Feb 26. presentations

I agree that the presentations were very successful, students seemed to be very interested in the projects. In regards to gardens, students mentioned that gardens represent spring and that good weather is coming, they liked the idea of having ponds and bridges, and were excited to know that the garden could attract wildlife. During the rain garden presentation, students noted that there was an area near the basketball goal that floods often and they seemed to be excited about designing their own rain garden. The rain barrel demonstration sparked students interest and students wanted to know how large the barrels would be and if they could write their names on the barrels. The recycling clip was a great way to wrap up the session.

Hooray! The kids are becoming more interested!

Here are some ways we could further explain some of this environmental jargon to the kids. The first is a web-page from another type of ecological program for kids. The second is how the rainbarrells are really constructed. It's like we need to explain the importance of this stuff and how it works or the kids won't really grasp it and be able to use it later.
http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/JuniorForest.html
http://www.raingardens.org/docs/rainbarrel.pdf

What about this list of companies? Should we try them for support or further contacts?
http://articles.directorym.com/Rain_Gardens_Louisiana-r1022227-Louisiana.html

Presentation

So the presentation was GREAT! Too bad we didn't get more input on the situation. My favorite part had to be the hurricane that came along with our rain barrels. :-D So I guess we are officially at the hard work part. Seems as if all the projects were a big hit and we are going to have to implement them all. Time to find contacts!!

Sounds good. Chris, I think you and I will be able to feed off of each other's comments for a smooth and informal presentation. I will bring either pictures to pass around or a poster board of garden pics. We can begin with (1) the video on litter/recycling. Then we can transition to (2) flower and veggie gardens (including bird houses, yes!!), (3) rain barrels, and (4) rain gardens.

Those kids are gonna be blown away by the awesome environment.

Let me know if you all think we should change anything written above =0)

Friday presentations

maybe just keep it simple with presenting each project to everyone. and then we can talk about each one. too much temptation to get up in each others' business for the young ones and people may be finishing at different times, thus, peolpe will be waiting. we haven't had time to really coordinate this.
you should get there early to make sure everything is in order. i have to be in new orleans in the morning but will be there in plenty enough time.
in presenting, remember to start with "one of the things you told us you like is... water and fishing, growing things, butterflies, etc." whatever pertains to the particular project you are speaking of. then say, "based on that we came up with..." this goes for all of us but especially chris and jessica.
all of the stuff you guys are coming up with sounds awseome! jamie can demonstrate the rain barrel model, maria the posters for the rain garden... great stuff yall. this is going to be good.

Small groups- Great idea

By reading the previous posts, I agree with Chris that breaking up into small groups is a great idea (although doing one presentation is fine as well). Yes, we can start with the Rocko video (wonder if the kids know who he is!!!) and then break out into groups at that point. That way everyone can explain the specific boards or visuals they created for the class. I will print visuals for gardens to bring with me (flower/vegetable gardens, shrubs, benches, etc). Even if we spend a few minutes at each table, we'd still have time left for Q&A. We can set our tables up in a circle around the classroom for the students to easily navigate to each.

If you all prefer to hand all presenting over to Chris and myself, we can always gather your visuals and go through the list of ideas as a duo to the class.

Looking forward to it!

Sounding Good

Definitely seems like things are coming together.. Rain Gardens, Rain Barrels, and Recycling is done... so all that is left is is just gardens in general... So maybe that can just be the one that is the different pictures of the butterflies, birds, etc. I know that we are suppose to be giving the presentation and I have been researching some of the stuff, but it sounds as if maybe the moving from table to table is a good idea... kind of like stations as suggested before. The recycle video could be shown first and then maybe a 5 minute explanation of each. Then we could allow for a large question and answer (given by Dr. Burley?).. hmmm... I guess I need to be talking to Dr. Burley. Jessica, I will be in my office tomorrow, so maybe send me an email or something so we can discuss what's going on. I leave my Southeastern account open all day.

Presenting the raingarden idea

I have decided to make a couple of big posters introducing the idea of a rain garden to the students. My first poster will include the opportunities which the gardens will provide the students as far as visual stimulation for the campus and the possibilities for outdoor education. The second poster will elaborate upon how to build the garden from design to implementation and maintenance. I will try to keep both visual aids along the lines of elementary presentation so they will keep the attention of our young minds as well as boost their excitement over the process of creating something unique to their school campus. I have found a web site which encompasses all of these attributes and can hopefully provide the link so that I can post it to the blog so yall can see what I mean.
http://www.appliedeco.com/RainGarden.cfm

The pdf seems really extensive, but I can make it kid-friendly...I have a five year old and we're going to build one in our backyard, so I think it'll be cool. Let me know what's up!

