By Matthaei-Nichols summer 2014 interns Genevra Galura and Diana Bach
“Are all
these plants real?” ”Do you live here?” “Look! An ostrich!” (Note: we don’t have ostriches at the
Botanical Gardens but we did, on this occasion, see an osprey flying over
Willow Pond.)
As children’s
education interns, we hear a lot of cute, insightful, and just plain funny
kid-isms from children that visit the Botanical Gardens. We’re constantly
surprised by the acuity and knowledge of our young visitors, who soak up
information and then love to share what they know, whether it’s that one time
they saw a frog in their backyard or their detailed knowledge of the Venus fly trap.
Much of our time in children’s ed is spent leading guided
tours for the many school groups, summer camps, scout troops, and families that
come to visit the gardens’ conservatory and trails. Our groups range from preschoolers
to college students, and everything in between. Aside from traditional tours,
we also develop and run other programs with more specialized topics. This
summer our programs have run the gamut from making recycled paper, teaching
gardening skills, catching and studying insects, and cooking with herbs. We
don’t come into the job as experts on all of these topics but learn a lot as we
go. It’s a unique and challenging job, but we love the constant learning!
One of the most rewarding programs we’ve done this
year was in conjunction with Scarlett Middle School and the University of
Michigan MAC (Master of Arts with Certification) education program. We partnered
with the school’s summer program to develop a lesson plan for 6th-8th graders
studying ecosystems.
During two field trips to Matthaei, middle school
students studied the aquatic ecosystems found here.
Students learned about the
water cycle, watersheds, and the ways humans affect these habitats. Most
importantly, the kids conducted ecosystem assessments firsthand. Using Willow
Pond, the constructed wetlands, and Fleming Creek at Matthaei, we collected
water samples to test physical characteristics and complete a biodiversity
count of the aquatic organisms found in each water body. It was high-level science,
but the kids rose to the occasion and had fun while they were at it. The most
rewarding part of this experience was exposing the students to hands-on
science; some of them would never have thought they’d be catching crayfish,
identifying dragonfly larvae, or sticking their nose in pond water to see how
it smelled.
A constant challenge for us as educators is our
ever-changing and diverse audience. Every day children come to us from
different ages, places, backgrounds, and experiences. Some arrive already
loving nature and full of excitement to be on the trails, while others have
never experienced the woods and need some coaxing to realize the outdoors is
not a scary place. While we do aim to teach these kids about insects or plant
parts or whatever they might be here for, our goal reaches further than that. We
hope to provide a positive experience in nature so that children grow up
appreciating the outdoors and all the natural world has to offer us. This is
core to the mission of Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum; as a
living museum, we’re educating future generations to preserve and protect the
beauty of the natural world.
Diana Bach, from Chelsea, MI, is a recent graduate and first-year master's student studying environmental engineering with interests also in sustainable food systems and environmental education.
Genevra Galura, from Saline, MI, is a junior studying cellular and molecular biology.
 |
| Diana Bach |
 |
| Genevra Galura |
