By Redwood and Popcorn
Online, outdoor education is underway at Westminster Woods! This fall, students from Learning House (of Santa Rosa City Schools) logged on to our very first Virtual Field Trip. Are you curious about how online, experiential education works? Take a look at the highlights from our partnership with Santa Rosa City Schools.
A Program Like No Other
From an initial inquiry to planning meetings to the first months of the program, Westminster Woods and Learning House have collaborated every step of the way. Our time-tested curriculum, supported by the Learning House teacher’s knowledge and deep care for their students, have produced a series of Virtual Field Trips designed to deepen students’ understanding of their home watershed and foster a meaningful relationship with nature.
A Typical Program Day
Starting in September and wrapping up in December, each K-6th student meets with our Teacher Naturalists one day a month. The format of each Virtual Field Trip includes short Zoom meetings, hosted by our Teacher Naturalist, alternating with thoughtful activities from our online curriculum. This structure offers students time for “in-person” instruction, facilitated community discussions, and self-guided learning.
Experiential education is the core of our curriculum at Westminster Woods. We believe that creating meaningful connections to each other and the natural world helps students become responsible humans. Online learning is no exception. With a focus on watershed ecology and sense of place, students leave each trip with a deeper appreciation for their close-to-home natural world.
Deep Diving into Content
Our first meeting with students in September started with Zoom introductions and sharing observations about the parts of nature we could see around us. From a wooden chess board to spiders to plants and pets, it was clear that we’re never far from nature. After the introductory Zoom meeting, students watched a short video from our online curriculum, then they went outside to make their own nature treasure maps. We met back in a Zoom meeting to share our maps and share appreciations with each other. As the day went on, nature exploration continued with more activities and meetings. Students learned about scientific adventures, took part in ‘zoom in, zoom out’ nature journaling and played nature activities bingo!
In October, we focused on exploring creeks and streams. After a morning Zoom meeting and a video about how to catch freshwater invertebrates, many students headed off with an adult and a plan to investigate local creeks. The other students studied Dutch Bill Creek virtually, alongside our Teacher Naturalists, through facilitated observations of the creek and its inhabitants. The groups met back on Zoom after lunch to share about what they had found at different creeks, the creatures they found in them and how healthy they thought the creeks were. It was neat to compare the findings from creeks all over Santa Rosa and our Dutch Bill Creek.
We’re excited to see what adventures and learning the next few months of Learning House trips bring!