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Environmental Stewardship art Chance School

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How does outdoor integration at Chance School work? How does it hit both developmental milestones and encourage growth beyond the self? Find out about our unique and meaningful outdoor integration through our yearly stewardship projects at Chance School, championed by our Director of Environmental Program, Rachel Beck.

Show Transcript

hello everybody I'm fancy fish on the head is Bill here which any chance school and we're so glad you took a few minutes out of your busy day to learn about stewardship and nature here Virginia Chan school one of the things that brings all of us to Virginia chance School is. you love me outside and weeks we believe in caring for the environment So today we're going to talk to you a little bit about our compassion stewardship project so here's a chance we have children ages 22 grade 5 and in the past we've done some they called compression project but this year we really wanted to prove it and focus on stewardship project to help folder and get outside and spend more time Outdoors exploring wondering I'm really curious about the space that we here after school and that they noticed and explored and wondered it started come up with really great research question about face from those research questions they developed project and then miss Rachel Beck I was about to learning guide them along their Journey as they learn to implement some of those projects and she's going to take you through those projects today so you can learn a little for about a worker a chance and I'll turn it over to cook hi everybody I'm Rachel back so I oversee our environmental program and as Betsy was say in the past year we started to test out how our compassion work from past and leading into stewardship work of our place could be combined which would offer a lot of along with removing teachers from having to be the font of knowledge and giving them the opportunity to learn with and project with our students so as I go through our fifth grade B year I'm going to highlight process that you're going to see come up over and over with all the other grade so I will talk to you a little bit about these lines and then I'm talking to higher-level with some of our other great I'm so as you can see our 5th grade we had a really unique saying they were our Steward leaders and the reason for this is Dino active stage when they're now leaving us at chance go we wanted to give them a lot more opportunities for leadership not only here at the school with some of the others as they engaged and the project but as you'll notice they also began to bleed in other ways in the community which we felt was really important for them as Betsy mention we always start with exploring with wondering Cherie Austin this allows the teachers to hear conversations understand what the students are invested in the Kenneth also allows our teachers to explore they don't have to enter a study knowing everything which is actually preferable they can go in with their own question their own investigations which actually will help Propel the study and it will be more so a home here are some students exploring with Wonder and curiosity and then they had to start figuring out what are what is that mean I'm so in order to get in figuring out that question actually explored with others who were leaders and our community they took bus tours they met with various organizations and Weston you're leaving some really fantastic initiative around environmental stewardship and from there they began to put together some of their these are some of their Journey that they did I was so embarrassed you were later and after that all their questions and all their investigations were compiled and this is how the teachers were able to figure out what was floating to the top for them what we're all the things that the students noticed in this journey that could help them to find a way forward halfway and from all the brainstorming and the questions at the 6th graders put together they noted that environmental justice with something that really started to the top he actually funny here so you can see that they took the steam study and they began to figure out how to connect it to connecting the place for us is very key it is something offer students a way to observe natural phenomena around them and this phenomenon is not in another part of the world this is something that they can observe every day they're noticing out change has been noticing how it connects to other thing so connecting to place our campus is always a key step cuz no matter where I studied to take us to want to see our impact your first instinct also help students to be able to see their purpose in the and how they were able to offer something in the work cuz I can see it everyday but as a l they while they started here in our  investigating invasive species they start I noticed that they can take this work into the community you'll start to see some of their work here where they started with looking at climatology here on campus with a PC clearing with parents and other leaders in our community like from Olmstead Park and then they began to notice Works happening up a community around the Bullitt County pipeline that LG mean in 2019 to go through a portion of bernheim forest. Study they actually recruited others and interviewed on some activists and actually employ bernheim as part of the study and so with everything we do our teachers this is another part that you'll notice come up a lot they're always integrating expanding in applying research is not just research for goodness sake it's to be applied to something and it is always been integrated with other studies like literacy and even some of our specialist an art that seems from up a lot and then the student Vanessa stated they were still trying to figure out what how do we celebrate and share discuss all these interviews and all this work we've done cuz if you don't want to just do the work and then not pass it on to another Community or another group and so what they've actually since then decided on is a doctor which is being near the Thursday in their classrooms