Our project team met last week, and we were very pleased to have several new participants, including Lorraine and Nancie from CRD Parks, share their ideas and insights. We explored different ways in which CRD Parks could become involved in the Nature Kindergarten project including, but not limited to, assisting with a risk management plan, teacher training, and educational program support once the pilot is up and running.
We are very excited that Royal Roads University has agreed to support the concept of a Nature Kindergarten taking place on its grounds. This allowed the Sooke SD superintendent to make and announce his decision regarding the location of the Nature Kindergarten. The pilot program will take place at Sangster Elementary and be open to District-wide enrolment. Maureen Lauren, principal at Sangster, and her staff were very excited about this announcement. Maureen looks forward to getting more directly involved with our project team in the future.
Our curriculum sub-committee developed a draft framework of what activities a week at Nature Kindergarten might include. In conjunction with the sub-committee’s work, a group of us met last Thursday to begin to articulate the pedagogical principles of our Nature Kindergarten. These principles will be refined over the next few weeks, and once they are in their final form, I look forward to sharing them with you on this blog.
Hello. I heard about this on cbc and I think its a great idea. I am a retired forester and have presented to kids for years about forestry. Until retirement, I lead groups of Grade 5’s through Goldstream and taught them about biodiversity and basic ethnobotany. I live within a kilometre of Sangster School and my son used to attend. I would be happy to share some of my knowledge with this class at their level. Additionally, I am a certified recreational tree climber and I could introduce this type of forest activity to the students by demonstration.
Hi Reg,
I am glad you had a chance to learn about our project via CBC radio. I look forward to connecting with you regarding your knowledge with our pilot class.
Frances
This is a great project! I would like to recommend “The Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv as an informative read.
http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/
Thank you for your comment. Our project team has purchased several professional resource books and Louv’s book is one of them. Yes, it is an informative read!
Frances