A Journey to Place 
by Becky Kerr

I am a glutton for learning.  Whenever possible I have attended continuing education workshops or conferences which provide interactive learning, networking, and mentoring, which university classes lack. I was attending the New Mexico Science Teacher’s Association annual conference shortly after moving to New Mexico and attended a presentation about the Environmental Educational Easement program offered by the NM state land office.  They lease state owned property to schools to for environmental education.  I thought it would be nice, but the students at the middle school would not be able to leave for half a day to visit the site.  I almost dismissed the idea until my mentor, Teri Conrad, an educational outreach consultant, encouraged me to pursue the idea.  People often need a catalyst to make things happen, and we need to be receptive to new ideas and possibilities.   Teri made the arrangements foe us to meet a representative from the local state land office for a tour of local sites.  It turns out there was a parcel of state property right across the street from the school.  What a gift, our own outdoor classroom!  With just a little paper work, we were able to lease the property at no charge.  It was perfect.  To get to it, we crossed the street, went down a hill, and entered a different place and time.   

Looking at the property for the first time I could imagine endless possibilities. There were a variety of ecosystems.  There was a cliff with a clearly visible scowering stream on either side of the arroyo, and many other geological observations to be discovered.  Erosion was evident everywhere.  It was so close, but so far away.   

Unfortunately, since the area was out of sight from any roads or other public places, it was a local dumping area, and had been for years.  I realized that in its present condition it would not be safe or enjoyable for student learning. As the Honor Society Advisor, I presented the problem to the members.  They bought into the value of community service and made plans foe clean-up day.  The group realized they needed help so an explanation of the situation, including a description of the site’s potential was sent by invitation to parents and community members to help with this project.  A waste management company donated the use of an industrial size dumpster and brought it to the site.   Students, teachers, parents, and members of the community participated, filling the dumpster with garbage.  What pride everyone had as I took their picture in front of the overflowing dumpster at the end of the day!  The participants, besides developing an understanding of citizenship, stewardship, and pride in helping others, developed a connection with this special piece of the outdoors.  They will think twice before dumping trash and littering..  There was erosion due to the water running off cliffs into a small valley, and in the cut banks sediment deposits were showing years of trash dumping.  This served as an ever present reminder of previous misuse.  This area started as just a place, and became a pivotal location for what good education is and should be.   

As a middle school science teacher, class periods were 45 minutes.  Once a month I would take all of my science classes outside to the Environmental Educational Easement, which we called the outdoor classroom (affectionately called “the ditch” by my cohorts at school).  I would come dressed in layers and with my boots on and my colleagues would say, “Oh it must be ditch day!”  I am sure they were all jealous that I was able to spend the day outside, but other teachers would join in the fun.  They thought it would be too much work.  I didn’t see it that way because I was focused on the learning and joy it would bring to my students and me.   

At the beginning of the school year, I would send home a permission slip with information about the property and the opportunity in which the students would be participating.  I explained how in order to take the students outside, I needed help.  I gave the parents choices about participation.  As a school teacher, I understood that some parents can’t leave their job.  Some working parents however, are able to take long lunch breaks, arrange to come into work late or early, or take a half day off.  I would ask parents to come for half day and go out with several classes.  Some parents were hesitant, but once they participated, often they would beg to come back.  Many would come monthly, which made arranging for help easier.  After they listened with the students to the objectives for the class hour, I gave the parents some background before they went to a section of the easement and to make sure the students stay on task.  They helped the students if they needed assistance.  This experience gave the parents insight into their child’s behavior and the behavior of other students.  Many of the students were much better behaved outdoors, but some were not able to control their excitement, and needed close supervision.  Parents also became aware of what and how students were learning.  They gained insight and respect for teachers and students during these experiences.  Comments like, “Wow, I did not realize that,” and “That is good to know,” and “Now I understand,” were common.  It was great for the students to have their parents participate, even though some students tried to pretend they did not like it.  Many parents wanted to participate in spite of the protests of their child, often because they realized the importance of this opportunity, and knew we could not go outside without help.  Sometimes the students who were against their parents coming would ask them to come back and work with them the next time the parents joined us.  At this age it is not “cool” to have parents around, but the students soon learned how wonderful it was to share new knowledge with them.   Getting parents involved in their child’s education, I feel, is important to the success of the child.  

Before we went outside, we talked about stewardship, and the importance of not damaging the environment, along with personal behavior.  Talking about how damage, even to an ant hill, could affect the entire food chain helped them understand how their actions would affect the area.  The first visit of the year, I took the students to the easement, and defined the geographical boundaries.  They were given time to find their “spot.”  The first month they sat in their spot and made detailed observations of the flora, fauna or traces of fauna, and geological features.  Each month thereafter, they would go to this exact spot, approximately the size of a hoola hoop, and look closely to see if anything had changed.  For many students, this was the first time they had ever sat down and closely observed the earth around them.  They found that they could see tiny insects that are not easily noticed.  Over the year’s time the sand would change due to wind or water erosion.  Ant hills would be visible and then disappear, just to reappear.  One student came up with bones.  We tried to identify the animal, and found a fox den close by.  Another student came up to me in tears because during the previous month a four wheeler had gone over her spot and destroyed the sunflower plant she had loved.  Many students sought me out the next year to tell me of the changes they had observed over the summer when they went to visit their spot.  Many kept going back for years to see what changes occurred.  The sense of ownership and stewardship blossomed over the year and beyond.   