so they have taken their study and they have decided what would be a part of the documentary how it was slow and is now being so we will be able to share that in a larger way with even a broader Community just from all their work okay so now so we had our fifth grade our stupid leaders and then you'll notice them other thing emerge with all of our various groups the reason for these themes was just a starting point you know this was a new way of doing things around the way we do pbl in our infirmary we wanted to give teacher just a starting point and what was wonderful about the intermediate group they actually just became they actually ended with land and water at the end of the year they began their study and space and put their idea was starting space and then slowly come down to Earth so I was able to Journey with them throughout this process and one of our the way we explored with Wonder and curiosity was actually on campus cuz I had to come down to Earth from space they landed on a scene called extreme weather and so this offered a really rich schema for our kids because that's a start in 4th grade class because we're in a flood plain so they can automatically connect to type of extreme weather that impacts their lives every year the weave or the floodplain and we started to explore the actually had a Dragon Quest how does water or how does need to respond to water so and driving question and so this offer the opportunity for them to do various water company in Austin with mr. Stevens Gathering data around a question to detoxify to a project and I'll get to that in a minute as you seen these pictures by the Louisville Water Company discuss how you know how they feel with water how they clean our water it's a very unique process that we have here in our community with River filtration do the skins for able to understand process cuz we're very close to the river so I can kind of connecting to place across the road a little bit and then I actually have them do some napping and I'll show you the next size we actually have a very unique system that leads into a bigger Creek on our campus so they were doing some mapping on how we handle drainage cuz we're fine art photography is very unique we're actually on a hill with that study of topography mr. Stevens our science teacher if you'll stay here created a scale model of the topography with them so they could understand where water goes and how it looks on our campus, naked models really big part of what we do something that shows up and science standards and it's something that we do often just to try to help us understand the big picture and smile it away so before we started actually applying some of the knowledge that we gathered we wanted to gather a little bit more data so this group went to the Science Center and dumb weather but then also conducted a class and what was really interesting about this classes they were looking at how nature responds to water in a paint tray and with soil stop and they had to figure out how to slow down the water from the pill at the exact same time that they were doing a study of the science or there was a real world they were actually trying to figure out the same thing I'm on dinner launch Hillside and that water actually connect to our campus the meatly our students were taking schema from the beginning of the year applying it and adding to from the science center investigation and so able to come back on campus and really ready to apply their knowledge so from that they tore the creek system this is next to our Greenhouse notice what how do humans respond water and how'd you had a nature they started to notice a few things about how nature responds to Waterville Nature has plants Nature has deep and shallow areas nature creates dance with sticks and things that are built up over time and then they also had questions like well if we do these things won't respond in the same way as this major did it naturally they put this together because they were able to observe two different types of systems that we have here on our campus we have on the left you'll see a Dugout trench that is straight to humans like things straight and orderly and the I noticed that nature likes things that Meander and through that process to actually will naturally slow down water so they were able to observe all the different way. We all respond to water and decide on a plan for this Creek area to the right you see next her Greenhouse sounds so they will be applying the water loving plants PS domesticating the creek and then as with all things I thought I already said they were able to connect it in a really swell way with their other thing study of extreme weather happening and comparing with their noticing other world hi Mary had a really this is our first and second grade they had a really unique you'd actually had two different projects happening so the first one I'm going to talk about it's the one on the right which is their strength project and then we get to the one on the left which is in Mary's Garden they actually because I'll come back to this this is there other work so they actually started studying water as a theme study in their classroom you're setting water they started to notice water popping up in our play what and this is a very popular site on campus connect to it I'm so as they are connecting with loving this place they actually are developing a natural compassion a desire to do something and what they were noticing is that the water was not able to flow through our play with dams in places that were unwanted it was attracting mosquitoes and other other unwanted test that we do not want to play with and it was not allowing the water to flow in a way that would attract the animals we do want like frogs and turtles and we noticed them dear so they began to develop a plan all from their own will they gather together and with our help they were but themselves up into four groups to just study the different parts of our what one group started with the spring and figuring out well how often does the spring flow is it always flowing does that help impact the way free is designed in every quadrant students had to come up with their own investigator questions to research from that research they