With the end of the spring term rapidly approaching, one of Knox College’s most beloved programs continues to roll along, embracing the immersive experience unlike few others.

The Knox Green Oaks Term is back this spring, and for this year’s students, the program has been just as inspiring as educational.

“It’s wonderful, unlike anything else,” studio arts and early childhood education double major Mia Palmer said. “To live in this environment and immerse myself as a studio arts major, I came with the focus of doing a lot of plein air painting, and having the opportunity to do that is unlike anything else.” 

The Green Oaks Term is not the usual class in an ordinary classroom setting.

Situated on a 700-acre outdoor expanse just 20 miles east of the main campus, Green Oaks serves as a venue for various outdoor activities, including classes, trails, and significant traditions like the annual Prairie Burn—one of the inspirations for the College’s nickname, Prairie Fire. The Green Oaks campus plays a key role in Knox College's mission to enrich the student experience while contributing to the local community. 

The learning experience is also original. Students take regular nature walks, hold discussions, read, and have time to focus on their surroundings while working on passion projects.

“It’s a great opportunity, it feels like an arts residency,” Palmer said. “I can focus solely on making art in such an immersive, beautiful environment. I have my portable materials, easels, and everything, and go out and find any location and find a beautiful spot to make art.”

Students are embracing hands-on learning, while benefiting from the immersion in nature and having the ways they may have thought about traditional learning change through their own personal experiences. 

“This group of students is engaged, they’ve been fun to work with,” said Stuart Allison, director of the Green Oaks Field Station. “They have been excited about being the first group to live in the Knight Living & Learning Facility, trying to make it their own and establish traditions there. The weather has mostly been good, so it’s been a good term.”

Green Oaks has evolved into more than just a field station and is much more than a regular classroom; it's a hub for exploration, personal growth, and a leader in environmental education. 

“We don’t use the classrooms much for this; it’s been so nice out, it’s been about teaching outside,” Allison said. 

The nature, experience, and intimate setting have made the students a tight community, encouraging learning and real-world experiences. 

“We’ve been able to become close,” Palmer said. “It is a feeling of community here, it’s cliché but we do feel like a family, we care for each other deeply, not only living in such close quarters but being able to experience so much of this together is so wonderful as well as being pushed out of our comfort zones in such a wonderful way.

“I knew a couple of students before the Green Oaks Term. I’m close with a few people here, but it's a lot of new faces. I knew a few people who have done it in the past, but it's a lot of new people for me as well.”