by editor | Sep 8, 2025 | Marine/Aquatic Education, Place-based Education
from Bec Boyd article: Growing Kids Who Care
Clearing Compendium 2011
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Charleston OR
“It’s good fun learning about the sea. We go out to the bay and find lots of different species. Itís important that we know more about the sea and how to look after it so it will be healthy.” (Grade 5 student)
Around 3500 young people aged six to twelve from twelve schools on the south-west coast of Oregon have been learning to manage the marine resources on their doorstep as a result of a highly successful programme run by Jan Hodder and Trish Mace at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB). Nine graduate students are funded by the National Science Foundation not only to carry out research, but to become excellent communicators and educators in marine science.
In an area where many rural coastal communities rely on shellfish gathering and fishing to supplement often low incomes, and some fisheries are in decline, it is important that marine life is managed wisely. What better way of achieving this than by growing a generation of young marine experts?
After a week’s intensive training, the nine graduates teach at primary schools two days a week. They have created an imaginative incremental curriculum based on field- work and hands-on projects. It is designed to help the students learn not only about marine life and sustainability but about critical scientific thinking. By Grade 6 each student has spent a year studying each marine habitat, from rocky and sandy shores to estuaries, kelp forests, the open ocean and island ecosystems. Each one is able to survey and record local coastal species, is familiar with geology, colonization, seasonal and tidal changes, diversity and food webs, as well as the impacts of human activities like fishing, energy production and marine litter, and how to manage them.
Identifying zooplankton
In spring 2010, for example, one Grade 6 class (aged 12) wrote and produced a seabird guide and used it on a bird-spotting trip to nearby Coquille Point. They carried out repeat surveys of marine life on Cape Blanco beach, adding their results to OIMB records. In one lesson Grade 5 (aged 11) learned to identify zoo- and phytoplankton and found out about their role in ocean ecosystems. Grade 4 (aged 10) students were able to talk knowledgeably about why the hunting of sea otters has allowed sea urchins to decimate kelp forests, and how modern fisheries have affected marine biomass. At the annual OIMB Open House in May, children from all backgrounds and corners of the school district brought their parents to meet their favourite graduate student and see at first-hand what they had been learning.
The aim is that class teachers will gain the skills to carry on the programme themselves, with the support of the grade-based curricula, lesson plans and training materials that OIMB has provided on its website. OIMB can then focus on a similar programme aimed at local high school students.
Local fishermen are already managing Dungeness crab and Pink shrimp fisheries sustainably and are initiating discussions on marine protected areas. As a result of the OIMB programme, a generation of school children has become engaged, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about “their” sea and how to manage it. They are already caring local citizens who give real hope for the future.
by editor | Sep 8, 2025 | Outstanding Programs in EE
Planting Seeds of Community
Sunnyside Environmental School, Portland, Oregon
“This school makes you more confident and you get to try more things. The mixed classrooms in the middle school work really well. It is pretty fun actually because then the middle school is a bit like a family.” (Eric 12)
The riot of colour and activity that is Sunnyside Environmental School, a mainstream school of around 550 five to fourteen year-olds from a range of backgrounds, makes it hard to believe that the warm red brick building set amongst neat vegetable and flower plots, bright murals and mosaics, is a only few blocks from Portland city centre. Inside, the atmosphere is happy, buoyant and relaxed, with a strong sense of a supportive community of confident individuals.
The principal, Sarah Taylor, started this “ordinary” state school in 1995 to provide an education that…
“…brings the beauty and magic of the natural world into the lives of children through an integrated, developmentally appropriate, art infused education. Creativity, love of learning, personal responsibility and family are the cornerstones of an education that celebrates the many overlapping environments of Portland. The city’s wild and urban areas become sites for inquiry, exploration and understanding as children acquire personal and academic skills that lead to a satisfying life as thoughtful, active members of the larger community.”
