The Clearing Folk School, usually called just The Clearing, is a

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

institution located near

Ellison Bay, Wisconsin Ellison Bay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Door County, Wisconsin, United States, within the town of Liberty Grove and is located on Highway 42 along the Green Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population ...

, United States. It was founded by Jens Jensen in 1935. A successful

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

, Jensen began acquiring a private summer estate in 1919; the estate, re-landscaped by Jensen, became the nucleus of the school. Jensen was inspired by the

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

s of his native

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

History

Jensen lived in ''The Clearing'' as a widower from 1935 until 1951. After his death, The Clearing was operated by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau for 37 years as a rural retreat, conference center, and continuing-education institution. Following The Clearing's independence as a

nonprofit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

in 1988, The Clearing has continued to fulfill these roles, with a concentration on adult education and as a meeting place for

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

s. The Clearing describes itself as a place for "classes in natural sciences, fine arts, skilled crafts and humanities." The Clearing's emphasis on "regional ecology" is seen as providing continuity with founder Jensen's own aspirations and beliefs.

Current status

The appreciation of "regional ecology" from a landscape perspective, a focus of continuing education at The Clearing, has helped to drive the emerging professions of

landscape ecology Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizatio ...

and

spatial ecology Spatial ecology studies the ultimate distributional or spatial unit occupied by a species. In a particular habitat shared by several species, each of the species is usually confined to its own microhabitat or spatial niche because two species in ...

. As of 2012, the Clearing offers classwork throughout the year, except for March, April, and December. Day-to-week-length appreciation classes center on collective learning through discussion, conversation, and hands-on work. During the high season (May–October), the folk school specializes in weeklong appreciation classes; in November, January, and February, day classes and daylong workshops can be experienced. (Archived May 3, 2015) The Clearing Folk School was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 31, 1974 as site #74000080.

People connected with The Clearing

* Norbert Blei, longtime writer in residence * Jens Jensen, founder

References

External links

*
Jensen Will Open School of Nature

continued
''Door County Advocate'', Volume 74, Number 14, June 14, 1935 {{DEFAULTSORT:Clearing Folk School Buildings and structures in Door County, Wisconsin Historic American Landscapes Survey in Wisconsin School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin Education in Door County, Wisconsin