St. Paul’s School German Teacher Justin Mohler builds on a legacy of academic rigor and cultural exploration, bringing fresh perspectives and a philosophy of flexibility to the classroom.
November 4, 2026
Following a keynote by forester Matthias Nevins about the legacy of stewardship for School lands, students enjoyed a LinC Day full of outdoor adventures.
BY KATE DUNLOP
A 70-degree day was the perfect setting for the Fall Term’s LinC Day dedicated to forestry stewardship education and mini-expeditions that had students exploring the grounds and nearby parks; trying archery, canoeing, and farming; and getting hands-on lessons in wilderness survival, first aid, fire building, and more.
Held in the Fall and Spring Terms, LinC Days are a cornerstone of the Living in Community curriculum, designed to nurture students’ growth as knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and contributing members of society. On the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 3, energetic student LinC leaders greeted their peers outside of Memorial Hall and, in their welcome remarks, urged them to step outside their comfort zones, embrace the spirit of adventure, and work in teams to overcome challenges.
Before the students broke into groups for the first of two rotations that included hikes and skill stations, forester Matthias Nevins of Meadowsend Consulting Company presented about the St. Paul’s School forest and how the School stewards its 2,000-acre campus, more than 1,100 of which are forested and operable. For scale, Nevins explained, an acre is about the size of a football field, so the campus with its athletic and farm fields, wetlands, and forests is “a huge area and an amazing resource.” The School forest’s history is inseparable from New Hampshire’s, Nevins said, presenting a timeline that showed pre-Colonial virgin forest giving way to 19th century fields guarded by stonewalls and then reforestation that has seen the Granite State go from 80% open to 82% forested — the second most forested state in the nation.
Expanding on the School’s legacy of stewardship, Nevins outlined its 40 years of professional forest management with plans that are updated every 10 years to maintain forest health, promote biodiversity and ensure sustainable timber harvesting. Between 1986 and 1998, an average of 155,000 board feet of timber was harvested annually; over that same 12-year period, timber volume actually grew and exceeded the rate of harvest. In recent months, Nevins has overseen a harvest project in the forest near Crumpacker Boathouse, where about 280,000 board feet was removed from 40 acres.
Later, walking through those woods as oak leaves fluttered to the ground, Nevins told a small group of students about how he selected individual trees for removal and transport to local mills. Those still standing with blue ribbons around them have what he considers bright futures, even more so now that they have a little less competition for nutrients and sunlight to grow straight and tall.
“Ultimately, the goal is to keep this space as a forest that’s functioning at a high level. We’re trying to encourage these trees to grow,” he said. “And when we harvest a tree, we take really good care of it because it’s a big deal. We want to make sure that we’re respecting that tree and utilizing it as best we can. It’s a part of what makes living in this part of the world sustainable, the fact that we can grow the trees that we use.”
Accommodating some students’ wishes to hug a tree, Nevins pointed out a giant white pine and a sturdy red oak as particularly good candidates.
After lunch, the day’s program wrapped up with a scavenger hunt that had students divided into 36 groups following 18 clues that took them to all corners of campus. And while getting to know their Millville home a little better was rewarding, the best part may have been spending time together learning from each other. Hearing that his group needed to head for Hawley Observatory, Remi Costas ’28 said he’d never been there and wondered how to find it; Emma Burke ’29 spoke up to say she’s taking Introduction to Astronomy this term and led the way to a planet-identifying exercise. After, as they headed to Bogle-Lechner Field and a round of Duck Duck Goose on the turf, members of the group compared notes about the presence of stars in their lives: nonexistent for those from Seoul and New York when home, but clear and beautiful for all in the night skies over Millville. And, for thespian Eva Mae Escuder ’30, who said she’d not yet been to any athletic site on campus, the turf field, Pillsbury Field, and the Forms of 2002 and 2001 Children’s Playground next to the outdoor tennis courts were all new discoveries.
The day’s mission of building confidence, learning practical skills, and connecting with people through hands-on activities and new experiences while deepening students’ connection to nature? Accomplished.
