What Happens When You Replace Detention With a Hike?

"Many schools respond to misbehavior by assigning detention, where students are required to sit still and keep to themselves. But one school counselor in Maine, Leslie Trundy, is offering a different option: detention hikes. Trundy's novel approach captured national media attention when she began offering students the option to join her for hikes on nearby trails. A year-and-a-half into this novel offering, the results are compelling: Fewer students have been receiving detention since the new option was introduced, and teachers have observed more positive engagement in the days following hikes. While there has not yet been a formal research study to quantify the impact, detention hikes appear to be a meaningful, relational alternative that supports students while connecting them to the benefits of time in nature and physical movement."

"There is a stark contrast between the environments of traditional detention and a hike. The experience of detention can be isolating, as teens are restricted from talking with peers as they sit in a classroom as a consequence for their behaviors. But this isolation does little to teach students skills or support their well-being and sense of belonging-factors that can contribute to improved behaviors."

"But a detention hike offers students an experience that facilitates connection to their peers, the school counselor, and to nature. Trundy notes that most hikes begin with some level of guardedness, but as the group hikes alongside each other, conversations flow and defenses soften."

Detention hikes offer students an alternative to traditional sit-and-silent detention by replacing isolation with guided outdoor movement and social connection. Participation has coincided with fewer assigned detentions and teachers reporting more positive engagement in days after hikes. The approach leverages time in nature and physical activity to help stressed students shift toward emotional regulation and a stronger sense of belonging. Hikes often start with guardedness but typically open into conversation as peers and a counselor move together. The model emphasizes accountability through relationship rather than punitive isolation. Formal research on effectiveness is still pending.

Read at Psychology Today