Literacy, numeracy and “traditional” subjects are not taught in isolation, but integrated using Storyline3 into learning about the local area under the curriculum themes of rivers, mountains and forests. In a “river” year, for example, students might choose an Oregon river and write its story through time, monitor pollution and water life at a local wetland for the Local Authority and organize a River Festival. Pupils grow, harvest and prepare all the food eaten in the school with the help of the school garden and a small nearby urban “farm.” Food is used to strengthen the school community and to learn about food sustainability, seasonal cycles and the rituals of other cultures. Students learn at first hand about social issues by identifying and tackling problems in the local community, from visiting and fundraising for the elderly to growing vegetables for the homeless.
Unstructured play, singing, dancing, visual arts and a large amount of time outdoors in familiar “Places” are considered vital for children’s sense of “Place” and belonging, as well as for their cognitive and social development.
The result is a school where care and respect for others underpin an exciting learning experience. One teacher, comparing Sunnyside with more “traditional” schools says, “It’s not more work it’s just different. At other schools itís a lot about lesson plans and tests, correcting and scoring…here the activities are much more interactive and student-focused, the students lead on many issues and take a lot of responsibility. I think it’s more interesting for the students, and more stimulating and fun for the teachers. The great thing is so many of the projects here are cross-disciplinary. It makes it much more interesting to 
teach.’ The students show great maturity and confidence ñ from a nursery level “poetry slam” to extremely thought- provoking presentations by fourteen year-olds. At all levels the school seems to be succeeding in shaping individuals whose character, confidence, maturity and happiness owe much to a strong sense of “their Place”, what they belong to and the difference they make to it.
Taylor firmly believes that this transformation of school culture is possible on the state allowance for mainstream schools, although an active Parent Teachers Students Association raises funds for “extras” like a part-time Sustainability Co-ordinator and two staff, who manage the school gardens.
by editor | Sep 8, 2025 | Environmental Literacy, IslandWood
Cultivating Identity: The power of identity development in the environmental education
by Morgan Malley
For some time now Rupi Kaurís words “fall in love with your solitude” have been delicately swirling in my head. As a child I struggled to formulate an understanding of my identity due to being mixed-race. Being perceive as never ìfullyî a part of either identity I felt isolated. My yearning to feel a sense of belonging led me on an identity journey as an adult. My exploration came to ahead when I realized that my identity is a collection of multiple identities, each containing my unique experiences. Therefore, there will never be another person who will feel exactly like myself, because there is no one who is exactly like me. The realization that everyone lives in their own solitude provided me the belonging I was searching for.
There are few opportunities in education to discuss and learn how to navigate self-identity. Even though everyone questions their identity at some point in their life. That is why as an educator I seek opportunities to teach students about identity. As a graduate student in the University of Washingtonís masters of education program in partnership with Islandwood I have the unique opportunity to weave identity education into my lessons. Islandwood is a residential outdoor school located on Bainbridge Island. It hosts 4th through 6th grade students for a week-long program focusing on stewardship, science, and teamwork. Here I have seen firsthand the value of helping students explore their identity.
Islandwood students striving to balance the Whale Watch element during teambuilding.
What is identity?
Identity is ìthe collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing or a person is definitively recognized or knownî (Social Standards, n.d.). The formation of identity begins early in development as ìadolescents start searching for self-defined values, norms and commitments and are increasingly questioning their identificationsî (Erikson, 1968). The formation of identity is critical to because ìadolescents who have explored their identity commitments increasingly identify and become more confident about these identity choices over timeî (Grotevant, 1987). By providing students with the opportunity to discuss identity not only do we create a comfort with it, but we also improve their confidence with their own identity.
