We’ve mentioned the National Wildlife Federaton’s Green Hour before. An initiative in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Audubon Center is effectively incorporating this into school curriculum through a program that gets local students out of the indoor classroom and into the big, outdoor classroom of Prospect Park. Early results suggest the program is a success, as students’ grades have already increased in their science courses, according staff at Prospect Park. The Mother Nature Blog writes about the effort:
One such program is Science for All, an environmental science outreach program for elementary school children in grades 2-5. It’s held in Brooklyn, New York’s Prospect Park Audubon Center. Teacher naturalists at the center facilitate program activities for each students, focusing on one of three topic areas: pond life, forests and birds (the current year’s program is called “Bonkers for Birds”). The program stresses hands-on learning activities, utilizing the interactive exhibits of the Audubon Center and the forest, water features and varied natural settings of 585-acre Prospect Park.
The Audobon Center also offers daily nature crafts and classess (such as introductory birdwatching) each day that are free and open to the public. It’s an amazing facility that brings nature into the lives of kids who might not normally be exposed to it.
More information can be found through the Prospect Park Alliance and its Audubon Center (a story that is itelf worth telling about the innovative revitalization of the historic Boathouse in the park).
Filed under: facilities, partnerships, programming Tagged: | brooklyn
Great post — and thanks for linking to us!
Anne Keisman
Green Hour