Portage Students Do More Than Hug Trees

Written by Dr. Debra Dudek, Director of Title and Special Student Programs

Four Portage elementary schools (Central, Myers, Saylor and South Haven) will have the opportunity for their fourth graders to participate in the Mighty Acorns® program during the 2011-12 school year. The Mighty Acorns® program incorporates classroom curriculum, hands-on restoration activities and exploration to provide students with multiple, meaningful, sustained interactions with the land. The program is being funded through a grant from. The goal is to continue growing this opportunity so eventually all fourth, fifth, and sixth graders attending Portage Township Schools will have the opportunity to participate.

The Mighty Acorns fourth grade curriculum focuses on adaptation and interdependence and:

• builds knowledge and skills in ecological restoration
  
• is correlated to the Indiana State Academic Standards
• includes pre- and post- classroom lessons that compliment the stewardship activities.
  
• content is guided by the core concepts of ecology appropriate for students in grades four through six.

Teachers were trained and received materials to use before, during, and after each of the three half-day trips students will take each year as part of this program. Study trips will be made to Imagination Glen, the largest park in the Portage Park system. Among the parks 256 acres lies a 10-mile Outback Trail and large tracts of heavily wooded forests with Salt Creek meandering through the center. Students will use the land as an outdoor laboratory for learning science and, at the same time, the ecosystem will benefit from their restoration work. By spending time exploring and observing, students become familiar with their adopted ecosystem. As a result of their participation, they see the changes that occur throughout the seasons and years.

The program is designed to allow students multiple opportunities to develop a relationship with natural environments and the process of restoring them by repeatedly spending time participating in stewardship activities in a prairie, woodland, or wetland.

Stewardship is one of the ways the Mighty Acorns® program fosters a personal connection between students and natural areas in their communities. Helping to restore a native ecological community by removing nonnative and invasive plants, collecting seeds, and planting seedlings, provides students with a rich and empowering experience that opens a pathway to a strong stewardship ethic.

Studies have shown that students who learn about the world around them through hands-on lessons better retain and understand concepts. Experiences out-of-doors foster a connection with nature that can last a lifetime and lead to a desire to preserve and protect natural area.