WESTPORT — By traversing indigenous terrain, educators from cities and rural areas recently explored North Country biodiversity.
Elizabeth Lee and Sheri Amsel created and taught the teacher workshop.
"Students were able to learn in a dynamic forest community — one where there's great biodiversity and constant interaction among the plants and animals," Lee said.
Participants ranged from novice teachers to someone with a doctorate in chemistry and the director of an outdoor program on Long Island.
Though some of their schools are located in big cities, the teachers learned that venues still exist to enjoy wildlife and participate in outdoor explorations.
DREAM FULFILLED
"Wild Science is the culmination of many years of presenting short afternoon or hour-long teacher workshops on this topic," Amsel said. "There was never enough time to properly cover the topic. I have been doing them through SUNY with Karin Larkin for many years, and this seemed a natural progression.
"Also, Elizabeth and I have been taking kids and adults into the woods for a long time, and this topic is near and dear to both our hearts. A conference like this is a dream come true for us."
Last March, when Amsel was preparing to present at the National Teacher Association conference in Philadelphia, she got the idea that if she and Lee wanted to do a longer conference they could promote it there.
Amsel produced a brochure and web page, and Lee promoted the teacher workshop at their booth. From there, Wild Science was a go.
HANDS-ON LEARNING
The benefits for the teachers, according to Amsel, include "a deeper understanding of how to use outdoor resources for enhancing classroom science and nature trails, a collection of new illustrated activities to use in that pursuit back at school, ongoing access to the Exploring Nature website resources and a chance to really go outside and — with a little directed training from us — really experience how to see, hear, smell and touch the wild resources, while interacting and sharing ideas with other like-minded educators."
Among the topics covered were forest processes of decomposition, developing nature trails, animal signs and life cycles, and species identification.
"Judging from the reaction we received from the educators who attended this conference — who were totally stunned by the beauty of the area — they will definitely return with family and friends," Amsel said.
"I suspect they will also talk about it for a long time to come with colleagues at school and on the list-serv. On their evaluations, they all requested another, longer version of Wild Science for next year."
PUSHING THE LIMITS
Bronx teacher Bethany Spence indicated that "teaching about nature is something that is neglected in city schools. It's sometimes a challenge to find places, but there are opportunities to find and appreciate nature, even if it is in small parcels in our back yards."
Clifton Park's Sheray Tario felt "pumped to learn what I can about nature, as my school has four acres to do science outside. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this worthwhile experience and teach the kids not to kill the environment."
Vittoria Marzot, an outdoor educator from Long Island, said "the setting is gorgeous and is perfect for a course like this. Too often, we visually overlook what is in nature and the stories that are told."
As they taught, Amsel and Lee not only imparted their knowledge, but also their reverence for the environment.
"This experience was extremely educational for me personally, as a guide, an outdoor teacher and a small-business owner," Lee said.
"The workshop made me realize I have marketable ideas and can be creative about developing additional programs.
"It feels more important than ever to live and work in a way that allows enough land to remain wild," she said, "so that we don't lose our knowledge of the natural processes that take place here. At the same time, as a guide and as a naturalist, my livelihood depends on outdoor places where human activities are part of the land-use matrix."
E-mail Alvin Reiner at: rondackrambler@yahoo.com
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