From the Classroom to the Nature Trail

A school faced a common problem: Biology students were being presented with discrete facts that they would swallow whole, without critically digesting and synthesizing them. Students and teachers worked together to develop lessons and resources that used the school's nature trail, in conjunction with standard curriculum, in order to provide students with hands-on learning experiences and a better understanding of the local environment.

The program started in the fall with a plant project called Natives, Aliens, and Invaders, which familiarized students with native and alien flora, and help them understand local natural history. In the spring, students and teachers moved outside to study ecological relationships, such as succession, predator-prey interactions, and symbiosis. Students used their drawing skills to record detailed information about plants, invertebrates, and other creatures that could easily be studied in the field and lab.

The project expanded when 30 high school freshman worked with 50 second graders. The high school students prepared hands-on demonstrations for the younger children and led tours of the nature trail. This marked the first time high school and elementary students collaborated using the nature trail.

Adapted from "Community Lessons: Integrating Service-Learning Into K-12 Curriculum," 2001, Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Service Alliance, and Learn and Serve America. Used with permission of Massachusetts Department of Education, www.doe.mass.edu/csl, (781) 338-3000.