Our Mission:
To serve our community by helping to instill a sense of place in the local youth. We aim to better inform students of their place within Oregon, the southern Cascades and its cycles by using an interdisciplinary curriculum that blends the humanities and sciences.
The Project
Canopy Connections 2018 is a student-led environmental education program that exposes middle schoolers to experiential and place-based learning by leading them on all day field trips at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is an amazing site with a rich history that includes the research that sparked the Northern Spotted Owl protection status and much more. When students arrive here, they are immersed in a plethora of different scientific topics, while practicing self-reflection through the arts and humanities. The integration of multiple disciplines into our curriculum helps to instill a sense of place in youth while showing them that they too can create literature and science that makes a difference in the world, just like the residents at H.J. Andrews.
Our curriculum is centered around the theme of natural cycles in the Pacific Northwest. Students learn about this theme through interdisciplinary perspectives including local indigenous knowledge, humanities, ecology, and phenological research. The team developed four stations to explore these subjects, and one pre-trip classroom lesson to give the students important background information before they head out into the field. The team encourages students to move from an awareness of their environment to action within their community. We empower student activism by providing an opportunity at the end of the day to write letters to public leaders, as well as providing them with contact information for local environmental organizations. |
Methods
The Canopy Connections team worked to leave a lasting impact on each student by creating an engaging curriculum that appeals to a range of learning styles. The team utilized the forest as a unique classroom by encouraging students to interact with the sights and sounds around them through scientific and artistic inquiry. The team accomplished these goals by utilizing a variety of environmental education strategies and theories.
The Tblisi Declaration The Tblisi Declaration of 1977 provides guiding principles for environmental education. The Canopy Connections team used the framework of “Awareness to Action” as the foundation for their curriculum: Awareness – helping students acquire an awareness of and sensitivity to the environment Knowledge – providing opportunities for students to acquire a basic understanding of the environment and environmental issues Attitudes – providing a space for students to develop strong feelings of concern for the environment and its health Skills – helping students acquire skills for working towards solutions to environmental issues Action – providing opportunities for students to gain a sense of responsibility and actively take part in making change NAAEE The North American Association for Environmental Education has six guidelines for creating excellent environment education materials. The Canopy Connections team used these guidelines to evaluate their curriculum. According to the NAAEE standards, effective environmental education curriculums must have: Fair and accurate information Depth An emphasis on skills building Instructional soundness Usability Action orientation Engaged Pedagogy The Canopy Connections team incorporated bell hooks' theory of engaged pedagogy, because we recognize that getting students engaged in learning requires the recognition that students are whole beings with unique lives, interests, and backgrounds. Teaching with interdisciplinary and diverse perspectives allows students with different backgrounds to better connect with the material at hand, and to enhance their critical thinking skills. Teachers also learn from students, just as the students learn from teachers, so cultivating a respectful mentorship that flows both ways helps both parties learn and grow. Coyote mentoring Coyote mentoring is a teaching-method developed by Jon Young, based on indigenous principles such as increasing sensory awareness and cultivating mindfulness within students. This is an especially important practice in today’s world in which stress and distraction are everywhere. The Canopy Connections team strives to encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunity to have class in the forest by emphasizing the practice of sensory awareness during the field trip through a variety of activities. |
Our Partners
HJ Andrews Experimental ForestH.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is a 16,000 acre space for outdoor recreation, contemplation, and ecological research that focuses on long-term forest changes. Their mission is to support research on forests, streams, and watersheds, and to foster strong collaboration among ecosystem science, education, and natural resource management.
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Pacific Tree Climbing InstitutePCTI is a family-run business that hopes to change the way people view old growth forests. They demonstrate the value these forests have for humans beyond hiking trails or economic outputs. This is accomplished through hands on experience climbing up into the canopy. Pacific Tree Climbing Institute facilitates a tree climb for every student on a Canopy Connections field trip.
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Environmental Leadership ProgramUniversity of OregonThe Environmental Leadership Program is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, service-learning program housed in the University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program. The Environmental Leadership Program matches student teams with non-profit organizations, governmental agencies and businesses to address local environmental community needs.
Project Funders: Steve Ellis and other private donors |