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!

Lesson Plans and Asheville Adventure

I have a lot of exciting things coming up related to this project! I'm super excited:-). Next Monday and Tuesday I'm working with my cooridinating teacher to lead a "Design Challenge" for the students. They have to incorporate the habitat of a local species into their design. This way they will be reinforcing what they learned in ecology and doing something creative and they will have a say in the final version of the outdoor classroom. This is the first time I'm "teaching" a lesson in a formal classroom setting. I'm nervous but I can't wait to see what the students come up with!

I talked to Rhonda Goolsby, the owner of Green Sky Sustainable Development in Carrboro about the project. We talked about permaculture and green roofs and impervious sources (which are horrible) (only the impervious surfaces, the first two things are great!). She also told me that July is not a good time to plant (oops...) so the plan might have to change a little. But, we have loads to do before we get the plants in anyway!

If you are interested, Green Sky's website and portfolio is inspiring! Check it out: http://greenskyinc.com/.

On another note, next Wednesday I'm taking a bus to Asheville to get to my Outward Bound course. Before I head off for 28-days of backpacking, whitewater canoeing, rock climbing, and lots of learning and challenges, I'm visiting Evergreen Community Charter School in Asheville. They use an "Expeditionary Learning School" model which is based on the Outward Bound model. They do a lot with environmental education.

Here is the link to their website: http://www.evergreenccs.org/. I'm very thankful that I'm going to be able to squeeze this in before my course. I didn't want to miss it!

I'm staying in a hostel by myself for the first time! Can't wait!

I promise pictures and designs soon!

Environmental Education "Workshop", Zip lines, and Sobel's Design Principles

This week I went to an "Environmental Education Workshop". It was a huge let down. It was a group of Teaching Fellows at the Sertoma Center in Westfield, NC. I thought we would be discussing how to "do" environmental education in our classrooms. A lot of the people there were not science majors and didn't really think the stuff we were doing applied to them... Mainly because the way it was presented it didn't. We had way too much free time - like 7 hours a day. AND THERE WERE NO RECYCLING/COMPOSTING FACILITIES AT AN ENVI ED THING!!! Blerg! We worked with students for like 2 hours a day "teaching" lessons at local elementary schools. My partner and I taught a lesson on pollinators. I liked our lesson but I felt like the students were being baraged with information and probably retained very little of it. They had 7 stations per grade.These are the cards I drew - students had to sort themsleves into pollinators and non-pollinators.
This is the "Super Pollinator" I designed - the Hurricat. It blows wind and water. It has wings and sticky fur :-). I would post student designs but I didn't have waivers. I saved a bunch of them though.

Things I did enjoy: 1) Doing a really high zipline - I had to climb up a 50 ft pole and then just let myself fall (granted, I was totally harnessed in so it wasn't a real risk... :-). The pole shook. I was freaked out. But I decided that although it was "Challenge by Choice" I'm about to embark on a 28-day Outward Bound course that I chose to do so I need to start getting used to that fluttery feeling that you get when you are doing something that scares you...
2) I also REALLY enjoyed meeting more Teaching Fellows from around the state. I went on an adventure with a group of TFs from WCU. They were awesome.
3) I went for a LONG run in the hills. Hopefully some good OB training :-)
4) Talked to other TFs who really made this trip much more fun. Its neat to hear what people are passionate about.
5) There were two awesome TFs from LRU who went on a food buying expedition with me. One is doing an education internship at the aquarium. SOOO COOL!

So how did this experience tie to the outdoor classroom project?

-It might be a good idea to check if any students at McDougle do things like 4-H, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts. Getting those groups on board may be a good way to facilitate long term maintenence.
-Even with almost no supplies, you can do cool things! (make bracelets with a bead for each serving from each food group you are supposed to eat, pollinator card game...)
-Games, food, and design projects can be effective teaching methods.
-With all the reading I'm doing, I'm becoming a "Place-Based Ed." snob. I really felt like we should take the kids outside and look for pollinators, find erosion, test soil... :-)

On another note, I've been reading another Sobel book - Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators. LOVE IT! Here are the principles he expounds upon:
1) Adventure
2) Fantasy and Imagination
3) Animal Allies
4) Maps and Paths
5) Special Places
6) Small Worlds
7) Hunting and Gathering

What I think is really cool is that with the current outdoor classroom plan, we've already incorporated some of these ideas. We want to have a rock trail and do mapping activities. We want there to be an area students can manipulate to see how water works and how humans impact the enviroment. I also want there to be an area where their are loose parts and students can create shelters like the ones Native Americans would have made. The possibilities are endless!

I'm so excited about the rest of the summer!

UPCOMING:

This week and next week:
-leading a group project at McDougle in Ms. W's class - the goal is to have the students design the outdoor classroom
-keep reading
-follow up with teachers about aspects they want in outdoor classroom and what they want to contribute (if they want to)
-contact NC Botanical Garden about picking good plants

Next Week:
OUTWARD BOUND!!!!!! I will be gone from June 9 to July 8. I'm taking a bus to Asheville, then going on a 28 day Outward Bound course and then taking the bus back. I'm super duper excited but also nervous. No showers, lots of backpacking and rockclimbing... Honestly, I'm already looking forward to the first shower after the course :-)!

Sorry for the traditionally long post!

Question:
Did you have "environmental education" in school when you were younger?

Teacher Focus Group Follow Up

Yesterday's Teacher Focus Group was fantastic!

