Tag: Dunwoody Nature Center

Dua and Raihaanah: Dunwoody Nature Center

by Dr. Shannon Finck

Dua Spall and Raihaanah Bint Abdullah Muslim worked with the Dunwoody Nature Center, an organization with an emphasis on outdoor environmental education. To help communicate this organization’s message, they produced an infographic about the importance of environmental education for young children with evidence from DNC’s record of providing quality, public environmental-educational programming.

 
 
Dua and Raihaanah also created these directional signs to guide parents and children through the Dunwoody Nature Center during their Fairytale Forest event. 

 

Wrapping Up

by rmuslim1

My work with the Dunwoody Nature Center has been an enlightening experience overall. I mainly helped them prepare for their programs in terms of organization. I also helped during field trips and the Fairytale Forest Festival. The most satisfying experience was removing knots from bird houses in preparation for the festival. Holly wanted the bird houses to look more like fairy houses, so she also widened their doors with a small saw.

The most shocking experience was witnessing the behavior of five-year-olds during a recent field trip. While I know that kids fight each other for no particular reason, I was still shocked when they did so during one of our field trips. This was a filed trip for kids around five years of age (basically, babies). There was an indoors component where the kids colored cut-outs of snakes and played with toys. The outdoors portion was more or less a hike because there was no educational component, it was full of site-seeing and playing “The Floor is Lava”. I was not interested in playing “The Floor is Lava”, but the kids kept yelling at me out of concern that I was standing in lava, so I started to play along. At some point we made it to the Tarzan swing that had a platform on either side. The kids stood in line waiting for their turns, but one kid skipped line which caused a fight to break out and the kids started pushing each other. This made me nervous because anyone could have fallen off the platform and gotten extremely hurt. The teacher did not seem phased with their behavior. Besides that incident, I witnessed the kids bullying each other and one even got bitten. It is important to state that all the kids were sweet, even the ones that were fighting. Out of the thirteen kids, only two caused trouble, and one of them had just turned five.

I do believe that I played a part on furthering Dunwoody Nature Center’s mission. Not only did I help prepare for programs, I also gave Holly feedback on how to improve them next year. I also believe that the final project will be useful to the organization because they can use our product to enhance their advertisements.

Blog Post #4

by dspall1

Throughout the experiences with Dunwoody Nature Center, I feel like this week was the most hectic and fun I’ve had yet with the amount of tasks that I completed. The last few weeks have essentially just been very chill, but this week was exciting because I got to help prepare for the Fairytale forest festival. The nature center hosted this festival to showcase many fun and exciting events that can be educational for children while also allowing them to play around and show of their creativity. There were many things to do such as tree climbing, painting, coloring, and so much more. Before the festival, I got to work with the center to digitally create signs that showcased an aspect of the forest that would be educational for children. The ones I worked on were the backyard birds station and the forest habitat station. My volunteer partner, Raihannah worked on the wetlands station. I feel like the experience of getting to digitally create these signs was particularly exciting for me as I enjoy practicing any aspect of digital design. Because of the amount of work I’ve had, I hadn’t had the opportunity to do it until now, and I’m extremely thankful because it’s inspired me to get back in touch with my passion for graphic design. Moving on, I’m enjoying my time at the nature center because it’s also allowed me to get in touch with my surroundings and start exploring the outdoors more in my free time. I often find myself going on walks throughout the nature center’s park and admiring the nature around me. More-so, I’ve been able to prepare for the festival through tasks that require me to pick leaves for children’s projects. While volunteering, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about what these creative projects are meant to teach children. I’ve learned about how creativity can go hand in hand with education. The nature center thrives to allow children to showcase their creativity while also learning about the nature that constantly surrounds them. Stations where children can paint bird houses serve as a way to showcase their creativity while also giving back to the world little by little.

Dunwoody Nature Center and Environmental Education

by rmuslim1

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.

 

Blog Post #2 Dua Spall

by dspall1

On Thursday, the 25th, I visited Dunwoody Nature Center for the first time to meet my organization and learn about my upcoming responsibilities. As mentioned in my introduction, I was surprised by the breathtaking beauty of the park upon my arrival. While I had an idea of  a simple building and a walking trail, the reality exceeded my expectations with its calming, aesthetic, and scenic environment. Although specific tasks have not yet been assigned to me, I have gained insight into the diverse and exciting projects I will soon get to work on. 

These projects include a range of activities, including tasks within the park, interactions with various animals, and involvement in marketing and social media for the organization. Of these, I am eager to engage in ground projects, as the park’s beauty is very exciting, and I am excited to explore it firsthand.

One aspect of my role that I find somewhat challenging is working with children. As the youngest in my family, I have limited experience in caring for or spending around children. However, I am both excited and nervous about the opportunity to learn about teaching children and participating in projects involving them, as I believe it will be a valuable learning experience.

During my visit to the nature center on Thursday, I was happy to learn that I would be attending a program featuring live animals. I had the chance to interact with a live snake and turtle, an experience that had me very surprised yet excited, considering it was only my first day. Through this hands-on encounter, I learned about the habits and habitats of snakes and turtles, gaining valuable information into their roles within our environment.

