instruction at all. They simply need support in shifting the setting and where the learning occurs.

During one recent session with a group of teachers, I asked them to describe how they felt about outdoor learning. One word stood out: indifferent.

Indifference is not opposition. It is quieter, and in some ways, more concerning. If educators begin from a place of indifference, how can students develop a connection?

As we unpacked that word, the answer became clear. It was not a lack of care. It was a system that does not give educators time to know their students deeply, connect content to real life, or experiment without fear of falling behind. We cannot expect teachers to fully embrace or effectively use outdoor classrooms they had no role in designing. When educators are excluded from the creation of physical learning spaces, change feels imposed rather than owned and it will sit empty with no students using it. Without ownership and voice, inclusive, student-centered environments are harder to build and sustain.

If we want inclusive, connected learners, we must first design inclusive systems that position teachers as co-creators and architects of the spaces where learning unfolds.

That means investing in consistent and evidence-based frameworks, not one-off field trips or isolated experiences. It means supporting daily outdoor learning at school sites, not transporting students elsewhere while neglecting the spaces they inhabit every day.

Outdoor equity is not achieved through infrastructure alone. It is achieved through relationships, leadership development, and daily practice.

New Mexico has the partners, the passion, and the vision. What we need now is the collective commitment to strengthen the systems that support educators and teachers every single day.

Daily outdoor learning is not a luxury. It is a pathway to connection, belonging, and long-term resilience for our students and our communities.

Let’s invest where it matters most, in people.