Sunrise sits on 15 beautiful wooded acres and that is not by accident. We carefully selected our location based on the need for a ‘green space’ that our students could enjoy. Each day children are given the opportunity to explore the great outdoors and experience a variety of outdoor scenery of plants, trees, wildlife and more. Children participate in the planting of ‘The Children’s Garden’ each year which includes potatoes, carrots, onions, radishes, leafy greens, squash, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and more. In addition, herb gardens are planted for the fragrant and tasting pleasures of our students. The Monarch Garden is dedicated to preserving the Monarchs and giving them a mini-sanctuary right here on Sunrise grounds, allowing students the opportunity to view the beautiful life cycle of butterflies up close. Each year children enjoy planting, caring for and harvesting the many gardens at Sunrise, enjoying fresh berries, fragrant flowers, tasty herbs, tomatoes, carrots and more!
Nature hikes give students opportunities to explore the great outdoors while observing the changing seasons, native plant life here in Missouri and plenty of wild life too. Birdwatching has become a favorite past time of many Sunrise students over the years. Our goal is to allow children to explore and learn naturally through their interactions with the environment while instilling a love of the land and learning to care for the planet. We hope to model to children that things of yesterday can be refurbished and remade into new things we can enjoy tomorrow.