Perspective Storytelling
One of my favorite ways to teach identity education is through perspective storytelling. Storytelling is a powerful tool as ìa well told story can help a person see things in an entirely new way. We can forge new relationships and strengthen the ones we already haveî (Gonzalez, 2018). Perspective storytelling is a thought provoking writing activity where students narrate from a point of view other than themselves. Since perspective storytelling can be challenging to describe I will provide students an example by reading them a perspective story. Students then get to craft their own which could be a short story, comic strip, or diary entries about any creature we learned about that week at Islandwood. It is essential to provide students with a decent amount of time to construct their stories. Because of this I have students re-visit their perspective stories to work on their identity reflection at a later time.
P
HOTO Islandwood students writing perspective stories on the Suspension Bridge
Identity Reflection
My time as a student and instructor has taught me the importance of reflection. Reflection is ìthe intentional attempt to synthesize, abstract, and articulate the key lessons taught by experienceî (Di Stefano, Pisano, & Staats, 2015). When perspective stories are paired with intentional reflection students are able to examine their narrative and identify pieces of who they are woven in. When re-visiting perspective stories I open with the book ìFish is Fishî by Leo Lionni. This childrenís book shares the story of a tadpole leaving his fish friend behind to explore beyond the pond. The Frog returns to describe to Fish all of the new creatures he saw above water. The illustrations show Fish picturing these creatures, such as birds, with fish bodies. This story opens up a conversation with students about our inability to remove our personal experiences from our thoughts. Students are then prompted to take a look at their perspective stories and write about how it reflects themselves. I have found that students are happily surprised when reflecting upon their narratives. They formulate a deeper connection to the character they created, and enjoy sharing about how the character emulates elements of themselves.
One memorable perspective story and reflection came from a student named Kira*.
“We all went to frog’s birthday, mom, me, dad, and sister. Me, frog, and slug went to a mushroom and played on it— except me I’m too small but I have fun with them so I’m happy, soon we ate garbage, spider ate insects with frog.”
Kira bravely shared the following in her reflective writing.
“My perspective reflected me because I think worms have friends of different races/species and have birthday parties, and the main protagonist named stuff that he/she hears about and sees”
During the quiet reflective time I sat with Kira and asked her verbally expand on her answers with me. I asked her why the worm was too small to play on the mushroom. She replied that the worm had been small its whole life. I recognized this as an opportunity to share how I had seen myself as small my whole life. I shared with Kira that I felt this way because I had repeatedly been called small by my peers. This opened the door to have a conversation about how society influences our identity and that we have the power to accept or reject it. Kiraís perspective story reflection also demonstrated her ability to recognize diversity in an ecosystem, and connect it to her community. This story illustrates how students are already recognizing identity similarities and differences in their everyday lives.
During the open discussion, I have seen students demonstrate an increased comfort level with talking about their identity. Often students can be heard expressing how they feel connected to those who have similar identities to themselves. Yet, recognize the necessity of having differences in identity within their communities. By providing a space for students to reflect upon their identities we allow them to cultivate a stronger bond with themselves. This confidence then transcends into their communities creating new interpersonal ties to those with similar identities, and different identities. By helping create a space for identity education, we are helping students fall in love with their solitude.
*Student name changed
References
Di Stefano, G., Pisano, G., & Staats, B. R. (2015). Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance.†Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings,†2015(1), 1. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.5465/AMBPP.2015.12709abstract
Erikson, E. (1968).†Youth: Identity and crisis. New York, NY: Norton. 10.1126/science.161.3838.257
Grotevant, H. D. (1987). Toward a process model of identity formation.†Journal of Adolescent Research,†2, 203ñ222. 10.1177/074355488723003
Gonzalez, Jennifer. Cult of Pedagogy. (2018, July 29). A Step-by-Step Plan for Teaching Narrative Writing. Available at: HYPERLINK “http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/narrative-writing/”www.cultofpedagogy.com/narrative-writing/.
