Kiyachi Nature School
Your kids deserve quality outdoors education.
Kiyachi Nature School offers immersive, nature-based learning through guided exploration, hands-on activities, and unstructured outdoor play that fosters curiosity, confidence, connection, and ecological stewardship.
The origin story.
Kiyachi Nature School is many years in the making, as Peter and his wife were raising their two very active boys outside through homeschooling and charter school programs. He began working with Alec on a concept that would help address the a growing gap in the educational process and child-rearing in the area of East Kern County.
The ability to connect with nature has deep biological roots for humans and growing anthropological, educational, social science, and therapeutic work is providing scientific validation for programs that fall in the Nature Based Learning, sometimes also called Forest Schools, that is applicable to every human from infants to our elders in society.
The pursuit of our PhDs allowed us to connect with so many great educators and humans around the world that has amalgamated into a practical concept that lead to building relationships with the region’s historians, indigenous representatives, and farms, and land caretakers.
Eventually our paths crossed with Saya Novinger in the early years and ongoing friendship and coffee shop discussions continued to drive a multi-disciplinary approach to creating with intention and in harmony with the land and people.
Indigenous influence and guidance.
From the outset of Kiyachi, the goal was to root ourselves and practices with the land, the people, the culture, and the hope of keeping practices alive. This means teaching our student key Nuwä words and ethos of living with the mountains, trees, and the wisdom that provides.
Lucille Girardo-Hicks
Lucille is our language and cultural advisor, she is the last fluent speaker of the Nuwä. She has a storied history and is deeply invested in Kiyachi’s mission.
Language and Cultural Advisor
Saya Novinger
Saya Novinger is our wisdom steward that works to help support key integral parts of Nuwä wisdom, practices, and language into our curriculum and various programs.
Wisdom Steward
AnthropologistDr. Alec Griffin
Dr. Alec Griffin is a studied Anthropologist who teaches about California Native Peoples, studies their practices, and our western impacts on ethnobotany, archeological implications, and cultural preservation.
We provide a blended approach to nature based learning, engaging cornerstone practices from our certifications under the Association of Nature Based Educators, California Clear Credentials, Next Generation Science Standards, and aligning ethical practices of diverse resource inclusion, such as indigenous practices, and alternative approaches to standardized education.
Our instructors.
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Dr. Peter Fulks
FOUNDER
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Dr. Alec Griffin
CO-FOUNDER
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Saya Novinger
SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR
Licenses
Strictly outdoor educational programs are non-licensed programs in California, but we do maintain our own standards to support a healthy and thriving learning environment in nature!
Accountability.
Teacher background checks
Teacher Background Checks: Under AB 506 (2022) all those who supervise, teach, administer, or volunteer receive FBI/DOJ background checks as required by law and are trained under the mandated reporter training