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Class time at Southern Cross School in South Africa is an unusual scene. Teachers and pupils are not shut inside classrooms. Instead, they walk through the grass and bush, or sit in the shade of trees, and join serious discussions.

The school has the same syllabus that is set for the country’s schools by the educational authorities, but the teaching methods are totally different. Southern Cross uses nature as a teaching tool. Classes go outdoors to look for phenomena that can be used to study anything from mathematics and science to language. Jumbo Williams, the school’s headmaster,

emphasizes the importance of environmental care. “When students leave school, we want them to be champions of the natural environment,” William said.

Today, the first lesson of the day is mathematics. To practice numbers, the children visit the nearby water trough to look at animal tracks and count how many different animals came to drink during the night. Language, speech, and debate classes focus on conservation issues. A recent student debate centered on whether people should give water to animals in the wild.

The idea for the school came from Sue Godding, who was the manager of a game lodge. She says that nature-based tourism is one of South Africa’s national treasures. She believes that the country needs to produce people who understand the environment and the need to preserve it.