PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 16: Ecology Education
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Creating and investigating native meadows at rural elementary schoolyards.
Stylinski, Cathlyn1, Raesly, Elaine1, Gates, Donna1, 1 University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD
ABSTRACT- Just steps away from the classroom, schoolyards provide natural laboratories for regular observation, investigation and experimentation that can help students apply science skills, explore ecological concepts, and identify with their ecological address. Through a partnership between University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory and Maryland elementary schools, the Partners in Ecology and Restoration of Schoolyards (PIERS) program brings together expertise in ecology and education to help rural schools and community volunteers create small areas of native habitat on school grounds, incorporate these sites into existing curriculum, and promote healthy land management practices in the community. More than 170 4th grade students and their teachers at five schools expanded their understanding of ecological concepts and learned about native species through teacher workshops and student programs. These PIERS participants then worked closely with ecology and restoration professionals to construct native meadows and adjacent keying gardens in their schoolyards, including designing and preparing each site and planting over 5000 native grasses and forbs (30-40 species). High school students created an additional meadow and keying garden at a county environmental education center. Both 4th and 5th grade teachers are developing and testing activities using these outdoor classrooms including reading and writing about meadow habitats and investigating meadow species adaptations. They are also making plans for future schoolyard habitat projects that support meadow, wetland and forest species. The PIERS program provides insight and strategies for schoolyard projects and scientist-teacher-community partnerships that promote ecological literacy and connections to the local environment.
Key words: K-12, ecology education, schoolyard ecology