Presenter: Phoebe Lett
Co-Presenters: Kiley Graham, Quinn Haaga, Meagan Hamilton, Rachel Rechtman, Miranda Taylor-Weiss, Lillian Thomas
Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Lynch
Presentation Type: Oral
Primary Research Area: Science
Major: Environmental Studies
Funding Source: Luvaas Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
Many children today have lost their connection to the environment, which is having a detrimental effect on their quality of life and sense of place. The alarming result is that they don’t develop the awareness, concern, or motivation to protect our natural heritage. The Environmental Leadership Program’s Restoring Connections team, working in collaboration with Adams Elementary School and Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, seeks to address this. Our team developed and implemented a place-based, experiential environmental education project with nearly 200 kindergarteners and first graders during spring 2016. Using the UN “Awareness-to-Action” framework for environmental education, our goal was to cultivate a lasting connection to the land and to inspire awareness, caring, and respect for the world around us. In particular we wanted to reach those who may not thrive in a classroom setting so that we can address multiple learning styles and inspire a curiosity for nature and learning. The participating children will explore, journal, and participate in various hands-on activities at Mt. Pisgah every season from kinder through fifth grade. Students will gain direct knowledge and insight into ecological processes, making textbook concepts such as seasonality and predation come alive. This will strengthen their connection to the beautiful place they live, and will hopefully inspire a lifetime of stewardship and conservation of the natural world that sustains us all.