Idea for presenting Rain Barrels

Chris, the Spongebob video is awesome and think that the students will enjoy it. I was unable to find any kid- friendly videos on rain barrels. I was thinking it would be neat to do a brief demonstration on the use of rain barrels. The demo would allow students to identify positive outcomes of using rain barrels such as saving money, reducing energy , and the use of rain water in gardening and other household duties. This would include using smaller items that resemble a drainage pipe, filter(a net to keep larger objects out of water), barrel and hose. I would be using a barrel the size of a soda can and other smaller objects to create a mini rain barrel system. In addition, I have found a few images online that students can pass around to show what rain barrels actually look like. Please let me know what you think of this idea.

Farm to School programs in Louisiana

Hey you guys!
This is the Louisiana website which lists the programs implemented in Louisiana schools. The one, I think, that we should follow more closely is:
The Edible Schoolyard NOLA at Samuel J. Green Charter School


http://www.farmtoschool.org/LA/

I'm getting old.. that video is sooooo Rocko's Modern Life.. they had the Spongebob version but it was definitely a tape over of this one.

Presenting Proposed Projects

After sleeping on it, i decided to sit among the students. i think it would be better to have a male and female present and for me to get myself out of the way a little. i asked jessica to do this one with chris. i will sit among students with others and still get to discuss/educate them as presentation proceeds. jessica and chris will coordinate how they will present.

Ideas

So here's what I think guys... for the recycle part of the session we can show the spongebob video. For rain gardens, I feel that a presentation board should be made to help explain it better. For just regular gardens, I think that we can show printed out pictures of a vegetable garden, butterfly garden, "bird" garden (I found a picture when I googled of gardens with bird houses in them)... these can just be passed around. As far as rain barrels go, I found several videos but they weren't very kid friendly.. a.k.a I was bored after 30 seconds lol.

So let me know what you think about these ideas, and things that ya'll have come up with. This way if there are things that I need to do while at work, I can make that happen before Friday. Jamie talked about doing something, and I think Bertha and Natalie talked about presentation boards or something.

How Goofy!

Spongebob Recycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfrxFbhy5RI

Learning Landscapes

hey guys... check out this website and here is a youtube video. http://www.learninglandscapes.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUkISUzY39k

Focus Group II

For this session the kids mainly talked about how ugly they felt that their campus was. Everything from the school needing to be painted to the want for green grass. On a wants end, the kids really wanted playground equipment, basketball goals, football fields, and volleyball nets. The kids talked about how they have nothing to do outside at all, they are divided into groups of boys and girls on the playground, and a lot of them just sit down when outside. On an environmental end, I think they were really confused on what constitutes as environmental, but they did talk about composting and having the school provide for more garbage cans so that the trash on the playground was actually picked up. The excuse for all the trash was that they are not enough cans so people are lazy and just leave it on the ground. Of course I took this opportunity to suggest about recycling bins as well. I explained to them of how providing recycling areas would be helpful but also get rid of some of the trash. When talking about outside, I asked about what they do at home as well. Of course I got the stereotypical answers of tv and video games, but they also talked about how they like to go fishing and play with their dogs outside. One of the kids really talked about how they like the responsibility of taking care of their pets.

Feb. 19 session

Dr. Burley and I had a successful session manging to complete the focus group and generate favorable responses from students. The students were able to think of several environmental issues such as air pollution, cutting down trees, littering, vandalism (graffiti), and the use of excessive amounts of water. Some solutions for these issues were to have laws mandating that citizens turn off their power at a certain time, turn off water when brushing your teeth, plant more trees and flowers, use music to motivate citizens to think more environmentally, and create ways to recycle our own paper. Dr. Burley urged students to think critically about their suggestions, ensuring that their ideas would not produce other environmental issues. He explained the over use of chemicals in our society that go into the land and into our bodies, teaching students that we do not want to fix problems by creating new one's. Global warming and the use of solar panels were also mentioned in discussion. Overall, the students were very responsive and eager ro share their ideas. The discussion steered off topic a few times, however we were able to refocus and continue the session.

Focus Group 2

We had so much fun during our second focus group. Jessica and I asked the kids what things they liked to do outside. Basketball, hopscotch, walking around and talking were some of the responses. We had some really cool responses to the changes that the kids would make to the campus. Painting the school, new playground equipment and new basketball goals were among a few. When we asked about what environmental issues the kids had heard about, we learned the most about the students in our group. Litter was something they all knew was a problem and recycling soda cans. Jessica went on to explain how recycling soda cans is profitable, too. "Going Green" was something that they had heard about and how we needed to use less gasoline. Then we talked about some of the things we could do at the school level to address these issues. Picking up trash, planting trees, making a pond with a bridge and some plants, were some of their ideas. As the kids begin to open up to us, we can understand their needs so much better.

Focus Group 2: Feb. 19

Jamie started off our second session by returning to the question about their favorite things to do outside. Answers included soccer, riding bikes, "jump in cannonballs and up in the sky," pretending, playing on jungle gyms, and two newcomers to the group added things like gardening and growing stuff, "rolling around," and making mud pies, and Smoky the Bear. Their suggestions for addressing environmental issues included holding litter clean-ups, promoting recycling, stopping cutting trees (deforestation), re-using paper, turning off lights to cut down on global warming, planting bushes, conserving energy and water. 

