Stella ’27 is bringing climate education and creativity to life by leading nature-inspired art lessons for elementary students with special needs, using her service grant to foster environmental awareness, self-expression, and a deeper connection to the natural world.
Throughout my whole life, I have held a deep appreciation for the arts, so when my mom expressed to me that some of her elementary school students in our town of Conway, Massachusetts weren’t receiving art classes in their schedules, I was inspired to implement more art into the curriculum for the school’s summer program. All of the students in the summer school have Individualized Education Programs, meaning that they have an Instructional Assistant with them in their classrooms. Some of the students are also full time in the Special Education classroom where my mom teaches.
My initial plan for this project was simply to teach crafts in the summer school. I met with the principal of the school in April, and she informed me of the theme for the summer curriculum, Nature and Weather. Environmental science is one of my biggest interests, so this installment made me even more excited about my summer project. Throughout my time in public school I always felt a gap in the curriculum regarding climate science, so this was an amazing opportunity to bring more education about climate change to younger students in my community. Guiding my curriculum planning with a nature and climate focus really helped me to bring my authentic self to every lesson I have taught so far and share what I am passionate about in a fun, engaging and accessible way.
Although I was extremely enthusiastic about this project, I also encountered some challenges. I struggled with clarification about my teaching schedule as well as doubt about whether my project was as impactful as I had planned, but I continued to push for clarity and communication with the school community and received a lot of positive feedback from my students and fellow facilitators.
I have been leading my projects in the school for only a week, and already I have felt as though my teaching skills have improved and I have developed a connection with the school community. I felt the success of my project most exemplified during my lesson this morning where I took the students outside to gather natural materials and create their own “nature wands”. The students were elated for a chance to spend their class period outside and were even more engaged in the project than I had expected. As we sat at a picnic table strewn with sticks, flowers and avidly-foraged-for four leaf clovers discussing the different spells we might cast with our wands, I realized the true missing piece of my earth education in elementary school. Exposure to the natural world. We need to appreciate and understand nature in order to align our human processes with it, and I believe that this appreciation must be more implemented into the lives of kids.
Cultivating an appreciation for nature is one of the most important things we can do to address climate change, and I hope that my project will help my students to further apprehend their roles as part of the natural world and the climate movement. As I look forward to the next two weeks of my project, I hope to continue to engage with my local community and experience nature with my students.
