The Dunwoody Nature Center focuses on educating the public about nature and encouraging environmental stewardship. On my first volunteer day, I was told to follow a group of students on their school field trip. At first, I was disappointed by this because I thought it would be boring. I imagined that school field trips were not that insightful for kids or adults, nonetheless. Claire, a volunteer from a high school, seemed excited at this prospect. Her enthusiasm about the field trip made me wonder if it would be worth it after all.
Contrary to my preconceived notions, school field trips are fun and educational. The field trip was split up into an indoor portion, where the kids were introduced to animal furs, an owl’s wing, and a live snake to learn about animal groups, and an outdoor portion where the kids were shown a live toad and tadpoles and learned about watersheds. It was interesting to see how easily they got excited about the live animals. When the instructor showed them the tadpoles and toad, they huddled around him in awe. The funniest thing about the experience was their reaction to the animal furs and the owl wing because the kids were concerned that the instructor had just stolen the fur and wing from the animals to teach the course. At some point the instructor had to clarify that “no animals were harmed in the making of this program”.
That field trip is a highlight of my experience with Dunwoody Nature Center. I thought it was nice that the kids were learning about watersheds because I only recently learned about them in another seminar. The Dunwoody Nature Center has a variety of programs that enable children and adults to interact with nature. Through these programs they promote environmental awareness and stewardship. Recently we have been preparing for the Fairytale Forest Festival which takes place this weekend. As the name suggests, this festival incorporates interactions with nature and fairytales.
I am developing my project with Dua. Our experience with the Dunwoody Nature Center has inspired us to create a product that focuses on environmental education. Some ideas that we have discussed so far include infographics, a website, and a survey. I recently spoke with Dr. Finck about developing a short survey for festival attendees for feedback on the educational aspect of the festival. We might also make a broader survey that addresses environmental education in general. This one will be longer and target individuals at 40 years and under.
I am so happy to hear that your perspective of field trips has changed! I know some activities can seem a little silly, but sometimes I think back to when I was in elementary school or middle school and how exciting these trips were. I agree that it is amazing these students are learning about watersheds now rather than at our age. That is how we can make change! Your project sounds interesting and like it can really help to improve what the organization does. I am looking forward to see how it turns out!
Hi Raihaanah! The school field trip sounds so much fun, I hope you enjoyed it. Seeing children willing to learn about new things feels like a rewarding experience to me so I am glad you got to experience that. I love that the Dunwoody Nature Center has programs that allow for individuals to interact closely with nature. I feel that learning more about your environment, what it holds, and how it helps you, will allow for communities to be more in touch with nature rather than ignore it. Great post, hope you continue to enjoy your work with the organization.
This post resonates with me because I’ve always enjoyed field trips. They were like a getaway from traditional classroom lectures. Even in my own experiences, I’ve found that getting out into nature and engaging in interactive learning has made me appreciate the environment around us even more. I’m excited to see how your project can build on these types of environmental education experiences for students visiting the Dunwoody Nature Center.
Hi Raihaanah,
I am glad to hear that you were able to participate in the field trip and eventually develop a meaningful experience at Dunwoody Nature Center. I look forward to hearing about the process of creating this tool and seeing the final product you guys came up with. It seems to be a valuable educational tool that is going to last. It is never enough to educate people about environmental conservation. I hope you are having a great time volunteering with your community partner. Can’t wait to hear more updates from you.
Mina