Environmental Stewardship
Environment stewardship is the responsible use of our natural resources through conservation and sustainable practices. Environmental stewardship is developed by connecting to nature through hands on inquiry and developing problem solving producing sound environmental education practices.
Cincinnati Nature Center and Student Inquiry
This was a five session program where students participated in an outdoor inquiry investigating the question “If I were an organism (worm, spider, ant or beetle) I would or would not like to live in a forest, edge or lawn area?" There were approximately fourteen parent volunteers, eight Cincinnati Nature Center volunteers, three third grade teachers, two Cincinnati Nature Center staff members and sixty five third grade student participants. The Cincinnati Nature Center staff members developed this unit in collaboration with the third grade teachers utilizing the core curriculum and the science inquiry notebook and graphic organizers.
This five session program held over four weeks started with a brief “Spark Day” activity to get children curious about the outdoors. Students chose an organism (worm, spider, ant or beetle) to study. For the next three sessions, students explored three different habitats ; the lawn, the forest, and the edge. Students utilize their science inquiry notebooks throughout this investigation.
This five session program held over four weeks started with a brief “Spark Day” activity to get children curious about the outdoors. Students chose an organism (worm, spider, ant or beetle) to study. For the next three sessions, students explored three different habitats ; the lawn, the forest, and the edge. Students utilize their science inquiry notebooks throughout this investigation.
Session 1 and 2 Spark Day and Students Explore the Lawn
Session3 Students Explore the Forest
Session 4 Students Explore the Edge
Session 5 The Evidence is in....Poster Making
Art Work
Persuasive Speeches for Preserving The Forest Habitat
In 2014-2015 school year, Boyd E. Smith is having a new school built at the current school location. The students prepared and presented their speeches during the Vocabulary Fashion Show. The speeches presented the importance of preserving the school's forest habitat. Students created posters to display the evidence collected. Students demonstrated a human graph to display their evidence. The evidence showed that the organisms (worm, spider, ant, and beetle) preferred the forest habitat. Students wrote persuasive speeches convincing school personnel of the importance of preserving the forest habitat.
(Pictures supplied by the Cincinnati Nature Center.)