Transitioning into the School Year

It's been forever since I last posted!! Lots have gone on since the last post. After our final round of roto tilling, we raked (when do we not?). Then we laid down cardboard. This involved sitting in a cardboard recycling dumpster for an extended period of time while making hats out of boxes. Then we acquired rocks and put those on top of the cardboard.
Then, I moved back into my dorm and college and middle school started again. Things have slowed down, but will pick up again. We are hiring someone to mulch and then we will plant most of the perennials in October.

I'm continuing to volunteer at McDougle. I went to the school last Wednesday to see what a first day was like. My coordinating teacher introduced me as the creator of the "cardboard garden" :-).

The pictures below are from Niche (where I hope to get plants) and pictures I took of the outdoor classroom on Friday when I was helping out at McDougle.

August Reflection

Has your involvement in community-based research impacted your motivation to engage in community issues, research or service?

• This opportunity to become engaged in community-based research impacted how I view community. To briefly answer the question, I will be involved in this particular outdoor classroom and school for probably the next two years, so I will definitely stay motivated to stay engaged in service and community issues related to the project. I will continue gathering information and ideas for using the outdoor classroom. I hope to learn qualitative research skills. Beyond motivation, I gained a lot from this project. Through this project I got to see more of how a school works - I learned the best way to get the word out is in person or via phone calls. I learned that it is okay to ask just about anyone for help - if they want to say no they can, but frequently, people are interested when you are working on a new and crazy project. I saw how busy EVERYONE is! I came to admire the parents, teachers, students (from elementary to college), custodial staff, administration, and community professionals - they all were so helpful in ensuring progress in this project.
  
• I learned that one of the best ways to stay motivated is to have fun (UM...DUH, my future middle school students will be SO glad I learned this!:-)! We play games and riddles (silly sally), listen to eclectic music, and make mud castle/faces when we need breaks or things to do. On occasion, we show off dance moves and stunts we can do. We also eat excessive amounts of trail mix, granola bars, animal crackers, and raspberry fruit leather (sorry for all the dry and salty stuff!!!). I personally find it enthralling and fun to talk to people about their passions - contacting educators at Orange County Solid Waste Management and CH Stormwater Management, chatting for hours with master gardeners, parents, teachers, and students about the project (and dance, music, school, goals, extracurriculars) has been GREAT!

• What assistance will be most helpful to you in the fall semester in wrapping up your CBR project?

(sorry about the weird formatting, my computer is not being cool right now)

My CBR is not exactly wrapping up... Throughout the fall we will be planting and building things like picnic tables. I had hoped to get more done this summer, but the reality is that a courtyard full of invasive species that has not really been tended for 7ish years takes A LONG time to clear out. And planting in the summer would be basically plant homocide (or a HUGE waste of water). No excuses though, I took on a big project. I fully intend to stay involved in the project through a Geology independent study class and Teaching Fellows.
It would be fantastic if people wanted to volunteer time to help plant. I'd also like to host a ribbon cutting for the outdoor classroom, so I'll get assistance from the school to do that. Quite a few of the parent volunteers are on board with helping figure out long term maintenance through PTA. I will continue getting assitance from volunteers, teachers, master gardeners, designers, and the principal. My faculty advisors will continue to help with ideas and figuring out the rock garden extension of the project (part of my geol class).
I could use help brainstorming ideas for long term maintence and handing the project over to the school community completely when I can no longer be involved (probably by next fall).

Pre-Roto Tilling Pictures and Week 4 Update

These are pictures from Monday before we roto-tilled. Now the outdoor classroom looks like... DIRT!