Social Justice Standards | Unpacking Identity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2018, from HYPERLINK “https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/social-justice-standards-unpacking-identity”https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/social-justice-standards-unpacking-identity
Morgan Malley identifies as an environmental educator, social justice advocate, and graduate student at Islandwood where she is pursuing her Masters in Education at the University of Washington.
by editor | Sep 8, 2025 | Gardening, Farming, Food, & Permaculture, Schoolyard Classroom
In Pursuit of Environmental Literacy:
Abernethy Elementary’s
Farm-to-School and School Garden Program
by Sarah Sullivan
At Abernethy Elementary, students enjoy freshly cooked breakfasts and lunches prepared on site by a trained chef. The meals are often prepared with local and seasonal ingredients harvested from the school’s Garden of Wonders. The garden itself is entirely planted, tended and harvested by the students, who use it throughout their school day as a “learning laboratory. “
The garden program and scratch kitchen are parts of a unique wellness policy at Abernethy. A full-time physical education teacher encourages the students to enjoy physical activity. Enthusiastic parents walk and bike their kids to school rather then driving. Parents and staff organize a yearly bike-a-thon to raise money for the school that allows Abernethy students to ride bikes and scooters on car-free streets. Chef Nicole and Garden Coordinator Sarah Sullivan run five weeks of summer camps at the school, where they teach everything from pickling to pasta making, permaculture and organic bio-intensive gardening.
Founded in 2000 by a dedicated group of parents and teachers, the School Kitchen Garden program began as just a community garden plot. Teachers agreed to add garden class as an additional extracurricular class for students. In the past 11 years, the program has grown to include a rigorous garden curriculum aimed at supporting state standards in math, science, English, health and social studies. (Look for a free compendium of these teacher-friendly garden lessons for grades K-5 online this spring!)
Sample Curriculum: Integrating Benchmark Standards into the Garden
As part of the children’s graduation from the Garden of Wonders Program, 4th graders get to design and plant the garden and reap what they sow over the summer and into the fall of their 5th grade (final) year at Abernethy Elementary. During the winter small groups of students spend several weeks planning out a small garden plot collaborative, determining what crops grow when, how far apart they like to be spaces, how to maximize yield, make the garden beautiful, and design the garden with diversity in mind. Then they get to carefully measure, plot, and map their garden bed using math, language, and 
conceptual skills carefully aligned with the lessons that they are learning in their homeroom class. Soon string is laid out to carefully map out the garden beds into 1 x 1 foot plots and the children start planting greens and cool-loving plants in the garden classroom as early as January, examining the little seeds, carefully reading seed packets, then planting them in little pots in the window.
Students also take soil samples and determine how their soil quality is by analyzing how much silt, sand, loam, and clay is in their assigned garden bed. In March they turn all of the winter cover crops into the soil, add compost, and carefully dig and rake the garden to get it all ready for seeding and transplanting.
Time and time again we see that some of the students that struggle in the classroom excel in the garden. As kinesthetic and visual learners, those students often become leaders in the outdoor classroom. The most gratifying part of our work is to see the “aha” moments in the garden: suddenly the spark for a love of learning is lit and here, in the garden, students may reap what they sow.
The garden curriculum at Abernethy gives students the opportunity to learn about native plants, the origin of the foods that we eat, the interconnected relationships of micro-organisms in soil, the importance of food security, the art of cooking and much more. Students leave Abernethy with a deep sense of the interconnectedness of human and planetary healthy, and a full understanding of where their food comes from.
Portland Public School’s Test Kitchen for Higher Quality Food:
Abernethy serves as the “test kitchen” for Portland Public Schools and has created many recipes and menu items that have moved into schools across the district. Interestingly, though average percentage of students buying hot lunch daily at Portland schools is about 30 percent, over time lunches from the Abernethy kitchen attract at least 60 percent of the school’s children.