This initial experience has left me even more excited for the future. In just one day, I have had the opportunity to meet incredible people, learn interesting facts about animals, and connect myself with the nature of the park. I am eager to continue with this organization and learn more about what it has to offer. I hope to apply these valuable lessons in the real world and teach it to others curious about how they can help and connect with nature. 

Introduction: Raihaanah Bint Abdullah Muslim

by rmuslim1

Hello everyone!

I’m Raihaanah, a senior biology major and a research assistant here at GSU. I became interested in research after completing my associate’s and transferring to the downtown campus. I was initially interested in cancer research, but I was paired with a principal investigator in the neuroscience institute and became fascinated with neurodegenerative diseases. I hope to graduate this semester and enroll in graduate school within a year. I’m both excited and nervous about graduating because I’m taking a gap year.

This semester is interesting to say the least. I’ve never been in a service learning course before, but I have volunteered through GSU and other organizations. This class is nice because I get course credit for volunteering.

I’m excited to share that I’ve been partnered with the Dunwoody Nature Center! I’m super eager to learn about their programs and help them run them. The Dunwoody Nature Center focuses on conservation and has many educational programs that inspire the community to be stewards of the natural world. I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be doing there. Based on their survey responses and emails with Holly, I think I’ll help them run their educational programs, gardening, animal care, social media posts, and organizing materials.

The Dunwoody Nature Center is approximately 30 minutes from my house, which isn’t bad. It’s a little inconvenient because it’s in the opposite direction of campus, so I may not be able to make it to lab on my volunteer days. The most concerning thing is that I won’t be able to start volunteering until the week of March 11th, so I’m not sure how I’ll satisfy all the required hours or come up with a project proposal before the GSURC abstract deadline passes. Nonetheless, this is an exciting experience and I hope it’ll be a highlight of my undergraduate career!

Introduction: Dua Spall

by dspall1

Hi everyone! My name is Dua Spall. I’m a junior at GSU studying computer science. I chose this course because I wanted to try something outside the realms of technology and connect with nature more while also helping the community. So far, there have been many interesting things that I’ve learned through this course, mostly through the different books that we have read and discussed. I’m excited to take what I’ve learned through the books and apply it to where I’ll be doing community service. Throughout our meetings in class, we have discussed different texts from McKibben, Purdy, and Kathryn Savage. All of these authors have discussed their experiences with nature and how they are connected to it in their own words. I believe these readings are extremely important in allowing us as the readers/students to inspire us to connect with nature through our acts of service we will be doing. Before I read the works from these authors, I never gave much thought to how I can connect with nature personally and what I can specifically do to give back to it. After these readings, especially with Krimmer, I have learned there is a lot someone can do to give back to the earth to grow as we grow alongside it.

My community partner for this course will be the Dunwoody Nature Center. I’m really excited to work with them as they offer many different choices in what you can volunteer in, such as working with animals, doing cleanups, or working with kids. All together, I’m hoping to learn what it truly means to connect ourselves with nature while also learning new things that we can pass on to other people. I hope my experiences at Dunwoody Nature Center help and inspire me to keep giving back even when the course is finished. I recently had my first meeting with them and was welcomed to a very comfortable, calming, and scenic environment. Throughout our readings, we touched on how we as students go to a university in an area where nature isn’t entirely prevalent around us. We’re surrounded by big buildings and noises from cars which leaves us less opportunity to connect with nature. When I arrived at Dunwoody Nature Center, it was extremely quiet, and the only thing you could hear was birds or the sounds of squirrels climbing up trees. This is completely different from what students are used to, so I’m extremely excited to get the chance to connect with nature while also giving back to the community and earth.

Service Blog Post #5

by sflaucher1

   Hello, everyone! While reading through all the various posts about you guys’ volunteering experiences, I am ashamed to admit that mine has not been as active. Due to my busy schedule, I chose the “long hours once a month” route. However, I still had a lot of fun and met amazing people, and I would love to share some of my experiences.

   I volunteer at Dunwoody Nature Center, a non-profit organization that LOVES nature and works to improve Dunwoody Park, educate children and adults, and motivate environmental awareness. Thus, I have witnessed how this amazing organization works to achieve these goals. First, this organization has some of the most amazing people I have ever met. My Program and Community Engagement Manager, Lisha Wedderburn, helped me get familiar with the work and feel comfortable in a foreign environment. She introduced me to everyone at the organization, and they welcomed me with open arms.

  Now, for the part that probably everyone wants to hear about the most- the volunteer part. At first, I was helping with the “aftermath” of a children’s activity or preparing for future activities. For example, I helped set up tables, fixed them, cleaned the areas, prepared different props for children, and so on. Furthermore, I was able to experience how the organization helps children learn more about nature- I was more of an observer here, but I still found it extremely fun! Unfortunately, whenever I chose to volunteer, it was raining cats and dogs (haha, I could not help myself), so everything had to be done from the inside. I communicated with Darcy Johnson, an extremely fun young lady, and she has taken me to learn and do more marketing projects. Everything she had planned could not be done due to rainy days (blah); however, hopefully, this upcoming week will be sunny so that I can be involved in as many marketing projects as possible! This non-profit organization is amazing for students that want to have fun while helping.

P.S.: I have included a picture from last week’s rainy day.