Do you remember roasting marshmallows over a campfire as child? Or collecting snails from the backyard? Or even building a make-shift tent in your living room out of a spare sheet and some couch pillows? Our “Courageous Campers” group will spend Dive in and Discover week immersed in nature. Students began their journey on a nature walk, where they discussed the environmental impacts of pollution and other ways humans negatively impact our environment. They are learning the importance of leaving nature the way they found it, and discovering ways they can be proactive and helpful in taking care of our planet. Being out in nature, students are becoming more aware of their own accountability, and their role in caring for their world for the next generation.
While our “Courageous Campers” are learning valuable lessons in conservation during this week, they will also take time to appreciate the art and beauty within nature. Students are exploring how resources found in nature can be used to create art that can send a powerful message. In groups, students will design a sculpture out of a reusable natural material. They are becoming leaders in spreading the message to conserve and protect the world we live in.
During this week, students will also participate in a scavenger hunt, where they will work with their peers to problem solve using clues. This activity will require students to practice active listening and respectfully voice disagreement with each other. As students follow clues, they have the opportunity to explore and follow their instinctive curiosities about nature.
Our “Courageous Campers” will work together to build tents and make a campfire, so they are protected from the elements in nature. Students will brainstorm ideas for and construct their own bug hotels, refuges for insects such as bees or lady bugs that help to encourage pollination in gardens, learning that even the smallest creatures in nature are still an integral part of our ecosystem. Teachers leading “Courageous Campers” hope students will leave Dive in and Discover week with a renewed self-awareness of their responsibility to protect our planet and the drive to take the small steps towards environmental conservation.