School Chef Nicole Hoffman is working closely with Nutrition Services (NS) to create interesting recipes that still meet USDA standards with only $1.07 per meal to work with. Together Hoffmann and NS have focused on sourcing better staple ingredients to institutionalize wide-sweeping change: All wheat used is Portland Public Schools, for example, is grown sustainable and locally by Shepherds Grain flour. All chicken is raised locally and hormone-free by Draper Valley farm. Beans and grains are grown by farmers in the Willamette Valley. Yogurt is made in Eugene, Oregon. At this point Portland Public Schools are serving about 40% locally-sourced food.
Slowly but surely Abernethy’s students are even fans of the more “creative” dishes from the kitchen like chef Nicole’s chicken Panang curry, falafel with riata, hummus and pita, and garden-harvest veggie soup.
Community Involvement:
Abernethy has become an hub for community outreach and education: students and neighbors unite to study why growing organic food is so important, how to best utilize urban-green space and successfully grow edible natives, low-maintenance landscapes and vegetables in our unique climate and soil. We see bridging the gap between the school and neighboring community in collaborative projects and stewardship as absolutely essential for city-wide sustainability.
For example, forth graders decided to reach out into the community in hopes of finding nearby garden space to grow more food in a public area as a demonstration plot for local food security and organic gardening. The local hardware store responded, offering four raised garden beds on busy Hawthorne Boulevard for students to steward. Forth graders planned the plots entirely, planting a diversity of crops important in different cultures like Thai basil and Mexican chili peppers.
Students took pride in their garden plots, and gained a sense of stewardship in knowing they were bettering our neighborhood and sharing their skills and the bounty with others. Much of the produce grown by the children was donated to the local Loaves and Fishes, supplementing food served to housebound elders.
Research shows that school gardens:
- -Improve social skills and behavior.
DeMarco, L., P. D. Relf, and A. McDaniel. 1999. Integrating gardening into the elementary school curriculum. HortTechnology 9(2):276-281.
- -Improve environmental attitudes, especially in younger students.
Skelly, S. M., and J. M. Zajicek. 1998. The effect of an interdisciplinary garden program on the environmental attitudes of elementary school students. HortTechnology 8(4):579- 583.
- -Instill appreciation and respect for nature that lasts into adulthood.
Lohr, V.I. and C.H. Pearson-Mims. 2005. Children’s active and passive interactions with plants influence their attitudes and actions toward trees and gardening as adults. HortTechnology. 15(3): 472-476.
- -Improve life skills, including working with groups and self-understanding.
Robinson, C.W., and J. M. Zajicek. 2005. Growing minds: the effects of a one-year school garden program on six constructs of life skills of elementary school children. HortTechnology 15(3):453-457.
- -Increase interest in eating fruits and vegetables and improve attitude toward fruits and vegetables.
Pothukuchi, K. 2004. Hortaliza: A Youth “Nutrition Garden” in Southwest Detroit. Children, Youth and Environments 14(2):124-155.
- -Have a positive impact on student achievement and behavior.
Blair, D. (2009). The child in the garden: an evaluative review of the benefits of school gardening. Journal of Environmental Education 40(2), 15-38.
The increase in students’ openness to trying new things, their passion for gardening and getting outdoors, the positive feedback we get from parents and teachers all speak to the great success of this program.
Accolades from Across the Nation:
Oregon Green School status
First Oregon Wellness Award
Kiwi Magazine Crusaders Award
Health Magazine 2008 Healthiest Schools Report
Subject of 2007 NPR story on school food (LINK TO http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6515242)
KPTV feature “Food Revolution” Link to http://www.better.tv/videos/m/30671714/food-revolution.htm
Oregon Live
Check out Chef Nicole and Abernethy’s School Kitchen Garden Program on Facebook or on the website: www.gardenofwonders.org
More information: gardenofwonders@yahoo.com
Written by Sarah Sullivan, Abernethy School Kitchen Garden Program Coordinator
Edible Corvallis
by Sara McCune
As the Farm to School movement breezes across the country, the community of Corvallis, Oregon has wasted little time in becoming involved. This school year marks the fourth year that the Corvallis Environmental Center has been implementing Farm to School related programming in the Corvallis School District through its Edible Corvallis Initiative. What began as monthly taste tests of seasonally available produce at one school has grown into a full-blown farm to school program: Tasting Tables at all 11 elementary and middles schools in Corvallis, science curriculum-based farm field trips, classroom cooking lessons, and an ever increasing amount of local food purchased by the school district itself. The Corvallis Farm to School program is primarily funded by an Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant with additional support from Slow Food Corvallis, the Consumer Wellness Center, Pacific Source Health Plans, and individual donors.
