About Us

What Is Divergent Outdoors?

Your neurodivergent affirming curriculum and behavior consultant in the sky, offering customized lesson plans from the individual learner to the organizational level. Tailored curriculum based on what makes your learners special. Started from the founders extensive experience in the outdoor education industry and noticing how often the organizations and instructors with the best intentions were oftentimes not fully equipped nor trained in how to best support neurodivergent students that oftentimes came to their programs. With a firm belief in the transformational and self affirming nature of outdoor/experiential education, Divergent Outdoors came to life in order to properly equip individual instructors and organizations to support neurodivergent learners through engaging lesson planning, innovative training , and outside consultation. No matter if you are a parent homeschooling their child or trying to help their child rediscover their love of learning, a newly formed outdoor education institution hoping to demonstrate your commitment to supporting all kinds of learners, to well established organizations that want to ensure they are properly preparing their team to positively impact all of the students you teach during that busy summer season; Divergent Outdoors is here to support you.

A whale surfacing in the ocean with its head and part of its body visible above the water.

Accessibility For All

We believe that any individual, family, or organization should be able to be utilize our services in order to help their students. Thus we have a sliding scale payment system for our various packages to ensure that our product is accessible to anyone regardless of income.

The 4 Guiding Pillars Of Divergent Outdoors

A mountain goat standing on a rocky hillside with snow-covered mountain in the background and leafless trees around.

Customizability

Everyone who partners with Divergent Outdoors is unique in their own ways; from the populations they serve, to the materials they possess, to the objectives of the organization. At Divergent Outdoors we customize all of our lesson plans, trainings, and consulting services to best fit each client. From in person to remote options, year round packages to 5 lesson plan packages we will have a product that will suit your needs.

Four sea lions resting on a rocky surface, with one in the middle appearing to be asleep.

Passionate Compassion

Education is a field that is rooted in compassion and passion. Here at Divergent Outdoors we are passionate about utilizing our services to help promote a more compassionate and inclusive outdoor space. We are passionate about compassion here at Divergent Outdoors.                   

Evolution And Improvement

Education and psychology are as much art as they are a science. As such they are constantly evolving fields with innovative findings and techniques being put forward often, Divergent Outdoors is at the forefront of these trends. We are constantly researching how we can perfect our craft of supporting neurodivergent learners in outdoor spaces. One of the best ways we gain that knowledge is through feedback given to us by our clients. We respect and HIGHLY value your opinion therefore the feedback we recieve is constantly being utilized to make us a better company.

Selected Experience

  • Current Head Coach at Alaska Rock Gym

  • Instructor at North Carolina Outward Bound School

  • Expedition Guide for UnCruise Adventures

  • Education Coordinator for ColdHarbour Institute

  • Fellow For UN Center For Mountain Partnerships

  • Child Care Coordinator For CAFE Program

  • Substitute teacher for Gunnison School District

  • Education Specialist at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

  • Professional Nanny

  • Naturalist for Naturalist at Large

  • Curriculum Design Consultant For UN Zero Water Day Partnership

  • Ice Climbing Instructor for All In Ice Fest

  • Head of Boys/Expedition Leader For Mass Audubon Wildwood Camp

  • Camp Counselor for Howard County Recreation and Parks Adventure Camps

Meet the Team

Matthew Jones, founder of Divergent Outdoors, A bearded man wearing an orange beanie, an orange neck gaiter, a blue shirt, and an orange watch standing outdoors by a body of water during daytime.
Man smiling in a colorful indoor rock climbing gym, lying against an orange climbing wall with various colored holds.

Education

  • BA In Outdoor Education from Western Colorado University

  • MA in Environmental Management from Western Colorado University

Matthew as a kid with dark hair smiling and playing with two large dogs, one black and one gray, indoors.
Matthew as a kid practicing archery outdoors in a grassy area with trees in the background.
A photo of Matthew Jones, founder of Divergent Outdoors. Man smiling at an indoor climbing gym, wearing a colorful knit hat and an orange t-shirt with the text 'All In Ice Fest' and a graphic of an ice axe.

Resume and Experiences Abridged

Certifications

  • AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

  • Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT)

  • USA Level 1 Archery Instructor

Matthew Jones

Founder + Lead Educator

Hello, and thank you for visiting Divergent Outdoors. This is my love letter to the incredible outdoor industry that changed my life for the better. Growing up as a neurodivergent and disabled kid (ADHD, Autism, Anxiety Disorder, Dysgraphia, Congenital Hypotonia, and Hypermobility Syndrome) my journey in life has always been a divergent one from the norm.

Growing up I was always known as the “quirky” kid, the one who wanted to go in the woods to find snakes rather than play football. The one who could write a complex story in the middle of the night when I was hyper-focused but struggled to read 5 pages of a book when I was experiencing executive dysfunction. The one who would be courageous picking up a frog but then had a autistic meltdown when I experienced sensory overload at a grocery store. I had many interests but oftentimes stopped them before I truly became a master. This was until my first job at the local Recreation and Parks branch when I was 17 years old when I worked as a adventure camp counselor.

This simple summer job marked the turning point of my life, I found the world where I could unmask—where the strengths I had as a hyperactive, neurodivergent person could truly shine. I briefly attended Community College originally to become a nurse but realized my true passion lied in outdoor education so I left community college and went off to Western Colorado University.

At Western Colorado University I earned a BA in Outdoor Education alongside obtaining a MA in Environmental Management with a emphasis in Global Sustainability. During my time at Western I dedicated myself to gaining as much experience as possible where I discovered my passion and talent for inclusive curriculum design. By designing curriculum, I felt I was able to create the learning experiences that I wish I had as a child who struggled in school. I wanted to make learning engaging, so I did. Once I graduated I realized I needed to build my skillset and learn from other amazing educators before I was ready to become a leader. Then, I traveled and worked all over the country for a variety of incredible experiential education providers. I then discovered Alaska which completely stole my heart and it is where I decided to establish my “basecamp”.

Throughout my journeys I noticed one trend seemed to permeate throughout everywhere I worked. I noticed that well intentioned instructors oftentimes became overwhelmed and were not able to properly support many neurodivergent learners. Yet even with this lack of support I still saw so many neurodivergent kids who were labeled as “trouble” kids thrive in these environments. It was from this continuous experience where Divergent Outdoors was born. I wanted to help these organizations, instructors, and families that do life enhancing work by connecting these kids with nature to the tools to help them best equip themselves to support any student they may teach. Divergent Outdoors is my way of giving back to the industry that means so much to me, the outdoor education world saved my life and now I want to use my life to help others find that joy in these outdoors spaces.