Suggestions for school changes included more teachers (like the ones they like), growing strawberries and making ice cream, solar panels, planting trees, flowers and bushes, getting rid of the mud pile by the cafeteria, permeable cement ("gets rid of greenhouse gases"), bringing in plants and animals, solar powered school buses, more stalls in girl's bathroom, more toys for outside (different outside activities), do something with trash.

Focus Group

Though I was late, I am still very excited to be doing this project. I have been doing some reading about rain gardens and it seems to me something in which the kids can participate, since the steps don't become really difficult and the maintenance is pretty easy. I'll be able to show you more by Monday.
Thanks for the blog Natalie! It'll be great!

Michael Pollan on Democracy Now

Check out this truly enjoyable, in-depth interview with Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

first focus group meeting Feb. 5

Our (Jamie and I) students were talkers, but Jamie did a good job of transitioning into questions before time was up for drawing. They were talking more than drawing. Some continued to draw while talking while others drew little and mostly talked. Favorite places mentioned were mostly built such as the movies, a stadium, malls, Kingdom Hall (church - the student liked how decorative it is), school, McDonald's. However, horses and California were also mentioned as favorite places. The student who said CA said that he liked it because it was huge and had big buildings and big places. When asked what their favorite things to do outside were they said sports, soccer, run around and chill, walking, riding bikes., hanging with boy friend/best friends. One student also liked signs and drew a lot of signs. And the student who like school liked a particular teacher's class where science and social studies are taught. One more focus group session is in order but this was a good start.

First Focus Group

Amazing job Natalie! I've never blogged before so this is very interesting. I just have to say that Natalie and I had a great group. A few shy ones but other than that, Awesome! Natalie has already posted what our pictures were about; however, I was very surprised on the responses to our first question. They all pretty much had something to do with nature. Even the ones that did not, the students talked about the outside of the buildings and how great/big the yards were. I'm glad that this is still a high priority in a child's life.

Session 1: Feb. 5, 2010

I had a very lively group of four students, including 3 fourth graders and one sixth grader. They all listened intently while I described the project we are doing. It took a while for them to begin drawing their favorite places. It appears these students are all friends- their conversations veered away from their drawings and started centering on mutual friends, "crushes", etc. I had to chime in from time to time to refocus the group, which did help. Drawing took some time, so we only had time for a very brief discussion afterwards. One student drew a beach, with sand, water, and a palm tree. Two students drew river scenes, with fish, swimming, trees, and birds. The last student simply copied a photo of the White House from the classroom wall and said, "This man's gonna be President". His White House depiction did have a tree next to it. While discussing the reasons they drew their particular places, one student stressed that he really loves to fish. This made me consider adding a small fish pond in the school's courtyard (just a thought). Two students simply stated that they like going to the beach. Before the students left, I reminded them that we will be back again soon to discuss our pictures further and to get more ideas.

Session 1 Feb 5th

Dr. Burley and I had a very talkative group of students consisting of one 4th grader, one 5th grader and two 6th graders. Are group appeared to be very eager to discover why we were there and what type of project we would be working on. A female student in the group thought we were school counselors, while another could not believe that we were students at Southeastern. When students were asked to draw their favorite places some responses were school, the mall, the stadium, and church. The drawing activity was a great icebreaker allowing the students to share their thoughts. All the students were excited about the idea of participating in this project and completed the accent form as instructed. At times it was difficulty to keep the students focused on the task at hand. I found myself spending more time redirecting the students than conducting the focus group. The students listened to my directions, however, older students in the group appeared uninterested in hearing what their peers had to say. This was evident when students proceeded to talk while other students were sharing their ideas. Due to the following challenges and time constraints I was unable to finish asking all the focus group questions. I would consider this first meeting as a trail run, that will help us as a group structure future projects with this group of students.

Friday's Focus Group

Chris and I were privileged to work with five friendly, talkative and creative students at Friday's focus group. The students showed interest in working with us and happily participated we asked them to draw a picture of their favorite place in the world. Each of the students drew very different pictures, but all of those pictures depicted an outside environment. One student, having recently taken a trip to Memphis, drew a picture of Graceland and remarked about the size of the lawn in front of the building. Another student drew a picture of her engagement with insects at New Orleans' insectarium. She remarked laughingly about how she had eaten bugs. A third student talked about his drawing of Tickfaw National Park, stating emphatically that from the minute he got there he, "never wanted to leave." He stated that he particularly had liked the cyprus trees. The time alloted for the focus group ran out before the final two students had the opportunity to explain their drawings in detail. Briefly, one stated that he had drawn a peaceful place with goats, and the other that she had drawn the aquarium in New Orleans.