I spent the day in my coordinating teacher's classroom as the students worked on a project about adaptation, specifically in bears. Its a really cool project. I've learned a lot - for example, some bears make nests in trees.

I think one of the greatest things I am learning from this project is how schools work and a bit more about what its like to be a teacher.

Anyway, here is a summary of the focus group:

Six teachers came: Technology, Language arts, Math, and 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Science teachers

Almost all of the teachers have done things outside. The language arts classes have not done so yet, but ALL of the teachers want to do more outside. YAY!!!!

Things that the teachers have done outside include:
-launching rockets
-Math Olympics
-testing soil
-learning about motion and forces
-Orienteering to learn about angles and mapping
-learning about mapping (two teachers did a 3-D mapping project that was presented at a National Science Teacher's Association conference!)

Teachers also take students outside after testing to socialize and be active.

Things the teachers could see doing outside:
-learning about civil engineering
-learning about how the landscape is impacted by human development
-teaching a regular lesson in a new setting
-mapping

What does the school already have?
-A courtyard
-AMAZING and interested parents/guardians, teachers, students, and administration!!!!!
-lots of connections and skills (building, painting)
-a working weather station and read out screen
-compasses
-AND the school is getting a rain garden!!!

(Note: The picture is a dated picture of the courtyard. I will try to get newer ones.
http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us/mcdmidl/virtualtour1/DSC15_JPG.html)

What do teachers want in an outdoor classroom?
-places to sit (not neanderthal style rocks or chigger infested bricks :-)
-a board to write on
-clipboards
-storage
-shelter
-water access and drain
-ability to move around/have a change in scenery
-safety/low risk of vandalism
-ability to teach normal lessons outside
-some where to launch stuff

Issues:
-keeping student attention
-will their be new construction at the school that will affect the outdoor classroom?
-vandalism
-disturbing others
-usefulness

SO...here is our current idea:
The current plan is to have a multi-part outdoor classroom. There will the the rain garden that the eighth graders and people from State are working on, a revamped courtyard, and a rock garden around campus. Having the rock garden around campus will enable teachers and students to move around and explore mapping and the geology of North Carolina. Having the courtyard will serve as an art studio, classroom, and "living lab". It will be a safe location.

This is an insanely long post. So, if anyone reads this, I have some questions:
What would you like in an outdoor classroom?
How would you take care of the classroom long-term?

Forts, Focus Groups, and Gift cards

Tomorrow is the Teacher Focus Group meeting! I'm excited! I know that at least 3 teachers are coming.

In addition, student permission slips and interest forms have started flowing in. I'm ecstatic about the support!

I just read a fascinating book by David Sobel called Children's Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood. It talks about the importance of self-made places, specifically those outside that adults don't enter, in the creation of identity and participation in community and the foundation for a land ethic...

It made me think about forts and such I had as a child. I've noticed that on some, more highly read blogs, bloggers post an answer to a question and then their readers do to. I'm going to try that.

The question: Did you have a childhood fort? Describe it or when you went to it or who you went to it with.

Fort #1: The cherry trees at my grandmas house

Description: 2 cherry blossom trees near the road in front of my grandparents house
When we went to it: whenever the extended family was over, sometimes by myself to climb, sometimes to read
Who I went with: my big sister, little brother, and cousins. The older cousins got the better tree, with easily accessible branches. I was the fourth oldest, so I got the other tree. We had to use a stool to climb it. We had elaborate ritual to decide who got to come in. We always climbed up to our assigned branches in a specific order to avoid stepping on each other.

Now, I'm off to Starbucks to purchase gift cards for teachers at the meeting tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday!

SURFing into the Summer!

So... I found out that I got IRB approval yesterday! Over the past couple weeks I've been working on lots and lots of forms: permission slips, focus group guides, consent forms, informational/recruitment fliers...

This past week I spent a lot of time getting more involved in the community I'm partnering with by proctoring the EOGs. My goodness I'm glad I'm done with those. The students get unlimited time, but no snacks... So for the kids who decide to keep working I don't know how they can focus!

I proctored in my coordinating teacher's classroom. The students were fantastic!

As soon as I found out my stuff was approved, I talked to the principal and she signed off on stuff as well and then I made about a million photocopies of fliers that got sent out today!!

Next week my cooridinating teacher and I are going to figure out when I can do a design project with the students. I'm asking them to incorporate a local species into their group design and think about the factors it would need to survive. I want this to really tie into the ecology unit.

Yesterday I also started doing some book-based research on place-based education which is the "newest" fad in environmental ed. I think I want to go to grad school at Antioch University New Hampshire so I can take classes with David Sobel. Or in Portland, Oregon with Dilafruz Williams. They are AMAZING!

Today I started brainstorming lessons for all subjects in the outdoor classroom.

Upcoming:

-Teacher focus group on Thursday
-Scoping out the perfect location
(right now the location is going to be a courtyard with a friendly inhabitant named Dale. Who is a rat. I'm very excited about this...)

I'm adding a picture. Its not from McDougle, but this blog is BORING!

This is from a garden in France. I took it two summers ago.

This summer I am going to research the best practices behind creating sustainable, effective outdoor classrooms. I hope to visit outdoor classrooms in the area and then help a local school community create an outdoor classroom.

This summer I will also be going on an Outward Bound Course and attending two conferences for Teaching Fellows. All of these will give me more insight into education and all the different things that affect it. I can't wait to get started!