It is SOOOO hot today! Yesterday I think we had a record number of people working in the Outdoor Classroom. We have been fortunate to have some really enthusiastic volunteers from the local TSA chapter that the technology teacher leads. The high schoolers have been a ton of help and fun to talk to. They've said they enjoy feeling like they are doing something productive with their time. I really appreciate that they continue to go above and beyond what is required for service in their schools. They are really good at using machetes, hatchets, and pick axes to get out the really stubborn roots :-).
I've started listening to NPR when I get to the Outdoor Classroom early. Yesterday they talked about eating bugs and they played whale songs. I think I need to bring in some CDs.
On Monday, one of the families stayed for SEVEN hours as the father roto-tilled the entire space. The students helped me collect soil samples which I dropped off to get analyzed yesterday. Yesterday the technology teacher through a stepping stone on a ground nest as we held the doors open for him to run through. We are trying to smother them. One family has been working on designs with some old software for landscaping. The designs are impressive. There are even 3-D images! The school community amazes and inspires me.

Now that we've roto-tilled we are removing roots and untilled patches. Then we will roto-till again with compost added, lay cardboard on top, and then put mulch on all of that. Preparing the soil is the hardest part from what I've heard and I'm glad. I can't wait to plant in the fall. The TSA students are going to do a lot of the construction for a competition.

July Reflection

First of all, I NEED to charge my camera battery! I really want to take pics of the current state of things in the outdoor classroom.

Secondly - here is my (late) July Reflection:

What is the current status of your project?

• For the past three weeks we have been raking, pruning, and digging in the garden. This is all to prepare the soil for planting in the fall. In addition, I have contacted designers, garden centers, and master gardeners to answer questions about planting. I've also talked to Muriel Williman at Orange County Solid Waste Management about composting. We bought a compost bin. We made a yard waste bin out of wooden palettes that I drove around in the back of my small car :-). In talking to a garden specialist at Niche Gardens and the Master Gardeners at the NCBG and one of the mothers who volunteers and by reading resources they provided I've been learning about what plants to plant to meet our goals of a drought resistant, easy to care for, native/pollinator plant garden. I worked with one of the students volunteering to collect samples of different plants in the outdoor classroom (ideally with buds, flowers, multiple leaves) so they could be identified. We found out we have a ton of yicky invasives (lespidosia, liriope, vinca, wisteria, nadina...). We discussed the pros and cons of using Round-up. We planned how to prepare the soil (this involved discussion with Master Gardeners, OCSWM staff, Botanical Garden curators, garden specialists at Niche, and more). We discussed how to get rid of poison ivy. I learned the hard way to pay attention to ant hills (ants HURT). Tomorrow we are roto-tilling.
  

How does your fellowship experience compare to your initial expectations?

• I think my fellowship is going to be far more on-going than I thought. I thought I'd be able to hand things over to the teachers by the beginning of the school year for the most part but we will still be planting because it is too hot to do so now.
  

What has been the most rewarding and challenging aspect of working with your community partner?

• It has been awesome getting to meet families with passions similar to mine. Its cool to see how dedicated they are - coming even when it is super hot and if it means early mornings. I've really appreciated the help of my coordinating teacher and the technology teacher who are both endless sources of ideas and help. I'm also grateful for the larger Carrboro/Chapel Hill community. Quite a few groups have offered price cuts, lots of people have offered advice and enthusiasm. Family friends, high schoolers, and community organizers have gotten involved. The custodial staff puts up with the mud I trek into the school, greets us cheerfully, and unlocks doors for me. The principal is saving plants from her garden for the project.
• The challenging aspect is thinking about the long term sustainability of the project and working with the hundreds of time restraints we all have. It is also sometimes tricky to navigate the project with all the different ideas about how it should work.
  

What role has your faculty mentor played in guiding your work and helping you to address any problems that you have faced?

• My faculty mentor has offered to support the project however possible and will help create a rock garden that will be a part of the project that extends into the fall.
  

In what ways have you needed to be flexible?

• I've changed the times that I'm available and I've worked somedays on my own for part of the day on the physical task of creating the outdoor classroom. I did not realize that planting would have to occur in the fall (DUH!) so that was a shocker.
  

Return from Outward Bound!

