GOODWILLIE
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCHOOL

Through the generosity of the Goodwillie & Nelson families, a permanent home for the Forest Hills Environmental School was planned, built and opened to 96 fifth and sixth graders in November of 2001. The school was named Goodwillie Environmental School to memorialize Kelly Goodwillie and his genuine love and respect for our natural environment.

Yes, dreams really do come true! The dream of having an environmental school in the Forest Hills School District was hard to imagine, but after the approval from the Board of Education it became a reality in the fall of 1999. The philosophy of integrating environmental education into the curriculum and using the outdoors as a motivation for learning was exciting and ignited a great deal of interest in the Forest Hills community. Portable classrooms were installed at Camp O’Malley, fifth grade students were selected and before long, two eager teachers and 44 excited students were ready to begin this adventure together. The enthusiasm and pioneering spirit of the students and parents from the first year created unforgettable memories for those that experienced it. Going to school at camp was a unique opportunity that few people will ever experience and for those that did it was magical.

In the winter of 2000, a decision was made for Forest Hills Environmental School to expand to include both 5th and 6th grades, but lack of classroom space presented an interesting challenge. The stars must have been aligned again because Jim and Mary Goodwillie Nelson granted a generous gift to Forest Hills Public Schools to build an environmental school. Their gift was used to build the first LEED certified “Green School” in Michigan – Goodwillie Environmental School, named for Kelly Goodwillie, an avid outdoorsman. In November 2001 we bade farewell to Camp O’Malley and boarded buses for our new school. It only seemed appropriate that the students would be introduced to their “living textbook” first, so hand in hand they walked silently through Seidman Park making their way to their new school building, a founding tradition they honor each year.

by Andrew Goodwillie

It was an honor to make a few remarks about my father on behalf of the family at the GES dedication ten years ago. I shared with the attendees that Kelly was an active outdoorsman, a hunter, and fisherman, and not necessarily a self-described environmentalist. He enjoyed actively recreating in nature and encouraged my brother and me to explore the outdoors as youngsters. My childhood home (where my mom still lives) was just down Honey Creek Road from GES. Thanks to my dad, I was fortunate to spend countless hours and days in the unkempt woods of Ada, much like GES students do every day – exploring the muddy banks of Honey Creek, constructing forts from found forest materials, and just wandering quietly, observing birds flicker in the trees, animals scurry in the brush, and enjoying the peaceful shimmer of wind meeting maple.

My Dad gave me an informal education in the outdoors, taking me along on weekend fly-fishing trips in Michigan and extended float trips out west. As a teenager, my dad encouraged me to challenge myself and participate in a month-long National Outdoor Leadership (NOLS) camping expedition. My month living outside in the Wind River range in Wyoming, carrying only life’s necessities on my back, was a life-altering, mind-expanding experience that cemented the foundation for my love of nature and its ability to teach us unmatched lessons about ourselves, and ti reveal insights about the world around us.

Buckets of praise, gratitude, and thanks to my mother and stepfather, Mary and Jim Nelson, for identifying the immense potential of the outdoor, experiential education model, realizing its connection to my dad’s values and legacy, and their generous commitment to establish this extraordinary school in memory of Kelly Goodwillie.

The contributions of the original group of teachers who conceived the initial Goodwillie Environmental seminar class and the founding staff of GES cannot be underestimated. Their wonderful kernel of an idea has enriched the lives and expanded the educational frontiers of hundreds of children.