I participated in the wetlands portion of School of the Wild. I was working with Chad. He really made the experience enjoyable for me because of his immense knowledge of the area we were walking around. He said he had been doing tours and working through the University of Iowa Recreation Services and has been doing so for 9 years now out at Macbride. He had a great activity for the kids when we first started. We were going to another area of the park and he wanted to make sure that he could trust the students he was working with on the canoes because they would be using the canoes on Spider Pond in the afternoon. The activity involved him grabbing some life jackets and tying them tight. He then had everyone stand in a circle and had each student say their name. Then he would toss multiple life jackets to students but would say their name before he did it. The students would repeat the process. The whole point was so Chad could learn their names and also so they could practice not being so loud and excited out on the trail because he said he didn’t want our big group to “Scare the nature away.”
Then we went out on a pontoon and we were split in two groups because we didn’t all fit. So I used my activity (attached), which helped occupy our time. Chad picked us up while the other group was at the new sight waiting and we learned all about the depth of the lake and the changes that the community has made to help preserve it. We then walked a trail to Prairie Pond, which was completely dried up. Chad mentioned that there were a lot of organisms in the pond worth researching but since it was dried up we didn’t investigate it. The knowledge he told us about the prairie at this time was very interesting though. He mentioned that prairie grass doesn’t die easily because its roots go down on average thirty feet. He then told us about the sediment and water table that paired with the roots was a natural filtration system. I found this very interesting.
After looking at the dam that the community and park members had created to keep from shore erosion and flooding we went to Duckweed Pond. At this pond the kids were instructed to search for organisms with nets and one kid caught a small turtle and another kid caught a leopard frog. Chad had an immense amount of information about the both of them as well. He also explained about methane bubbles underneath the mud on the pond floor so kids wouldn’t think that there was constant air bubbles from animals.
I didn’t really understand that environmental education had branches such as conservation and outdoor education. I assumed environmental education was about nature and how we can keep it from being destroyed.
When the article said that environmental education is not only science but also “economics, math, geography, ethics, politics and other subjects.” I guess I don’t fully agree on these. I understand each of them but I feel that some of them are loosely associated with environmental science. I understand that sometimes it gets destroyed for economic purposes and numbers are involved when people fight over it [politics] and some people will think it’s terrible or not terrible [ethics]. But this is only if something gets torn down or is argued to be torn down for buildings or factories or something. I ‘m not sure that it is much more than science and geography, in my opinion.
I do agree with experiential learning. While many subjects that people take in college require a lot of preparation in the classroom before they go out in the world it makes sense that those interested in environmental studies get outside and experience it right away. Obviously knowledge of what you’re getting into would be good also but I do agree that you’re not going to learn as much if you’re just sitting in a classroom.
All in all I have no complaints about environmental science. I think it is very important but also broad. I want my students to believe that they are helping the community when they see trash in the grass and they pick it up and throw it away. I guess I’m struggling to decide, (besides a hike or nature walk or some sort of else outdoor activity) what is the best way to teach them about environmental science besides saying that littering is bad.
Nature Activity
In this nature activity, hawks birds present a fun challenge to the children.
When a bird hawk is hunting, the birds that survive are the ones that are most aware of danger. At a young age either they learn to scatter into the trees or back into the nest, or they become lunch for a bird of prey.
This is a fast moving game that children love. It is a good one to play with large groups, although it can also be used with groups as small as four or five.
Working with the 6 to 9 year olds at Spruce Pine Montessori School, we shaped it to a version that we liked, giving our hawks and birds a lot of freedom to interchange.
Start the game with one or two hawks. Everyone else is a baby bird. The bird’s “nest,” or safe place, is a bandana or other object placed on the ground. Make as many nests as necessary so that the birds are not too crowded.
The game begins when the baby birds leave the nest to find food. Then the hawks began to fly around the birds. When they raise their “wings” (arms) they begin the hunt.
When the baby birds see the hawks hunting they must get back to their nest or be killed (tagged) by the hawk. Once in the nest they must practice being still and quiet. If the hawk sees movement or hears noise, it can tag the bird and the bird dies.
“Dead” birds become hawks in the next round so that no one has to sit out.
If a hawk does not catch a bird in three rounds, then it “dies” and becomes a baby bird.
Helpful hints:
1. Hawks are not allowed to touch the birds in order to make them move.
2. Hawks are not allowed to hover over a bird. They must continue to fly.
3. Baby birds must leave the nest if hawks are not hunting.
4. Limit each round to 30 to 60 seconds.
Resource:
