Environmental education, particularly place-based environmental education, has been shown to have beneficial effects on students in a range of areas.



I have the daunting task of standing in for NNYN's Chief Naturalist David Rosane this month. I can't provide hypnotic descriptions of the natural cycles weaving their way around New York. But in my one year as a director of educational outreach for NNYN, I have observed some nature-related processes that I'd like to share.

I'm no naturalist. It wasn't until I found myself living in New York City with two young children that I began to make the connection between nature and the city. And it took even longer for me to see how the city's economy interacts with the city's ecology. I'm not any dumber than the next gal - it's simply that the information isn't part of the elaborate educational networks in which most of us are raised.

Sure, this seems to be changing somewhat. Thanks to high gas prices and certain hurricanes, the concepts of global warming and sustainable development are having their day on news shows and in color advertising supplements. Celebrities and corporations are reaping the benefits of being seen as eco-conscious, and media-hungry Americans are following suit.

I think all this is good. Carrying a canvas shopping bag from Whole Foods is a welcome change from a Prada tote and choosing a hybrid - even if your only real concern is status - is fantastic. Although some people may be rightfully queasy to hear that Wal-Mart is moving into organic products, it's a sign that the sharpest, if not most humane, businesses think conscious consumerism is a demand worthy of being supplied.

But beneath this shift, is a need that is hard to publicize and harder still to sell as a commercial endeavor. Stick with me here. It's the need to connect Americans to the place where they live - not just as a grab bag of geographical and historical facts, but as a dynamic and utterly fascinating ecological whole. It's only with this tie that consumers will begin to be truly conscious of the impact of their choices. Okay - that's based on a sample size of one. But trust me, I'm pretty typical.

How to convince residents of the United States, history's most fluid society, to stop and learn about their hometowns? Here's my strategy: Go after teachers and kids. Adults are too fixed in their ways - I mean, unless they see Angelina Jolie give something novel a whirl, they're not going to touch it. So adults are her problem. Teachers and kids, though, are open to anything. The trick is finding a way to get the information to them, and to make it square with the ever more elaborate standards that classrooms need to meet.

Environmental education, particularly place-based environmental education, has been shown to have beneficial effects on students in a range of areas. Children who study their own habitats become more thoughtful, resolve conflicts better and receive higher marks across disciplines. American parents, even many of those who do not support taking steps to protect the environment, believe that their children should taught about nature in school.

Of the 32 states that support environmental education programs, only 4 have training for teachers. And needless to say this situation affects underprivileged urban schools most severely - the very schools most in need of low-cost ways to bring science to life and whose students stand to benefit most from a robust environmental education.

Over the past year, the Urban Science Education Center of Columbia's Teachers College, in partnership with NNYN, has assembled New York City's first place-based environmental education lesson plan collection, which can be used in tandem with NNYN's GO WILD IN NEW YORK CITY (National Geographic, 2005). The collection aims to help teachers draw out students' own experiences and connect them with science in the city. And, because all teachers are stretched to the breaking point trying to reach regional standards, each lesson is explicitly tied to NYC standards.

Now, as the school year ends in the city's public schools, comments are coming back from a handful of under-resourced schools who have implemented the hands-on lessons on air quality, urban farming, city animals and bugs, soil and stone in their classrooms. A few choice quotes: "This curriculum seems to be just the right blend of hands-on and book work. It gets kids outside, investigating their backyards (courtyards, front stoops and parks), looking and finding real science in their world. But it also makes connections to the world at large through reading and studying text. This combination seems right for our kids." - Bill Liebeskind, 5th Grade Teacher, River East Elementary

"This is a wonderful curriculum. It connects both to students' interests and to their prior knowledge. What could be better than having NYC as the laboratory for learning science? I love it!" - Lisa Nelson, Principal, Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science

Of course, once kids are excited, parents tend to catch on. If NNYN has its way, every NYC school will study the ecology of the city, and before long, kids' work on city science will plaster subway cars and be the subject of annual outdoor celebrations. And, quietly, adults will catch up to their kids, as they usually do.

The study of urban ecology has the potential to transcend the cycle that has made green living fashionable for the moment. Place-based ecology education can serve as the very foundation of our understanding of our place in the world while providing a darn good science education by any region's standards while we're at it. Seems too good to be true? It is. I'll be speaking about my unexpectedly unpleasant experiences trying to get this material into city schools at the National Association of Environmental Educators meeting in the fall. If you're interested in the sordid details, drop me a line and I'll send you the talk.

Writing from the West Village,
Jessica Marshall, Ph. D.

David Rosane is scheduled to return from the jungle in July.