Week 3 at Patterson Park

The last couple lessons have led my class to talk about why we should study and care about the environment. There were two camps of opinion that formed during Wednesday's lesson. The first camp emphasized resources like paper, clean drinking water, and food. The members of the second group valued the beauty of flowers, the comfort of shade, and the sensation of a cool breeze on their skin. Naturally, the class fell to arguing the merits of both positions.

I don't know how well it worked, but I did try to push my students to accept both at the same time and find a middle ground. The ability to tolerate cognitive dissonance comes with age, and some of my older students comprehended what I was saying.

If I were to repeat my argument to an older audience, a simple version might go like this:
If your view of the environment and of the natural world is of a vast chamber of resources, you might prioritize new growth forests for lumber over ancient, old growth groves. Even if you responsibly log the new growth forests, you lose the majesty and history of the old trees. If you are inescapably enamored with wildflowers, you might pick every pretty blossom in sight or artificially select for a monoculture of wildflowers on your property. Beautiful yes, but not diverse and capable of sustaining animals and other plants.

Week 3 was a good week because the in-class curriculum and outside enrichment trips emphasized harmony between both perspectives. Our enrichment providers at Druid Hill Park stressed having fun being outside and our PLT lessons dealt with how humans interact with the earth and the consequences of using its resources. My hope is that my campers walk away from SuperKids more able to conceive of the earth as containing that we can (responsibly) use and possessing extraordinary beauty which we can only marvel at.

^^Campers cataloguing and drawing plants and animals that depend on trees to live.

^^Campers having a blast.