When the Alps Became the Classroom: A Nature-Informed Study Abroad Experience

By Cassie Weymouth

With editorial support from the Center for Nature Informed Therapy

Resiliency. Transformation. Grounding.

These are some of the words students used to describe their experience during the Peace in the Wild Alps Retreat, a nature-informed study abroad experience led by Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan and the Center for Nature Informed Therapy.

The program brought together 11 Monmouth University students — both undergraduate and graduate — along with two professors for a week of learning, reflection, challenge, and connection in Germany and Austria. With different areas of study, different ages, and different reasons for joining, many participants arrived not knowing each other well. Some were drawn by travel. Some were curious about eco-psychology. Others were not entirely sure what they were signing up for.

Danny, a biology major and self-described avid traveler, described it this way: “I am a chronic study abroad student. Once I saw this one, I was like, ‘Oh my god, that sounds like so much fun,’ and then I realized what the class was actually for, and I thought it was even more amazing.”

The retreat began on a Sunday evening at Dr. Schreiber-Pan’s family home outside Munich. The house sits near a river winding through a small town, with trees leaning over the water and sunlight filtering through at golden hour. Between the river, the baby ducks and turtles, and the quiet movement of the landscape, students stepped into a scene that felt almost storybook.

Like many group experiences, the program began with introductions and a little bit of awkwardness. But that quickly softened. The tone set by Heidi and Anna, the facilitators, was warm, earnest, and grounded. Students were invited not to perform, but to arrive as they were.

While the phrase “wellness retreat” might bring to mind images of massages, saunas, and passive relaxation, this was something different. The days were active and intentional. Students hiked, e-biked, spent time in reflection, practiced forest bathing, and returned to sit spots in nature. The structure invited them into what Heidi often describes as a “stretch zone”: a place of challenge and growth, but not overwhelm. The purpose was not to push people too far. It was to create enough space, movement, and reflection for students to notice what was happening within them and around them.

Heidi’s role was not to make nature into a backdrop for a lesson. Rather, she facilitated in a way that allowed the natural world to become part of the teaching. Vonya, one of the students, put it this way: “Heidi really has a way of letting the nature and the prompts and the programming speak for itself. She’s not a facilitator that imprints her opinion. She lets the workshop speak for itself.”

The Alpine home where the group stayed became a refuge throughout the week. Standing in the shadow of the mountains, surrounded by pasture and forest, the house offered a place to rest, reflect, and reconnect after each day’s experience. For many students, the most unexpected part of the retreat was how personally the landscape affected them. The mountains were not simply scenery. They changed the pace of the group. They quieted some of the noise. They invited students into awe, humility, and presence.

Anthony, a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling, described one moment that stayed with him: “Walking with the mountains amongst the clouds, I felt so honored and privileged.”

That sense of awe was not incidental. The program was built around the idea that nature can be more than a setting. It can be an active participant in healing, learning, and self-discovery. One of the core practices was the sit spot: returning to the same place in nature each day to observe, reflect, and listen. For some students, this simple practice became one of the most meaningful parts of the week.

Jessica, a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling, shared: “Finding a sit spot and going there every day is something I want to make sure I continue to do.”

For Anthony, the experience helped him name something deeper. “The mountains do a really good job at disconnecting you from the noise and reconnecting you with the heartbeat of the earth.” Perhaps most powerfully, nature offered something that no classroom, lecture, or counseling session could manufacture on its own: a felt sense of welcome. “Nature accepts you whichever way you show up,” Anthony said.

The environment created by both the mountains and the facilitators also helped the group form strong connections quickly. In just one week, a group of near-strangers became something closer to a community. The evening council circles were central to that shift. Each night, students gathered to share what they were feeling, noticing, and carrying. There were no polished speeches. No need to have the “right” answer. The intention was to listen first.

Dr. Megan Delaney, the professor who organized the trip, described the circles this way: “Every night during the evening council, they share what they’re feeling, what they’re experiencing and what they’re grateful for. And every night it’s powerful.” The councils created a kind of permission structure. As one person opened up, it became safer for others to do the same.

Jessica reflected: “The more people opened up, the more other people were willing to open up. We were all feeding off each other’s vulnerability, but in a good way.”

For Vonya, what stood out was the depth of what students were willing to share, even with people who had been strangers only days before. “To voice something that you haven’t even voiced with probably your closest friends or your family, to a group of people that are strangers — is kind of crazy. And to allow them to help you throughout this journey is something that’s really powerful.”

The retreat lasted one week, but what students are bringing home extends far beyond the Alps.

For Jesse, a psychology senior, the shift was immediate and personal. “I’m leaving with something that I didn’t have the motivation to strive for before I came.” For Sean, a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling, the takeaways were both personal and professional. “The best way to incorporate new ideas in your practice is to do them yourself. I can’t wait to show my clients the growth that nature can give you.”

Dr. Delaney hopes the impact reaches beyond the students’ future careers and into the way they understand their relationship with the natural world. “I hope that a little seed might have been planted in each one of them about their ecological identity. And that might transform how they interact with the natural world going forward.” 

When asked to describe the experience in a single word, students answered quickly:

Peaceful. Resilience. Acceptance. Raw. Mesmerizing. Impactful.

Danny could not quite reduce the experience to one word, but his message for future students was clear: “I think you should 1,000% do it. You need to go into it with a lot of openness. It’s not the easiest to try and figure out how you’re feeling and verbalize it, but it’s so worth it.”

For universities, the lesson is clear: some forms of learning cannot happen only in a classroom. Students can study eco-psychology, wellness, counseling, and ecological identity through books and lectures. But when they are held in a thoughtful, well-facilitated experience — walking through mountains, sitting quietly in the forest, sharing honestly in council, and learning from the more-than-human world — the material becomes lived.

The Alps were not just the destination.

They became the classroom.

Interested in bringing a nature-informed study abroad or immersive learning experience to your university?The Center for Nature Informed Therapy partners with colleges and universities to design custom programs in eco-psychology, counseling, wellness, environmental identity, and experiential education.

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