Nature Studies encompasses a wide range of grade-level-specific, hands-on themes, including organic gardening, vermiculture, forestry, ecology, environmental stewardship, wilderness skills, and more. Our program also takes advantage of "opportunistic learning," where lessons in nature arise spontaneously, creating truly authentic and memorable experiences. Finally, students regularly take time to observe, sketch, and write in their nature journals.

In the fall, the school's s main lobby features a glass terrarium of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars engaged in the metamorphosis process. A Nature Studies favorite, students never tire of releasing the beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterflies into the gardens, where they can restart their unique life cycle on the school garden's passion fruit (or maypop) vine.

In addition to sowing and harvesting our fall crops, older students have the opportunity to organize and sell houseplants and seedlings in our annual Arborbrook Plant Sale. The money raised goes back into the Nature Studies program to support future planting.

Our 5th grade nature studies program maintains a special international partnership with a 5th grade class at Käthe-Kollwitz Gymnasium in Zwickau, Germany. Both classes exchange letters multiple times of the year on topics ranging from plants and animals to culture and language. Our large herb garden is dedicated to our German partner school and displays herb name labels in both English and German.

Arborbrook is proud to host several learning gardens. Our K–6 Edible School Garden contains 14 raised garden beds (one per class), several muscadine grapevines, passion fruit vines, fig trees, persimmon trees, and perennial and annual flower beds. Our Pollinator Garden serves as a habitat for a variety of butterflies and features bird feeders and stunning perennial Maximilian sunflowers that bloom each fall.

Our woodland playground serves as the entrance to our wooded trails, where students can explore native plants and trees, decomposing logs, mushrooms, lichens, insects, reptiles, birds, and more. In the spring, the dry woodland creek bed fills with life, and students can wade in the shallow water while searching for tadpoles, crayfish, and salamander larvae.

Arborbrook Christian Academy is located on the edge of one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Charlotte, North Carolina is exploding in population, housing and business construction. Despite this fast-pace development, Arborbrook supports an ever-growing enclave of families who desire an education committed to slowing down, engaging in hands-on experiences, and celebrating and preserving the natural world.  Arborbrook desires to combat the American “nature-deficit disorder”, especially in the face of Charlotte’s disappearing green communities. Outdoor education is one of our school pillars, and students come to expect formal instruction and informal self-discoveries among the gardens and nature trails around campus.