developed a plan and from that plan they actually recruited other students they work and then they implemented the plan by telling us what to do and from that one big work day we were able to get a creek flowing through our play woods and just from that one investment still flowing and the chips go out every day and they dig it up and they work on the size of the creek to keep it flowing and it's actually become a wonderful area for noticing Wildlife footprints and of course everyone loves playing in that space so that was a fire side project that connected to their fans of water beginning of the school year they were actually studying layers of the Earth how Earth was made and also the rocks that kids are bringing in comic carpool with heavy bags of stuff they found at home or on adventures with their parents and they are reaching this entire big workstation and Treasure Trove of a teacher started helping them investigate this and then way of will how are these things made so they looked at layers of the earth will Kentucky we had this really unique that we can do because we used to be under a seat so we have limestone man in that Limestone we have a fossil so students started to again connect to place and another way with getting the Limestone that actually makes up our camp we have our building our steps even our sidewalks are limestone and so by pausing our bodies we were able to really look and start to what is this dead right around notice on the last two students they just had a little dish of water and paint brushes and they are on one of our sidewalks and they are asked actually painting The Rock so they can start to see the type fossils that are there and still on the right you'll see that you didn't they began to have the idea of what fossils exist here on the sidewalk do they exist so we went foraging and a local a little work we have other types of rocks and fossils and as we were doing that we notice the students love just collecting all this behavior in the classroom the play and so this idea of collecting things and maybe creating with those collections is how we got into in Mary's Garden Lori a picture book a real lady named maryknoll who lives in Wisconsin and she actually create interactive Rock Garden sand sculptures this is her place here and so by watching the students and observing their behavior and their natural interest we were able to connect them to a study of creating their own rock garden and it became a collaborative study with our art specialist War Patterson in our spine specialist Steven where these students then start applying their scheme of their knowledge and creating the space and you see we involved in every step of the process our students real tools on this is some of the pieces that they may to add to the column these are the columns that they're making so they are mixing their own concrete they're pouring it you'll be here in the next line we have a student actually using a sander this is something that you know what part of our curriculum of developing capable young people we believe exist in all Realms anything that we do heart of developing capable young people is giving them that responsibility to utilize tools that we have them about we have shown them the safety measures of then allowing them to explore that on their own another interesting thing about this study is when we were reading about Mary and her garden we posed the question of the day how does it feel when you are in a space like that and they began to reflect about how it makes them feel inspired and how it makes them feel calm or happy and so part of this investigation and that they had was actually they wanted to create another space like this for others to dwell in a space in a garden side space where others can feel that that piece in that comment at inspiration that face out through the process is there Garden still in the making. You'll see some other additions from other classrooms a little bit later but this is the beginning of our attractive Rock Garden and you'll notice these are just some spies about the process of their making their involved in the whole process they actually dug out a trench with there without mr. Stevens a spine specialist they are the mosaics before pouring the concrete and so you'll notice they are creating a turtle back and so they were able to dig out all the parts of the turtle and then pour the concrete and then flip the turtle over once it was finished to be placed in the garden I'm so our next group is our kindergarten group so this group these are natural explorers they are all over our campus everywhere they go they are creating habitat and they are discovering animals that live there so they became a very natural for us to be our animals and so we began investing what makes a habitat what do animals need and so they did a hike in a study around food water and shelter just to apply then apply to their home building Explorations all the things and so while this is just one day of exploring and studying that we saw it began just to grow so they began to apply this one Just One Day hike through everything they did and the teacher started to integrate their interest into centers within the classroom so the students were beginning to build as you can see in me continuous playing but build in different ways and apply knowledge for chickens and rabbits that we have on our playground they also started to notice another thing that animals need which is a clean and healthy so they began to lead others and how we can take care of our spaces where we play so that way it stays healthy for the animals that live there animals that they learned noticed the part of the central creation was not only in their literacy with creating books are used in a minute they created poetry but they also did metrical drawings with tight and really nicely to a map study with in this class and again the series coming up call on that they created about some of their observation and I can like with all she want them to share so that they became really interested in meeting our 2 year olds on the playground on morning start to your old you'll see later really and the worms are kindergarteners actually helped our to dig for worms each them about everything and show