I'm back from my Asheville Adventure and my Outward Bound Course. I loved figuring out my way around Asheville. Evergreen was an awesome and inspiring school. I sat in on/graded graduation panels. These are basically portfolio projects of 8th grade with reflections on the student's entire Evergreen experience. One student talked about Outward Bound a lot. The emphasis on community, environmental stewardship, learning expeditions, and outdoors expeditions was really neat. I hope to find a similar school to teach at. I'm really interested in the Expeditionary Learning Schools model. It seemed to keep students engaged and helped them be reflective. The science lab was really neat. Students had made dioramas of green homes.

Outward Bound was an incredible and challenging experience. I enjoyed getting to know my crew and instructors. I'm now hooked on rock climbing. I back packed with a very heavy pack. The Four Pillars of Outward Bound (self-reliance, craftspersonship, physical fitness, and above all, compassion) are values I hope to use as a basis of my actions and I hope to promote them in my future students. I learned fun games (some of which I might use as icebreakers for our first workday tomorrow) and teaching strategies. NCOBS rocks!

I am excited to meet parents and students tomorrow for our first workday. We are going to do icebreakers, do a little bit of organizational stuff, and start weeding :-).

Outdoor Classroom Design Challenge

Quick summary of project:
The students are incredible! Almost every group finished their species sheet and design (colored with 3 science topics, 2 non-science topics, and 4 needs of their species incorporated in the design). They are beautiful and creatively done!
I learned a lot this week, I learned that I need to get better at classroom management. I learned that smooth transitions are crucial when teaching. I learned that their are some students who you have to monitor constantly and then they can do astounding work as well! I'm so glad that the students put so much effort into the project and that I got to work with such a cool group of students.

Common elements:
-telescopes
-rock gardens
-bat houses
-food gardens (pizza, salad)
-cool stream tables (with model bridges, to learn erosion)
-seating, shade (one group added mosquito netting)
-plots with different types of soil
-solar system models
-murals
-shelter building areas
-areas for activity: hopscotch, yoga


I'm going to post some of the designs below.






This is what they started with^.

June Reflection

I accidently deleted the link to the APPLES blog, so I'm going to do my best to answer the prompt. It will be brief as I have to get to a bus to get to my Outward Bound course.

So far my "research" is well. I've been learning a lot about the theory and philosophy of outdoor/environmental education, with a focus on place-based education. So far I've mainly done this through reading. I'm visiting a school with a large environmental focus tomorrow. The part with the community is going well too. I've proctored EOGs, led a design project, hosted a teacher focus group, started organizing parents and students, and talked to a design professional. Honestly, I haven't ironed out my research to one question, its more like an overall goal and I'm learning loads through readings and interactions along the way. Once I'm back from Outward Bound I will really iron out my question and start focusing my research more specifically on that. My goal is to create a working and useful outdoor classroom at a low cost that really engages the community. Questions that have to be answered are: What are useful components of an outdoor classroom? How can one get volunteers involved? How can one avoid asking too much of already busy people? What resources does the community offer? How much effort and time are people willing to put in? What do students and teachers want in an outdoor classroom? What concerns are there about using an outdoor classroom? How can it be maintained? Some of these questions have been partially answered in earlier posts. I have lots left to do and I'm excited about it!

So far, I've been surprised by the support from the community. I was really worried that I was becoming a burden on teachers and administration, but they are all excited and willing to work with me and share ideas with each other as well as skills and time! Quite a few parents have returned forms and offered their time to help in the outdoor classroom. They are also being understanding of the fact that I'll be out of the loop for a month. The students have also surprised me! Their outdoor classroom designs are incredible!!!! I'm so proud of them. I'll be posting some samples soon. They are awesome people! I hope I get a job in such an incredible community when I start to teach! I'm so glad I get to work with the McDougle community!
For some reason I'm surprised by how much I've learned. I am used to learning loads in all that I do, but I've gotten so much out of this project - from adolescent development through reading, class management skills (or mainly realizing I need them :-), to how to organize communities and work with people who have superior positions to mine. I'm so glad I applied for and got the CBR SURF!

The hardest part of the project so far is the fact that I'll be gone for 28 days. However, I'm SO excited about Outward Bound. And I have contact info for all the parents and students working the first week and permission from the principal and support from coordinating teacher, so I'm sure that things will end up running quite smoothly!