Ashley “Cherry Tree” Herrera didn’t know she would find garter snakes around Lake Tahoe. She also probably didn’t realize she’d get so much out of exploring the area through hiking and star-gazing, either.

Cherry Tree was Herrera’s nature name while she stayed with her classmates from Alice Maxwell Elementary in Sparks for four days at the Great Basin Outdoor School (GBOS) at Camp Galilee along the shore of Lake Tahoe this week. The science camp is directed mostly toward low-income students who ordinarily don’t have the chance to travel or experience a fun, engaging way to see Tahoe and learn concepts that are better experienced in a personal, sensory approach than sitting behind a desk all day.

“This is more fun than being in the classroom,” Herrera said.

GBOS is a seasonal school that hosts students from all over Nevada, with a high concentration of Washoe County kids, for four days at a time at Camp Galilee, not far from Sand Harbor on Tahoe’s east shore. Schools can go to the camp for a two-day winter session during which students can snowshoe, or for a four-day spring, summer or fall session.

Program director Loren “Ripple” Rupp spends the bulk of the time with the kids, teaching them about astronomy, ecology, fire safety and water quality through various activities.

GBOS founder Sue “Sky” Jacox, who taught Spanish and English for 28 years at Reno High School and is still certified, said the jam-packed schedule teaches kids about all sorts of concepts that come to life once they can see it and touch it, such as photosynthesis.

“In the winter, they learn about snowpack as a source of water,” Jacox said. “Most kids have never been snowshoeing. Some have never been to Tahoe before.”

More than 56 percent of the children who attend are low-income, Jacox said.

Maxwell teacher Kathy Gage, who has many Hispanic students who struggle with basic academic skills at school, said these students face challenges in juggling learning the language with core subject matter.

“These guys really need to understand what it’s all about,” she said. “They just don’t get the value; they have to see beauty of the world if they’re going to protect it.”

Gage has several students who live in foster care or in nontraditional families and therefore lack basic home skills or life activities, such as setting a table or enjoying recreation.

“They’re not exposed to a whole family meal and helping out,” she said. “It was cute; they were trying to set a table here and they didn’t know how to set a table. They were figuring out who gets to be a plate scraper and learning about good nutrition. This is just a very good thing.”

Gage, who has taught various grade levels for 10 years, gets some time during the day with her students to have them share their experiences and sum up what they’ve learned. It also gives them a sense of camaraderie, she said.

“What I’m hoping is we’ll inspire some people to help out and realize that these are kids that normally never get a chance to do this,” Gage said.

Jacox said she invites kids from other counties —she is expecting some Storey County students soon — but has a soft spot for those from Washoe County because that’s where she taught for so long.

This week, Maxwell students hiked, rode on a research boat, examined microscopic plankton, talked about the mountain regions and more.

On Wednesday, the kids went for a hike along a quiet trail around Spooner Lake in small groups with a naturalist who led them in activities and taught them about the various wildlife, including birds and insects, that roam the lake.

One group of curious kids saw sights most have never seen. Rolling logs out of the way to look for creepy-crawlers, they worked to catch beetles and spiders in small boxes with magnifiers to count legs and antennae and identify the head, abdomen and thorax. They also learned about controlled burns and how they can help the environment.

Caroline “Sunflower” Luscombe, a naturalist, has been working at GBOS for a year and has been trained to work with kids in the outdoors through other summer camps.

“This is probably one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had because we have the opportunity to take kids out into open spaces,” Luscombe said. “Most kids don’t go outdoors anymore, so outdoor exploration is kind of lost on this generation of kids. Hopefully, they learn to love science through it.”

Luscombe and the other naturalists receive training by Rupp, who said the experiences make the children “fierce learners.”

“When we teach it here, we get it,” Rupp said. “They’re a part of it.”

Generally, the Maxwell students learned much more as they spent the majority of this week not in their own classrooms but in the open space of the Great Basin Outdoor School.

“In the post-assessments (the kids fill out at the end of the week), we document the knowledge they’ve gained ... and they’re more interested in science,” Jacox said.

Many scientists today get their start from young experiences at science camps or schools, Jacox said.

The school adheres to science curriculum standards so that their regular classroom teachers can later apply what they learn at GBOS to other lessons.

Aime “Water Wave” Becerra, 12, had the time of her life learning about how precious the Earth is and making new friends.

“It’s better than sitting at a desk and doing nothing, just like math,” Becerra said. “Here, you get to walk and see nature and play with people you didn’t know had the same things in common with you. Here, you get almost a whole 24 hours of learning about science and astronomy, and walk around the camp — as long as you don’t go into the boys’ cabins.

“I learned more about the Earth that I didn’t know before,” Becerra added. “They’re teaching us to save the planet.”

Jacox said community donations are always appreciated because to send one student to GBOS costs about $240. If a class isn’t able to come up with the full amount, the camp will accept about $195. The classes do as much fundraising as possible, but without the support of the Nevada Department of Forestry, the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, GBOS would struggle to accommodate all who wish to come, Jacox said.

To contribute or for more information about the school, visit www.greatbasin-os.org or call 823-8888 or 849-1890.