From Garden to Classroom Outreach Program
Let's Get Ready For Earth Day
Earth Day is April 22. The Garden has a number of activities for children which are fun and good for the Earth, including creating flowerpots from recycled materials, planting seeds, becoming a "PlantWatcher", or simply going on a nature hike. This outreach program is available to students in grades Kindergarten - 6, Winter - Spring, 2011.
Workshop for Educators:
Botanical Boot Camps: Available for early childhood, K-12 and post-secondary educators. Workshops are also available for youth group leaders, museum interpreters and volunteers. For more information, please contact bgprograms[at]mun.ca.
Introduction
To Book
The From Garden to Classroom Outreach Program will provide outreach education in natural sciences, including botany, ecology and environmental conservation and biodiversity through interactive and activity-based programs.
This program will aim to motivate and engage students and teachers to take action and implement positive changes both in and outside their schools, within their homes and throughout their community.
The program will provide school programming (both by continuing and expanding our existing program) to include other areas of the curriculum, including health, math, language arts, etc.
The program will also provide outreach during our off-season (winter).
The Garden's website will also be expanded include guides and lessons for students and teachers across the province.
Workshops for teachers and environmental educators will be offered throughout the province to develop programs based on teacher need.
The range and number of topics covered will depend on the grade level; however all concepts will relate to the theme of bringing the Botanical Garden (and its expertise) to the classroom. In turn, the knowledge and experiences gained will promote a responsible and pro-active attitude towards the environment. More importantly, students will develop respect and a keen interest in natural sciences. The primary objective is to engage the student, but teacher education and support is critical to the success of this program and the teacher workshops and web development are intended to supply the training and support for educators and community leaders, province-wide.
The From Garden to Classroom outreach program will incorporate environmental stewardship and sustainable education practices presently promoted and used at MUN Botanical Garden.
Topics such as native plant conservation, plant taxonomy, habitat enhancement and protection, invasive alien species awareness, climate change, composting, waste reduction, and environmental monitoring in a format appropriate to each grade level and curriculum will be presented.
Information pertaining to local plant and animal species and their ecology will be highlighted and scientific techniques and processes will be utilized.
If you are interested in learning more about the From Garden to Classroom program, please contact Anne Madden, Education Coordinator at amadden[at]mun.ca or simply call 709-864-8590.