them the best worker methods and how to help worms so this was just one small way that they were able to share connect with their knowledge so having an impact again connecting to place and seeing where we are very capable of having an impact and just the power that gives student to Stevie in fact they've had so they created and yellow hominy also created bird feeders to hang an observed of other types of birds on our campus turned out to be a multi-month the teachers allowed it to continue a various way study I'm so icy come into our preschool program you'll notice that project did emerge through their study and some of them were you know just investigating animals that live on our habits that are on her campus all the way to books that can be shared with others about what they farm so I'll start was actually had a really unique study they love a place are Lorelai and we have a preschool garden and arts and so that would help others love it more become invested in the space because we noticed that students become invested in a space there more likely to be stewards of that face and so watching the students and noticing what are invested in and around campus they were really invested in mud that something that carries out all of our classroom so they were finding anything and everything to Marin and mud on that even during the winter here the middle picture it didn't matter it was cold as they were making mud and they were making everything you could possibly make with much so the teachers began to study this with them in the classroom way and the kids put together a plan of we have a mud kitchen and so they threw looking at pictures and doing drawings and putting together a list of what I want to collect from a kitchen they put together a plan of a start to a my kitchen that was then actually we had a parent that donated this much enforcement location of figuring out what what kind of parts and pieces do we need needing a shelf and needing something to hang on and having meetings about where would be put at how would it exist in so a model similar to this picture is what they landed on and it was built and just today it was fully occupied and well-loved by multiple classroom so the Rats of these guys are three they are our big hikers they are everywhere on this campus and they're always noticing something and they're one really digging into the so these guys really the 13 crew they love our geese we have a lot of peace with our on and they wanted to do everything with cheese and so their idea was to create little Hideaway so we did a whole day out in the field working geese cracking cheese they started to practice making their own first line with found objects so they're their project actually became really connecting to place but also share a place with them it was our other threes class really became invested in our play would it's a really special place and so when things didn't really Keepers really wanted to capture their wonder and how they explore this space so this book I see it as really I've seen this face to our students which is so cute sometimes we get so walked up into the logistics of a space or what if they should be but you didn't step back and look at us like our playlist Through The Eyes of the kids it's something really special another book idea from our 30s group the kids loved eating they would come to the greenhouse and I mean it was like stuff gone. the teachers they were very smart they were like okay I kids love eating let's create a field guide of Edibles on our campus and let's figure out what we can eat and so they obviously start at the greenhouse which had a lot of just pull up Edibles and so Jennifer able to learn the process of foraging in our greenhouse and then picking it up and that process that goes through as making identify the plant making sure you got permission from an adult do you need to clean it is this a space place to pick so they learned it in a very space environment within our grain house and then they were able to take it out on our campus with mr. Steve has them in the greenhouse beginning of the year beginning their foraging careers of eating anything and everything we could find and we had a lot of greens at the time never seen so many kids eat Walgreens so over time that you're Steven got with them and he was able to then take them on campus and identify a few different types of edible plants play safe environment they have identified all I need to ask for permission we need to identify this is how we forage so then they can apply it in another way and so their culminating project actually were able to create a small book it's been shared with families so they can connect with their students or children in other ways but this time and how to forage what they resources that kind of thing and it all started because of observations and noticing YRC and then are too so this is our last group and they they kind of explored some different thing which is a space thing to do here we explore a lot of different ideas sometimes they work sometimes they don't and that's okay but again it kind of stepped back they had one idea of ways to recycle and reuse plastic tops but they noticed our students aren't really invested in this again we wanted something that they were invested in they were invested in and they really aren't that they can teach our chickens so we began to dig up worms tested holding on to the worms in their classroom work so we tried it again a different way and through that process the kids started to alarm just through that process of what worms need will I need a 6 that we need any are they need food they need shelter and so just through that process these two year olds writable to get this lovely in riching experience of brown what living things need which is something that Channel connect to Sonos where our stewardship project for the year some things that we have celebrated a lot but things were still learning from and brainstorming for the next year's excited to have you guys back after we have done this again and to see how this has been bro so thank you all

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Environmental Stewardship art Chance School

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