The Tasting Table program allows upwards of 4,000 elementary and middle school students to have a connection with the Farm to School program. Each month, the students have a chance to taste a local “Harvest of the Month” while learning about the farm where the produce was grown and the nutritional benefits of that fruit or vegetable. Increased exposure to local, seasonal produce will give a boost to local farms while expanding the palates of Corvallis youth.
In addition to Tasting Tables, the Edible Corvallis Initiative hosts first, second, and third grade classes at its Starker Arts Garden for Education for one-hour field trips. These field trips are designed to complement and enhance the science curriculum kits that are already used in Corvallis classrooms. Rain or shine, the kids and teachers love their time in the garden, nibbling on dewy bits of kale, planting garlic, or digging in the compost for bugs.
Because learning how to eat well involves food preparation, Corvallis’ Farm to School program offers in-classroom cooking lessons as well as after school cooking clubs at several of the elementary schools. Through the course of these lessons, the students become empowered to make healthy food choices by learning to cook delicious meals and snacks with locally grown produce. Children leave the classroom excited about green garden dip or butternut squash soup, dishes their parents may never have dared to serve.
A particularly exciting component of the Corvallis Farm to School program is its direct connection to the Corvallis School District’s department of Nutrition and Food Services. For several years, Food Services has worked with the Edible Corvallis Initiative to facilitate Tasting Tables and the promotion of locally grown produce. Beginning this year Sara McCune, the Edible Corvallis Initiative’s Farm to School Coordinator now spends half of her time working directly with Sharon Gibson, the director of Food and Nutrition Services. Together Sara and Sharon work to significantly increase the amount of local food purchased by the school district beyond the days that Tasting Tables are held and to turn the cafeteria into a healthy place where students can expect to learn about the food they are eating and the process it underwent before it arrived on their cafeteria trays.
Sara McCune is Farm to School Coordinator for the Edible Corvallis Initiative, Corvallis Environmental Center
CREST Farm to School
by Bob Carlson
CREST is an environmental education center operated by the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. One of the key CREST programs is the CREST Farm. The farm is located on surplus district property. Currently, a half-acre of land is producing vegetables for school cafeterias and other uses. Last summer, middle school and high school interns learned how to grow, maintain, and sell vegetables from a farm stand on site. Next summer, the students will operate a 20 family CSA in addition to running the farm stand.
The farm is also used as a field trip destination for K-12 students year round. Each season approximately 600 students visit the farm. Learning activities are tailored to the needs of individual teachers or teams of teachers. Many of the trips emphasize wellness and the benefits of eating fresh healthy fruits and vegetables. Other field trips focus on sustainable agricultural practices that help conserve resources and promote a healthy ecosystem. Lessons include biodynamic farming practices such as maintenance of soil health, natural pest management, crop rotation and wise use of water. Students participate in hands on activities including: planting, thinning, pruning, composting, amending soil, and harvesting.
All of the farm lessons promote ecological literacy by helping kids understand their connection to food and how the production of food can affect ecosystems. They gain an understanding of the delicate balance of ecosystems and the interconnected web of living things.
One of the goals of the farm is to give students a chance to make a difference in their community and the world by participating in service learning. Some students participate in projects that provide food to local food banks and support sustainable agriculture projects in other communities and other countries.