Each month we had a lesson relating to what we were learning in the classroom.  When studying food webs, we used local animals and plants, pulling from observations the students had made in the outdoor classroom.  We were able to observe all the types of erosion, except glacial erosion, right there.  Wow, everyone realized that when direct observations are made it is easier to remember than when material is read about in a book!  Nothing like seeing the slump along the edge of the bank right after a rain to understand how unstable riverside property could be!  Life long learning, you bet!  Students connected with the lessons as they could see the value for the future.  The students will use the lessons from these observations when they are making decisions about buying a home.  Should I buy this property in the flood plain, or along the edge of the river?    It sure is pretty, but will it survive natural events? 

I took the students to the outdoor classroom because I knew it was a great way for them to learn. Personally, I developed a relationship with the land making it important and meaningful to me as a person as well as a science educator.  I noticed changes and incorporated this into the learning process.  The land was always changing, which was great for me since I do not like routine.  Many times the planned lesson was changed spontaneously.  Teachers need to be open to ideas that emerge and take advantage of the moment.  The ecosystem is dynamic, and so is place based education, reflecting constant changes.  

The first year I took the students to the site, there was an area about 200 yards down the arroyo and around a corner where the water came to the surface in a natural spring.  A few years later, during a particularly wet year, the spring moved up slope into the study area.  Besides being a great lesson on how the amount of rain affects the level of the water table, the higher water table allowed many new plants to begin to grow.  It was wonderful to see the cattails, willows, and other native plants starting to vegetate the area.  I also noticed some invasive species taking root.  There was a large area of cockleburs, which are wonderful to demonstrate how velcro was discovered, but not so wonderful when they become the center of vindictive games.  The tamarisk, also called salt cedar, was the invasive that bothered me the most.  This hardy, water-loving tree originated in Mesopotamia.  In the United States, the seeds were sold to help control erosion.  It works very well for this, but it also makes it hard for native plants to grow, by using a lot of water, and changing the composition of the soil.  Tamarisk also harbors insects (Aton, J and McPherson, R).   Every time I would visit the outdoor classroom, I would pull up the small seedling, but there would always be more the next month.  This invasive plant was used as an example of stewardship by explaining its invasive features to students and parents.  We need to be careful of what we introduce into the environment.  If it is not there naturally, there is probably a good reason for that.  Adding animals or plants to an environment is often a ticket to disaster.  These organisms may have a good purpose, like erosion control, but if it is not native to the area, there are no natural predators or controls to keep it from overtaking the area.  Invasive species often win the competition for the natural resources, changing the environment, and making it hard or impossible for the native species to survive. 

Another change to the environment was humans trying to use and “improve” the area.  Since it was state land, it was an area which could be used to produce revenue for the state.  An oil company received a permit to drill a well on the property which would provide revenue to the state.  My mentor was working for a mining company, so I had been to many conferences which educated me on how much work goes into getting a permit to drill a well, or do any kind of mining.  I understand the environmental impact statements, reclamation which follows, and how people, especially those in the United States, depend on mining for the luxuries we enjoy.  Even with this background, I was appalled when I was out with my students and noticed that one of the most beautiful Four O’clock plants I had ever seen had been plowed over to make a bigger and wider road.  They tried to redirect the arroyo.  They put a culvert under the road, which was fine, but then they filled in the erosion on the other side of the road.  Where did they think the water was going to go?  This made for a great discussion and prediction of what would happen after the next rain!  The students were correct, all of the fresh dirt just washed away, and the rill erosion was deeper than before!  This mass movement of sediment led to the discussion of how extra sediments in streams affect wildlife and vegetation.  The next month huge trucks started down the hill invading, our quiet and peaceful outdoor classroom.  It would have been nice to know about the construction and truck movement, in order to warn the students to keep off the road!  It was unfortunate that the state land office did not inform us of the impending drilling.  This brought about a class discussion about public process.  Sometimes there are public hearings around land use change, but there was no notification and no opportunity to make comment in this case.  These events led to an appreciation of the importance of public hearings, and how individuals can make a difference if given a chance and they take advantage of opportunities.  The students gained an appreciation of public hearings and the importance of environmental impact studies.  Can the drilling of the well be considered progress?  I think it depends on your point of view.  It is, and it isn’t.    

