Today marked the end of my service learning at Dunwoody Nature Center (DNC). 

Over the course of my placement at DNC I helped with three categories of tasks: field trip assistance, program preparation, and landscaping. DNC has a robust elementary school field trip program, and I was able to participate in a couple. I mainly helped keep larger groups from getting too spread out. It was also beneficial to have another adult to interact with the kids, even though I was not a proper educator. I enjoyed helping with the field trips. I could tell that some of the more shy kids were more comfortable seeing someone who looked more like them, which I think is important to consider in children’s education.

I spent a larger amount of time helping with different types of program preparation. This includes pre-cutting crafts for the Folktale Festival, organizing the classrooms, and the preschool room remodel. The preschool room remodel was my favorite task in this category. We started with an emptied out room and repainted everything. After the redecorating was complete, the room looked so good—a definite upgrade from what it was when I first started at DNC. It’s nice to know that the preschoolers get a new space to enjoy and learn in. 

The landscaping tasks were my favorite. The bulk of it was planting. I helped with floral planters and pollinator gardens. I enjoyed being able to plant something and return the next week to see its progress. These gardens are super important for biodiversity and the director puts a lot of thought into which plants to buy. I watched a rather plump and fuzzy bee float around one of the bee balm shrubs today, so they are doing what they are supposed to. The wildlife at DNC is very active—the birds chirp loudly and the squirrels sprint around everywhere—so I enjoyed just working peacefully outside. Aside from feeling good about helping the environment, it was also a welcome stress relief from school.

 

I believe I helped to further the mission of the DNC. The field trips and program preparations are integral in successfully encouraging environmental awareness. They are also always looking to improve biodiversity and attract pollinators, so the landscaping becomes very important. I’d also like to think I have a good eye for aesthetics, which are important in encouraging people to visit the nature center. We are also finishing up our final project, and I think it stands to contribute to DNC’s local outreach. The project is specifically geared towards families and provides an entryway into environmental education in their own backyards. This complements the nature center’s focuses on conservation and children’s education.

 

 

 

Today, I left Dunwoody Nature Center with a treat: honeysuckle! Since it is an invasive species and was going to be removed, I was able to take a bunch of blooms to eat the nectar out of. It tied a nice bow on my time in this service learning seminar.