WSU Extension Native Plant Salvage Project

 

      Learning Landscapes is an environmental education, outreach, and technical assistance program provided by the WSU Extension Native Plant Salvage Project to South Sound schools, teachers, and students.

      Our work in schools builds off of the interests and enthusiasm already present in the school building. We strive to provide teachers, students, and staff with the resources and skills they need to strengthen education for water, wildlife, and the environment at their school. 

 

Background: City of Olympia Water Resources Program Support

Water-wise Gardens as Learning Landscapes

 

Working with the City of Olympia’s Water Resources Program, NPSP has designed and installed water-wise gardens at six South Sound elementary schools. Each installation was accompanied by weeks of environmental education focusing on the role of plants in protecting water resources. 

 

• Margaret McKenny Elementary (2000)
• Garfield Elementary (2001 & 2007)
• Evergreen Forest Elementary (2001)
• Lincoln Elementary (2002)
• Pioneer Elementary (2004)
• Roosevelt Elementary (2006)

 

What We Offer

Classroom Presentations  

An experienced environmental educator is available to teach lessons drawn from the Water-wise Learning Landscapes curriculum directly to students. These lessons facilitate experiences with the natural world and create an educational structure to help students understand them. Our lessons focus on basic ecological concepts, each lesson builds on the one that came before, and each offers an opportunity for students to see the concept in a real world context. 

 

 

Schoolyard Stewardship

In conjunction with Classroom Presentations, we can engage elementary school classes in the hands-on stewardship of their school garden, schoolyard, and nearby natural areas. Our “work parties” offer an opportunity for students not only to breathe fresh air, but to learn that fresh air comes from trees, and to learn at the same time how to plant and care for those trees. It is an opportunity for students not only to drink fresh water, but also to get their hands wet in the watersheds that provide that water, and to learn at the same time how to protect and improve those watersheds. 

 

 

Teacher Trainings

We have a wealth of environmental knowledge to share with South Sound teachers! Our Teacher Training Workshops come in two forms:   

 

• Curriculum Training: Our comprehensive and easy-to-use Water-wise Learning Landscapes curriculum (created with the help of a retired Olympia School District teacher and aligned with state standards) is a fabulous resource for a school. We offer trainings to orient teachers to the curriculum.  Please ask about receiving training in your school!

 

• Specific Skills Training: Do teachers in your building need to strengthen their knowledge of the natural world in specific areas? We offer workshops tailored to your needs. Examples include Native Plant Identification, Naturescaping for Water and Wildlife, Garden Maintenance, and more.

 

Our trainings fit well as part of a building’s staff development time, but we may also be able to offer clock hours to participating teachers.

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Case Study: Garfield Elementary, Olympia School District

 

Garfield’s Water-Wise Garden

The heart of our work at Garfield Elementary is the water-wise and native plant garden. Working with the City of Olympia’s Water Resources Program, NPSP first installed the garden in 2001. The garden’s goals—to protect water quality, encourage water conservation, provide habitat, and offer an outdoor teaching space—are embraced by Garfield administrators, teachers, and students alike.      

 

 

Garden Education and Design

Garfield’s students and teachers were involved in an education and design process. The classroom education by NPSP and City of Olympia educators focused on watersheds, native plants and wildlife, and student stewardship. The design process culminated in an outdoor design charrette engaging the entire 4th grade in four design activities, yielding drawings, lists, and rules that the students envisioned for the new garden.   

 

The Unexpected Teachable Moment: One student decides the garden should be a place where he doesn’t have to “smell the stinky cars” from the nearby road.     

 

 

Garden Installation and Re-Installation

In 2001, NPSP organized dozens of volunteers as well as many Garfield teachers and parents to turn lawn into a garden. When we returned to reinvigorate the garden in 2007-2008, we discovered students were still enthusiastic to participate. Over several days in December 2007 and January 2008, coordinated by NPSP and Garfield teachers, every class and every student took part in planting, mulching, and renewing the school garden. 

 

The Unexpected Teachable Moment: After getting his hands dirty planting a tree, a student tells us, “I didn’t want to come out here, but now I don’t want to go back in.” 

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Teacher Trainings

NPSP worked with Garfield’s Staff Development professionals to host a mini-conference and teacher training. Participating teachers were introduced to the new Water-wise Learning Landscapes curriculum, learned new educational activities about seed germination and insect life, and worked together to define what they need to teach more effectively in the garden.

 

The Unexpected Teachable Moment: Teachers looking at an “ugly” bug under the microscope discover its tiny, cute face looking back at them. 

 

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Tall Trees Youth Stewardship Project

 

Project Summary: Tall Trees Youth Stewardship Project educates, empowers, and inspires young people through ecological restoration of Olympia’s urban forest. Partnering with local schools, y outh groups, non-profits, and the City of Olympia, Tall Trees will engage hundreds of young people in dozens of work parties to remove invasive species and restore local ecosystems. This program picks up where our Learning Landscapes Environmental Education Program leaves off—now that our students have a strong knowledge of ecosystem concepts, we help them to apply them in the hard work of sustaining the urban forest.   

Providing meaningful environmental service opportunities to young people.

Increasingly, young people are taking an active role in their communities through service. Whether community service is required for school, performed as part of a senior project, or encouraged by private groups, young people represent a burgeoning population in search of meaningful service experiences . 

 

Tall Trees brings together the skills of youth volunteer coordination , environmental education , and project management to effectively engage young people age 12-25 in environmental service. 

 

 

After School Enrichment Classes

 

NPSP hosted a six-session after-school course for 3rd through 5th graders called Plants, Bugs, and Raindrops: Exploring Nature Through Science and Art . Featuring activities drawn from the Water-wise Learning Landscapes curriculum, the course engaged students in growing plants, identifying native species, and teaching each other connections between water, plants, animals, and humans within the local environment. 

 

The Unexpected Teachable Moment: After learning about the role of birds in spreading seeds, a student discovers a bird dropping with a seed in it.