I honestly don't remember much rote memorization when I was in school except maybe the multiplication table. It is very helpful when learning a second language though. You can certainly use memory techniques too, but I found flash cards very effective when I first started studying Japanese. However, that's a bit different from rote memorization of facts in your mother tongue, which isn't a bad thing in itself, the problem is being tested on facts, dates, names, etc. instead of the big picture.

I think combining the basic life skills in a familiar outdoor area with memory techniques that rely on knowing that area for memorizing those things that need it could be a good way to kill two birds with one stone.