The Outdoor Science Alliance (OSA) is the educational component of the Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the preservation of the local history and natural resources of Rockland Lake, Hook Mountain, Nyack Beach State Park, and Haverstraw Beach State Park. OSA creates programs and partnerships to strengthen our children’s relationship with the natural world, and to deepen their understanding of nature's systems and the myriad species that make up life on Earth. Through partnerships with the Nyack School District, the Nyack Center, and other local groups, the Outdoor Science Alliance provides hands-on, reality-driven learning programs to spark children’s innate curiosity and bring the natural sciences alive for them.
 
Outdoor Science Alliance programs infuse a sense of wonder to curriculum topics through experiential outdoor activities, ready-to-teach lesson plans, and professional development—all designed to fit seamlessly within the Next Generation Science Standards within the Nyack School District and beyond.

 

With the Nyack School District, we connect students with our local parks through Learning in the Park programs. Starting in 2018, this two-part outdoor program provides the third-graders of all three Nyack Elementary Schools with curriculum-based adventures in their own schoolyard, and then at Hook Mountain and Nyack Beach State Parks.  
 
The Outdoor Science Alliance's activities also include a partnership with the Nyack Center’s Afterschool Program to bring children outside to explore and study ecosystems they walk past every day.