A number of CREST staff help run the farm and create meaningful educational experiences for students. A professional farmer lives on-site and provides technical expertise, a part-time grant-funded educator runs field trips and the internship program, and an AmeriCorps member recruits community volunteers and establishes systems for distributing the food to school cafeterias. She is also offering tasting programs to schools to promote increased consumption of vegetables and fruits.
Bob Carlson is the CREST Director.
by editor | Sep 7, 2025 | Adventure Learning, At-risk Youth, Equity and Inclusion, Outdoor education and Outdoor School, Place-based Education
Children’s Grand Adventure:
The power of potential through the power of place
by Sami Wolniakowski
Southern Oregon University Graduate Student
In order to heal from hardship, for centuries people resorted to nature. The calm and beauty found in the outdoors instills an everlasting joy. In the pristine wilderness of the Jackson Hole Valley, a non-profit organization called Children’s Grand Adventure (CGA) takes this practice and adds another key component called Place-Based Education through their cooperation with Teton Science School. The model that CGA has developed is an innovative program that other organizations would benefit from. CGA is also looking for new partnerships that have a similar mission.
CGA gives cancer survivors the opportunity to experience the beauty of life within Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Over the course of a week, students experience America’s first national park in this grand adventure. Chaperones who participated as students in years past accompany current students, giving them role models to help support their healing process. A typical group consists of four chaperones, nine students and three instructors. This offers the ability to build a tight knit community. Emma Hereford is a chaperone who has been a mentor for 5 years. Emma stated:
For months, years, or maybe even a lifetime patients’ lives have been defined by frequent hospital visits, the grueling demands of treatments, pain, psychological damage, and lack of school. Due to these unfortunate circumstances each child’s view on the outside world is nothing but a small glimpse to what it actually is or what it has to offer. For the first time in years, or in some cases ever, survivors finally get to experience travel, environmental education, and develop lifelong friendships for an entire week in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
CGA was started by Stacey C. Kayem in 2008. She believes that, “The more novel the environment, the more students realize within themselves their own nature and capacity to conquer.” In Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks students get to hike in Teton Mountains, kayak in glacial lakes, watch apex predators in the wild, and view thermal features in Yellowstone. Every day students are challenged both physically and mentally in a way they never have been before. Stacey states that CGA gives students “the opportunity . . . to join hands with the nature that nearly took them” so that they can “walk forward together into boundless horizons of strength and confident human prosperity.”
Teton Science School provides field instructors to CGA who are experts of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Instructors get to use a Place-Based Education approach to teach students about all that the GYE has to offer. Place Based Education, a pedagogy that uses the power of place to teach students an approach that is learner centered, incorporates design thinking, is interdisciplinary, and uses the community as the classroom. The vice president of field education, Joe Petrick, states:
During CGA young people benefit from immersion in nature, connections to peers and a sense of empowerment and self-reliance. All of these outcomes are achieved through Place-Based Education (PBE), an approach to education that empowers the learner to explore their world, understand their world and change their world for the better. CGA uses PBE to build an intentional community of leaders who are empowered to harness community resources to support themselves and others.
CGA gives students the ability to come together and make each other stronger, in a bond that will last a lifetime. Stacey Kayem recently recalled the story of a student who was bound to leg braces because his muscles were atrophied. His braces, for the first time, were taken off three months before the program. Unsure and questioning his confidence on day one, he faced the challenge and proceeded to lead the hike for seven days. The pure freedom found in the power of his untapped physical strength was simply waiting to be freed. This student motivated everyone in their field group to persevere through hardships, just by taking one step at a time.
In the future CGA is looking to expand to more hospitals, and use new locations to teach place-based education. Currently, CGA partners with Texas Children’s Hospital, but wishes to establish more partnerships. After reaching over 100 students since 2008, they want to continue the legacy of offering opportunities for students to seek their untapped potential, through the power of place.
Samantha Wolniakowski recently completed her Masters Degree at Southern Oregon University, where she was a graduate assistant in the MS Environmental Education program.
