This project allows us to grant over 75 elementary school children scholarships to participate in a weekly after school program. Children will be connected with nature through hands-on activities alleviating their fear of being outside, inspire them to help protect the environment, build friendships, and to live within nature in a more sustainable way. The students will also learn to give back to the community by completing a service project at the end of the school year.
Young people are becoming disconnected from their natural world. This lack of nature is linked to some disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. Public school requirements are contributing to a K-12 environmental literacy gap by reducing nature education in schools. Its testing for core subjects is causing schools to eliminate nature education. This project brings nature to over 300 students & will be expanded to 3 new schools each year.
We provide hands-on activities in a natural environment at the school to incorporate nature education into the existing school system. Children learn new skills while getting physical activity outdoors. Through games, hands-on activities and hikes they learn not to fear the outdoors, how to identify insects, plants & animals, how to have fun in the outdoors, how to trust & work with others, & build community. They also learn from wildlife ambassadors how to protect wildlife and local ecosystems.
This project will educate over 100 elementary school students so they are connected to their community and nature, becoming stewards of their environment. Our school-based afterschool program has been extended to 5 schools! We have expanded our programs to another Durham school, one in Carrboro, and are planning programs at an elementary and middle school in Orange County.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
