An
academy in the outdoors, a most "classical" one...
In
many of our School's programmes, for instance in Environmental
("Green") Leadership, the courses are offered in online
or hybrid learning mode, combined with in-residence courses (Summer institute).
In the summer of 2004, at the time the main offices of our graduate
school were still located in Brussels, the concept of a small
outdoor campus was introduced, in the southern
part of Belgium.
Workshops,
labs, lectures, and extracurricular activities are held in and
around the botanical garden adjacent to an old mansion, surnamed
"The House". The
mansion is a former farm-lodge with historic oak-framed
walls dating back to the 18th century. The entire scenery is picturesque,
being embanked in a valley bordered with forests and rivulets.
The garden's centennial trees contribute to a unique feeling of serenity, an ideal atmosphere
for open
learning.
The
site is situated in a hamlet
found in the
north-eastern Belgian Ardennes.
[1]
Nearby towns
include Durbuy, a small city that has kept many of its medieval houses
and streets; Manhay, where fierce WWII battles were fought
in the winter of 1944; the village of Wéris with its 4000-year-old megaliths;
and on the banks of the Ourthe river the town of Barvaux,
where the school's Ardennes
East office is located since the end of 2009.
The
House, combining mansion and greens, expresses
the root-meaning of the term 'campus' in its most original form, somewhat alike the grove
academy the
Greek philosopher Plato had founded more than 2400 years ago in Athens, Greece.
At our outdoor site
students and faculty from around the world share their passion for
leadership, and their hopes for our global natural
environments. 
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