Once a year a “tailgate classroom” was planned, and presenters would come and share information about their career or special interests related to the outdoors.  Originally they would pull up their trucks and take down the tail gates and make presentations in any open space.  We moved them to the easement where they had access to the natural environment.  Teri, my mentor, and I invited people from state offices, industry, research, aviation, recreation, fire departments, and the nature center, etc.  This brought community resources to the site.  These presenters would share information with students as well as the adults helping. Topics covered included water and water testing, geology, environmental concerns, archeology, fire prevention and control, weather, physics of flying, native plants and their growth, among others.  All day the students from every science teacher’s class would meet outside, and we would walk to the outdoor classroom.  There, the presenters would take the students to their designated area and share their expertise.  One year we had native plants donated.  A presenter helped the students learn about different plant growth requirements and how to plant them properly.  Students could then chose an appropriate location for a particular plant, and put it in the ground.  Year after year, students visit their plant, and check on the progress of others they knew were planted that day.  Some are doing quite well.  All of the tailgate classroom presenters volunteered to do this, often year after year.  Many parents who volunteered to help out for that day would volunteer to come the next year even though their child would not be in the school anymore.  It was a great way to bring the whole community together to help educate the students about careers relating to the outdoors, create a sense of stewardship of the land around us, and a sense of community.   

Now that I am not working at this school, teachers are no longer taking advantage of the outdoor classroom.  The outdoor classroom did involve some work, but the rewards for me and the students far outweighed the little extra time and effort.  The ideas for the lessons did not seem to be hard, just a little imagination was needed.  The potential is endless.  There are perceived obstacles, but I took one step at a time, worked with my mentor and other teachers and parents, and the negative was overwhelmed by the positive.   It seems ironic that it was an external source which helped me open my eyes and realize the possibilities of outdoor education.  I needed help from Teri to investigate the opportunity.  Networking and mentoring is invaluable.  The revelation that I could be outside, which I love, and teach in a more meaningful way, changed my life both in and out of the class room.  Open your mind to new ideas and the world is a different place.   

The Bioregional Outdoor Education Project (BOEP), which I am working with as the New Mexico Regional Coordinator, has all of this incorporated into the program.  There is a network of support staff from the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, on going training throughout the year for the teachers, two to four teachers in each school to help each other, a mentoring program for teachers to work with other teachers within each school, and bimonthly personal visits for each participating teacher from the regional coordinator.  This is different from other training programs because you do not attend one or two days of class, and then try to incorporate the ideas into your class lessons on your own.  You have direct help for a year, and hopefully during that year, you have hooked other teachers in the school into the ideologies.  Everyone works together to make learning fun for the students and the teachers.  Lessons are place based, incorporating things the students see and know from around their own environment.  The students can relate to these ideas, and therefore they are relevant and important to learn and understand.   This leads to life long learning for students, who in turn share with their parents, which leads to community education.  The teachers have more fun, and they learn along with the students, so teaching is much more enjoyable.  This increases retention.  The networking and sharing with others brings in new ideas which are always rejuvenating.  In my mind, bioregional outdoor education is the perfect way to teach and learn.  It develops sense of place.  If students are involved with the land around them, through observations and hands on activities, they understand the relevance, importance, joy, and purpose for their learning.   

The BOEP program has brought home the importance of life long learning as well as mentoring.  I would not have done anything about the outdoor classroom if it had not been for the conference I attended and for the help of my mentor.  I should have done more of my own mentoring to bring the other teachers into the fold of understanding how to make the outdoor classroom easy and doable.  With BOEP I am now able to apply what I have learned, and help others to develop a sense of place for themselves and their students.  When I met with some of the teachers from my outdoor classroom school, they were anxious to get help to learn how to make the outdoor classroom work for them.  They wanted help from BOEP.  There needs to be a school wide commitment to a program of outdoor, place based, and hands on education in every subject in order to make students “own” their personal education.  Involving the community, also one of the BOEP principles, makes it a much richer and rewarding experience.  Make life long learning a part of everyone and every one.  Being part of outdoor education makes my life much more enjoyable, meaningful, and anchors me to my place.  If we bring this love for learning into each student’s life, then no child will be left behind.    
 

About the author: Becky Kerr has a B.S. in Microbiology and Medical Technology from Colorado State University, and a Secondary Science Teaching Certificate from the University of Northern Colorado.  She taught Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science to Middle School students for 13 years, and Physics and Sports Medicine to High School students for one year.  At the middle school she had an environmental educational easement, an outdoor classroom, where she took her students every month to observe changes in the environment as well as relating the classroom concepts with the real world.   In 1998 she earned the first annual Joan and Hy Rosner Environmental Education award presented by the New Mexico State Land Office for Stewardship of this Environmental Easement.  She was acknowledged as an exemplary teacher by the New Mexico State School Accreditation team when they visited an outdoor tailgate program at the easement.  She now works for the Four Corners School of outdoor education as the New Mexico Coordinator for the Bioregional Outdoor Education Project, working with teachers to increase their knowledge of outdoor, place based, experiential, and cultural teaching practices.